How we calculate what your gear is worth.

For each model and condition tier, we track current listing prices across the major used-gear retailers — MPB, KEH, B&H Used, Adorama Used, Amazon, and eBay Marketplace — and take the median. These aren't random Craigslist asks: they're professionally graded, condition-labeled prices set by dealers who inspect gear for a living. That makes them a reliable signal of what used gear actually trades for.

On the tool, every price shows how many sources back it and when it was last updated. If we don't have enough verified data for a specific model and condition, we don't show a number for it. We'd rather leave a gap than make one up.

Path A is what you'd net if you list the gear yourself on a marketplace like eBay and it sells at market price. We start from market value, subtract eBay's standard final value fee, then subtract a realistic shipping and packing cost.

This is the optimistic case. It assumes you price competitively, wait for the right buyer, write a decent listing, take good photos, and don't get hit with a return. Selling faster usually means pricing lower — sometimes meaningfully lower.

Path B is an instant offer from a used-gear retailer. The industry works like this: retailers buy at roughly 50–70% of market value, resell at market, and the spread is their margin. That margin covers inspection, grading, warranty, cleaning, listing, customer service, and the cost of holding inventory that hasn't sold yet.

That's not a criticism — it's a real service, and it's what you're paying for when you choose convenience over waiting. We show the range (50–70%) rather than a single number because different retailers land in different places for different gear, and the final number depends on the actual condition of the item in hand.

The offer shown on our tool is an estimate. Final offers are set by the retailer after physical inspection. Cosmetic condition, functional issues, missing accessories, and shutter count can all move the number up or down from our estimate.

The gap between Path A and Path B is what you're paying for speed and certainty. No listing, no photos, no back-and-forth with buyers, no waiting weeks for the right offer, no shipping hassle, no returns, no dispute cases. Ship it, get paid.

For some people that gap is easily worth it — a working photographer's time is more valuable than the extra $200. For others it isn't — a patient seller with a nice item can absolutely close the gap. The point of this site is that you get to decide with real numbers instead of guessing.

Actuation counts matter less than most people assume. Shutter ratings are minimums, not expiration dates — plenty of shutters run well past their rating with no issue. A worn shutter is a repairable part, typically $200–400 at a service center.

On modern mirrorless bodies the question is fading fast. Many use electronic shutters most of the time, and some have no mechanical shutter at all. Retailers factor actuation count in during physical inspection; we don't adjust our estimates for it, because a rough count without the body in hand isn't useful.

Being honest about the limits is the whole point. We don't know:

• What a specific retailer will offer on a specific day for your specific item.
• How your gear will grade until someone with it in their hands inspects it.
• How fast it'll sell if you list it yourself, or at exactly what price.
• Whether a listing will get returned or disputed.

Our numbers are a well-sourced starting point, not a quote. Treat them as the shape of the decision, not the final answer.

Retailers pay us for referred sellers, and we earn affiliate commissions on some outbound links. That's the business.

Ranking, matching, and the estimates shown are based on the data, not on who pays us. If we ever change that, we'll say so here.