Finding bargains / Setting alerts

double_entendre

So out of curiosity I was poking around on Amazon the other day and saw two Sigma 800mm lenses for my Nikon priced very cheaply. While I dilly-dallied they disappeared. Yes, too good to be true and all that....

But it made me wonder, what's the best way to find a bargain if you're patient? Alerts on Craigslist? Ebay? I think Amazon lets you set alerts also.

Curious to know what y'all do, if anything.

Thank you for your thoughts!

Brett1000

_"____But it made me wonder, what's the best way to find a bargain if you're patient? Alerts on Craigslist? Ebay? I think Amazon lets you set alerts also.
Curious to know what y'all do, if anything.

Thank you for your thoughts__!__"_

I would say "none of the above".
I've only seen real camera and lens bargains on buy/sell sites such as:

https://dgrin.com/categories/flea-market
fredmiranda.com/forum/board/10
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/

or a price watch service like
canonpricewatch.com/

Cygnus Studios

@Brett1000 said:
I would say "none of the above".

I agree.

I've never bought used gear, but if I were to do so, B&H and Adorama would be my first choice. If you want to buy from a person instead of a business hoping to save a couple of bucks, I would suggest joining a local camera club.

IMHO buying anything from strangers on the internet has the potential of not ending well. I know that people do it every day and the vast majority have no issues, but it only takes once to ruin your day.

double_entendre

@Cygnus Studios said:

@Brett1000 said:
I would say "none of the above".

I agree.

I've never bought used gear, but if I were to do so, B&H and Adorama would be my first choice. If you want to buy from a person instead of a business hoping to save a couple of bucks, I would suggest joining a local camera club.

IMHO buying anything from strangers on the internet has the potential of not ending well. I know that people do it every day and the vast majority have no issues, but it only takes once to ruin your day.

The only reason I ask is that I was looking at that 800mm Sigma and saw three on Amazon, two of which were clearly mispriced. I didn't jump on them and would have done so if I was going through Amazon and using Paypal.

One of my hobbies is woodworking and I see posts regularly of guys finding screaming deals on tools or wood and I figure there's a "secret" that can't involve hitting refresh on every web page every 15 minutes.

Thanks!

Brett1000

___"The only reason I ask is that I was looking at that 800mm Sigma and saw three on Amazon, two of which were clearly mispriced. I didn't jump on them and would have done so if I was going through Amazon and using Paypal.

One of my hobbies is woodworking and I see posts regularly of guys finding screaming deals on tools or wood and I figure there's a "secret" that can't involve hitting refresh on every web page every 15 minutes"___

yes, I would also be hesitant to jump on a screaming deal with a Sigma 800mm
but for woodworking ... maybe there's a buy/sell forum somewhere
flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

David_S85

Here's a link for you. http://www.nikonpricewatch.com/used/

There's a refurb area, but it seems to not be updated as often as the Canon version of the site. I can set up alerts for refurbs at the Canon price watch for anything listed there at a set price which then emails me if a price goes below a certain threshold. I've bought half a dozen (Canon) lenses and camera bodies through these links.

ziggy53

@David_S85 said:
Here's a link for you. http://www.nikonpricewatch.com/used/

There's a refurb area, but it seems to not be updated as often as the Canon version of the site. I can set up alerts for refurbs at the Canon price watch for anything listed there at a set price which then emails me if a price goes below a certain threshold. I've bought half a dozen (Canon) lenses and camera bodies through these links.

Good suggestion, David!

ziggy53

@Brett1000 said:
_"____But it made me wonder, what's the best way to find a bargain if you're patient? Alerts on Craigslist? Ebay? I think Amazon lets you set alerts also.
Curious to know what y'all do, if anything.

Thank you for your thoughts__!__"_

I would say "none of the above".
I've only seen real camera and lens bargains on buy/sell sites such as:

https://dgrin.com/categories/flea-market
fredmiranda.com/forum/board/10
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/

or a price watch service like
canonpricewatch.com/

I would add KEH.com to the list of used photographic equipment vendors which are also very trustworthy. They currently offer a very generous 180 day warranty too. (Makes them an excellent value vendor in my book.)