Not sure about this deal?

I sent off my kit lens 18-55mm nikon lens (not VR). I sent the lens, lens cap, HB-33 lens hood and a Hoya Skylight filter and they offered $40.00 USD. I spoke to their buyer and the offer went to $50.00 USD. On their site they are offering the same lens for $125.00 USD, yet told me they are paying 70% of the lenses value. That math does not work for me. My question is would I be better off trying the Ebay route or do all those New York camera companies work pretty much the same. I'm not putting out the name of the company.

Added (1). They paid for the shipping and will return it also, just gotta make up my mind.

No way. I would try going craigslist. I sold my 18-55 for 80 and that was without hood and filter.

Not all NYC camera companies are trustworthy.

However, assuming you are dealing with one that is, you should never expect to get retail value of any used equipment. They are in the business of reselling your gear for a profit, and they can only do that by offering you a lower price.

The reason to sell to them is an instant sale without the hassle of trying to sell it yourself. If you go that route, you should not expect top dollar.

The only NY company I would trust is B&H Photo.

The thing that is taken into consideration is the age and overall condition of the lens. Perhaps your lens show above average signs of wear, or they found scratches (or worse… Fungus) on the elements. Things like that will be deducted from the offering price… OR they might not be offering a fair price. Also, your idea of "perfect/very fine/ etcetera" will probably be different than someone who sees them all of the time

For a simple "kit" lens, I would deal with a local camera shop (or even craigslist) before I would ship it somewhere. After all, since you had to pay for shipping, that cuts into your profit.

Considering you are trying to sell the most common lens (not an exaggeration) to a store that already has quite a number of them, you are lucky to be getting that amount. Someone who will later want to buy it used will want as low a price as possible.

Any business that deals with used items has to balance buybacks with resells *while still making a profit*. Some of these used lenses are being resold as low as $85, according to Google.eBay won't be much different-if you ask too high, your listing will be much lower on the page when sorted by price, and buyers will ignore you.

Try the craigslist route, as glenn suggests, as it is much more likely you'll find someone who isn't willing to search around for a better deal. Also, that potential $85 will mostly be yours, minus Craig's listing fee.