What to look for when buying a used camera?

[Luke2012]

I found guy on Craigs list selling a Nikon d3100 with the kit lens for $400 and i wanted to know if that's a good deal and what to look for to be sure its "like new"?

[ccting]

The new 3100 body is around that price.
a New kit lens is around $114.

I suggest you better buy a new one without kit lens, and then go for 50mm f/1.8 or 35mm f/1.8, which is about USD85-USD100 extra with 1 year waranty.

I have bad experience with kit lens. Why? It autofocus too slow and inaccurately indoor and not fast enough to ensure blur.... . For lighting, you need many stops power more to get the satisfactory effect..

D3100 comes with no motor, that means you need to buy AFS lenses which means you need to spend more money on new lenses.. For example, 50mm f/1.8 AFD is about USD85, but you have to buy AFS 50mm f/1.8 which cause you around USD228.

If i am you, and if I am going for Nikon, I will never consider D3100, D5100. I will go for 2nd D90 or D7000. You bet why that guy sells his D3100?

This is my own perception, please seek experts advice..

[OsmosisStudios]

Oh my.

Let's get some perspective on things, ccting:

D3100 body: I could not find the D3100 as a body-only item in the US, only in Canada. It costs $500.
50mm f/1.8D: Even the grey-market imports are not $85. These lenses are $130.
50mm f/1.8G AF-S: $220. Not a huge difference, but hey.
35mm f/1.8G AF-S: $200.

So, what you're suggesting is that the user buy a new body and new 50mm or 35mm lens. That means around $700.

So, $300 more. Furthermore, you're not taking into account the fact that few newcomers to SLRs know how to get the best out of a 35/50 prime lens. You also neglect the fact that the user asked for advice on what to look for when buying used, NOT what they should be buying.

Furthermore, you're further compounding things by discussing your own issues with equipment, which have been well-documented. You have issues with gear and need to learn how to use it before you complain and bash it.

[TheMoons678]

When buying used on CL I compare the price to what they sell for used on adorama.com, BHphotovideo.com, even eBay and obviously compare it to other ads on Craigslist. It usually takes 2 weeks of checking every day to see a fair price that a certain camera is selling for.

Once I feel I have found a good deal it's good just to double check that it works, doesn't have any issues, comes with the charger, and doesn't have an outrageously high shutter count. I like to meet at Starbucks. If you're not familiar with the camera, have them give you a demo to show that it works. Make sure the flash works (can pop up and fire), the memory card door works and recognizes a card, the battery door works, the USB jack looks intact. Make sure the autofocus works well. If they are selling just the body, ask if they will bring a lens so you can test the body. Never buy a body without testing it with a lens (and the same goes for buying a lens).

I bought my parents a d3100 with lens on CL last month for $350, but id expect to pay under $400 for just the body. 50mm 1.8D sell on CL for $80-$100 used here (but I'm not suggesting you get one for the d3100).

[Luke2012]

Originally Posted by TheMoons678

When buying used on CL I compare the price to what they sell for used on adorama.com, BHphotovideo.com, even eBay and obviously compare it to other ads on Craigslist. It usually takes 2 weeks of checking every day to see a fair price that a certain camera is selling for.

Once I feel I have found a good deal it's good just to double check that it works, doesn't have any issues, comes with the charger, and doesn't have an outrageously high shutter count. I like to meet at Starbucks. If you're not familiar with the camera, have them give you a demo to show that it works. Make sure the flash works (can pop up and fire), the memory card door works and recognizes a card, the battery door works, the USB jack looks intact. Make sure the autofocus works well. If they are selling just the body, ask if they will bring a lens so you can test the body. Never buy a body without testing it with a lens (and the same goes for buying a lens).

I bought my parents a d3100 with lens on CL last month for $350, but id expect to pay under $400 for just the body. 50mm 1.8D sell on CL for $80-$100 used here (but I'm not suggesting you get one for the d3100).

I was going to try to get one with the Kit lens for $400 They seem to sell for around $500 on flebay.