Three questions decide a used purchase: who graded it, what they warrant, and how long you have to send it back. I ask all three before I pay, because a cheaper body is cheaper only if it works. Here is where to buy camera and film gear online, what each seller commits to, and how to tell an upgrade from a model number.
| Where you are buying | What it commits to |
|---|---|
| MPB | Five written cosmetic grades |
| B&H used department | 90-day limited parts and labour warranty |
| B&H new gear | 30-day return from delivery |
| eBay | Return terms stated in the listing |
A used listing shows photographs of the item. They do not tell you whether the shutter has fired four thousand times or four hundred thousand, whether the glass has fungus, or whether the shop will take the body back when the autofocus hunts.
MPB grades every item cosmetically on five levels, from Like new to Heavily used. The company says the grade covers the body and casing only: accessories are listed separately and not guaranteed (MPB help centre, read 11 November 2026).
Ask the three questions of the listing itself. A shop that grades in writing is answerable for the grade; a shop that says only “excellent condition” is answerable for nothing.
The cheapest body is the one you can send back.
Three kinds of seller, each with terms you can hold them to.
01
Used bodies and lenses, graded cosmetically
A shutter count published where one applies, fungus named with its severity, and no stock images: each item is photographed individually with its own SKU (MPB help centre, read 11 November 2026).
Best for a body you cannot hold first. The grade is a written claim rather than an adjective, so a body that arrives rougher than its description is a conversation with evidence in it.
02
A used department with its own policy, not a clearance shelf
The warranty covers operational faults in normal use and excludes drops, spills, sand and tampering, with repair, exchange or refund at B&H’s discretion (B&H used-item policy, read 11 November 2026).
A used purchase can be returned within 30 days of the purchase date once an RMA is issued. B&H reserves the right to refuse the return, or to charge a 15% restocking fee, if the item comes back in a different condition.
Best for a lens that has to earn money this month. The window is long enough to find the decentring you missed in the first week.
03
Discontinued bodies, film cameras, adapters, odd accessories
eBay asks every listing to state the return criteria, the period, who pays return shipping and how a refund is issued (eBay, read 11 November 2026).
eBay also protects a seller on orders of $750 or more only when the parcel carries signature confirmation, with shipping and tax counted in that total.
Best for film gear, where the supply is private sellers rather than shops. Read the return line before the description, because on a marketplace the return policy is the warranty.
Three decisions that save the most.
04
A rental on your own body
Rental houses such as Lensrentals inspect every rental, and publish teardowns and field notes from the technicians who do the inspecting (Lensrentals blog, read 11 November 2026).
Best for a focal length you have never owned. A rental answers the only question that matters: whether you reach for it a second time.
05
Choose the system, not the body
Camera makers shipped 6,609,813 interchangeable-lens cameras in 2024, and 5,612,205 of them were mirrorless, 85% of that category. Shipments of single-lens reflex cameras fell 14.4% over the same year, to 997,608 units (CIPA, 27 February 2025).
Best for a first serious camera. The mount decides what you can rent and resell in five years, and the numbers say which kind of body the makers are still building.
06
One body, one reason to replace it
MPB compares a shutter count to mileage on a car, and notes that makers rate shutters from around 50,000 to over 300,000 actuations depending on the model; the count is published where one applies (MPB help centre, read 11 November 2026).
Best for anyone who upgrades every year. Nothing in that range is a calendar. A body leaves when a job fails because of it, and the shutter count is how you see that coming.
Together they catch most of the mistakes.
This is not an argument for buying new. New gear is right when a body has to survive a season of paid work from its first week. Used gear is right when the money is better spent on glass. Shipping, sales tax and return postage are part of the price, and a body that goes back crosses the country twice.
The body you own is good enough for most of the work it is asked to do. The money saved by not replacing it early buys a lens you will still be using when the body is gone.
The work this gear does is on the recent work page, and what a session costs is on the investment page. If the question is a first camera against a first booking, starting a photography business here is the other half of this decision.