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Smartphones were killing off DSLR and Compact cameras - gaining considerable momentum over the last few years. About 3 years ago a friend asked me for advice on selling a camera and said that none of the pawn shops accepted them any more, even new in the box. This was Canon gear. I asked a friend who ran a pawn shop in another city and he said they had tons of cameras and nobody buys them. He said everyone has a Smartphone with a camera now. An ex lost her photographer brother last year and asked me how to sell off some of his gear and I suggested contacting a local camera club. She later told me that she simply couldn't get rid of it (High end FF Nikon gear).
But new camera prices seemed to be going up in recent years, rather than down. The larger Camera dealers in my city used to offer credit for second-hand gear... but they aren't taking any second hand gear any more due to a glut on the market. They've got multiple copies of most lenses and bodies and the Quarantine Lockdown has caused people to rummage through all their possessions to sell anything that might have some value. Turns out no dealer wants to buy or trade 2nd hand camera gear any more and all the stores that used to accept trade-in are no longer doing so. It's looking like Cameras are all but useless after purchase, regardless of brand. I always assumed you'd be able to sell them but apparently that's not the case in 2020.
Is this death of 2nd hand trade in photographic gear a sign of a bottleneck in the industry? I'm sure the Pros who make a living will just buy whatever they want... but they don't account for the majority of sales. Would being unable to sell a camera change your future buying habits?
