Recommendations for the best places to sell second hand astro gear in the UK?

[Mark_D]

Hi guys,

 

As the title suggests, I'm looking for the best places to sell astro gear in the UK. I don't want to put things on eBay because it's just not specialised enough so I don't think the audience would be quite right.

I spent an obscene amount of money on new equipment shortly before moving in with my girlfriend. Now that I'm here I simply don't have the space for it (the mount is large). I never even got the chance to use it, so somebody's about to get a very good deal! I just don't want to list it in the wrong places, so any suggestions would be welcome. Really the only places I'm aware of are a couple of Facebook selling groups.

 

Thanks!

[Elp]

If you contribute to the forums here you'll have access to the classifieds, it doesn't take long to qualify if you take an active interest in contributing to threads.

Astro Buy Sell UK is also decent.

I don't really understand the apprehension with eBay, its got the largest potential customer base far far higher than astro specific ones (you are looking to sell after all), if you time your listings during promotional periods the fees are also minimal.

But the first two, for a targeted audience whom likely won't mess you around.

[John]

I have used the UK Astro Buy & Sell website a lot and it works well. My experiences in both buying and selling have been positive.

Here is a link to the site:

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell (astrobuysell.com)

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Also had positive experience with Astro Buy-Sell.  The website is very 2002 but it has a lot of adverts on there.  It is just a bulletin board rather than a 'marketplace', so just a much more populated form of the SGL Classifieds.  All sales are private sales between individuals and the site takes on no liability.

The last transaction I had was purchasing a 2" Altair diagonal.  The seller was very trusting, expecting payment on it being delivered by post to my address!  I was rather taken aback by that level of trust but he had hundreds of transactions listed.  I'm very happy with the diagonal...

Edited February 10 by GrumpiusMaximus

[gp102m]

I can also recommend Astro Buy Sell UK. I've only purchased from there, but all experiences have been good.

[PhilB61]

I would also agree with AstroBuySell UK, it's a very active website with an astro specific audience. I have bought via the site a number of times over the last few years all have been very positive experiences, not sold anything yet. I have also had generally good experience with eBay both buying and selling.

[Giles_B]

I've had only good experiences from ABS, and also from the classifieds here. My experience is that prices are very fair, and if things go wrong (and I've been on both sides of the fence on this) both buyers and sellers are understanding and honest. Ebay is more of a mixed bag. I've been cautious and avoided any really bad buys, but I've had a really nit picky buyer who tried to get money off after the event for a small scratch on the barrel of an eyepiece. It was my mistake as I confess I hadn't noticed the mark (it was tiny!) but the buyer was really unpleasant about it - they wanted a 50% discount - and in the end I got fed up told them to return it for a refund - to their credit they did send it back. Overall it felt a very different experience to the much more congenial exchanges on ABS and SGL, so I tend to avoid ebay if I can.

[Naughty Neal]

For ebay be very wary , document  any item  in detail with pics.

[glafnazur]

I've bought and sold on here and ABS without any problems. I have also bought and sold telescopes on eBay without problems but that was many years ago before I knew about ABS and SGL. Personally I'd only use eBay if I had something to sell that I couldn't shift here or on ABS.

[mikeDnight]

17 hours ago, Mark_D said:

Hi guys,

 

As the title suggests, I'm looking for the best places to sell astro gear in the UK. I don't want to put things on eBay because it's just not specialised enough so I don't think the audience would be quite right.

I spent an obscene amount of money on new equipment shortly before moving in with my girlfriend. Now that I'm here I simply don't have the space for it (the mount is large). I never even got the chance to use it, so somebody's about to get a very good deal! I just don't want to list it in the wrong places, so any suggestions would be welcome. Really the only places I'm aware of are a couple of Facebook selling groups.

 

Thanks!

It's a slippery slope selling your stuff. You should remind her that boys come with toys, and if she doesn't like it she can move out. I'm sure she'll understand! 😂

[Mark_D]

On 11/02/2024 at 13:31, mikeDnight said:

It's a slippery slope selling your stuff. You should remind her that boys come with toys, and if she doesn't like it she can move out. I'm sure she'll understand! 😂

Haha well credit where it's due! She's allowed quite a few toys in so I don't want to push my luck too much! 😁

Thank you very much to everyone who offered advice. I've put a couple of things up on Astro Buy and Sell and the camera has gone already. Thanks very much for a great experience to David if you're on here! I've yet to put the biggie up though and that's the one which is going to sting the most as it's literally unused so I'm procrastinating massively 😆