Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Hi all,

I'm going to be selling my Nikon 18-55 f2.8 lens and I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on how to prepare it to be sold.
Obviously I want to make sure it is in the best condition to be sold so that I can get the most for it.

I need to take my lens to get cleaned and to get the rubber ring glued back on.
Should I do any lens alignment or anything?

I was thinking of taking it to Toronto Camera Service to get the work done.

Thanks all,

Zeekid

I think any potential buyer would be very appreciative of you having it serviced, however, I think it's unlikely that you would recoup much of that investment in the sale (except maybe for the rubber ring, not having it there would likely knock the price down some). Give it a thorough cleaning, and most of all, be clear and honest in providing as much information as you can about the lens and its condition when you post it.

I agree with Qualdoth and I also recommend you gluing the rubber ring down yourself... just look on the internet on how to do it. I don't think it would be that difficult to do and you would save some money doing it yourself. I also don't think you need a lens alignment done as you would end up paying for something that probably doesn't need to be done.

Post it accurately. There is no such thing as a Nikon 18-55 2.8.

seriously, include a decent picture of the actual lens, especially if there is damage.

Service prior to the sale almost never makes your money back. You could be a nice guy and do it, but it may only help your conscience.

A friend recently had a lens cleaned and calibrated and I think it was about $180 or 190 from Sun Camera. I'm not sure how much it would be just to clean and fix that ring, but like others have said, if it's working fine otherwise you will not get your money back when you sell it. Do you want to get it cleaned because there's sand/dirt inside the lens? That would affect resale value, but if it's just fingerprints on the front of the lens, you can clean that yourself for a few dollars worth of lens tissue and fluid. I wouldn't get it cleaned professionally for a sale unless there's something an end-user can't access like clumps of dirt inside the lens and you wouldn't want to open it up yourself to get that out.

I would tend to agree -- that the cost to have the lens serviced would probably seriously eat into your profit on the lens. You might be able to order new rubber from Nikon, and replace it yourself.