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Anonymous
Buying a camera from a pawn shop
2016-07-10 00:58:17 Post No. 2880004
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Buying a camera from a pawn shop
Anonymous
2016-07-10 00:58:17
Post No. 2880004
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This is a terrible idea. Pawn shops have NO idea about camera equipment, especially when you start asking specifics like "what's the shutter count?". Today I was at Pawn America in Green Bay, they had a Nikon D7000 with an 18-55 VR kit lens, the whole thing was priced at $329 plus tax. I was super tempted to buy it, and I almost did, until I popped the lens off and locked the mirror open and saw a HUGE stain on the sensor, like someone had dropped coffee or some dark brown liquid directly onto the sensor. I didn't take a picture, though I should have, but it looked something like the attached image.
I told the girl who was helping me in plain English "This camera is junk, I'm not interested". Her response was typical: "We test all of the cameras before we buy them, if it's for sale, it works".
How do you deal with buying cameras and equipment secondhand? Do you take a chance on something, or do you spend a bit more and just buy directly from a reputable dealer? I've had mixed results in the past - I took a gamble on a Nikon D40 with an 18-55 VR kit lens for $110, got it home and the shutter count was 46,600 (about 92% of its expected shutter life). I also purchased a 105mm NIKKOR AI-S lens for $15 from the same pawn shop and it's one of my favorite lenses for macro and closeup work.
Do you have any pawn shop horror stories or fantastic finds? I'd love to hear them ^_^
