Used Lens Buying Guide: Pros and Cons of Buying Used Camera Lenses
With just about everything in life, buying a used lens has it's pros and cons. Some usually outweigh the others. Much like how you know that eating that juicy double cheeseburger with bacon most likely isn't good for you, but the taste is enough to make it worth it!
Let's start with the pros associated with buying used lenses:
PRICE of the Lenses - what else can be said? I recently sold a Canon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS for $1500, which new cost me around $2400. That's $900 that the lucky recipient just saved on that lens. Granted it was a few years old, but both cosmetically and operationally it was flawless.
Lens Resale Value - Much like buying a new car, new lenses lose value as soon as they become yours. For the same reason that buying a used car makes more financial sense, buying a used lens makes the same sense.
Freebies! - Many times when you buy a used lens, the seller will sweeten the deal by throwing in a UV filter, lens pouch, etc. These can't be discounted as they too would cost you more money to go out and buy separately.
Learning possibilities - Being able to get a lens for a price that you can actually afford, gives you the possibility of using a lens that you otherwise may not have tried. The beauty of it is, if you don't like it and got a good price on it, it's not usually hard to sell it for what you paid for it. That is unless the manufacturer has released a new version of the same lens which tends to depreciate yours quite a bit.
Now let's look at the cons associated with buying used lenses:
Lens Condition - Sometimes when you purchase a used lens you are taking a chance on it's condition. In most cases, and by knowing what to look for, you can get a lens in great shape with little use, however there is that chance that you could get a lens that has internal issues such as a non working auto-focus, stuck diaphragm, or even fungus on the lens elements (yes, you read that right... FUNGUS!). Hopefully this guide will inform you on the major problems to look for and give you the knowledge to avoid them if at all possible.
Lack of Lens Manufacturer's Warranty - In many cases you are buying a lens that doesn't carry a manufacturer's warranty on it anymore. This isn't something to be overlooked either as repairing a lens out of warranty can cost quite a hefty chunk of change. However some people do offer third party warranties with their lenses such as those from Mack. Personally I have had lenses with Mack warranties, but have never had to use them. Researching online provided mixed results of complaints and happy customers. So you may want to do your own research on the warranty offered and decide what that's worth to you. Also beware that some warranties are only good in their original country of origin!
Fraud - In this day and age of everything being electronic and information flying through fiber optic lines at light speed, there's definitely a risk of fraudulent activity when buying stuff online. However there are some steps that you can take to protect yourself. We will cover these later in this guide.
