Thinking of buying a second hand camera
 

Never bought second hand and I'm worried that the camera might have been a stolen one. Is there a way to check a serial number?

Re: Thinking of buying a second hand camera
 

Start asking questions. Where'd you get it? How long did you use it? What did you buy that you're selling this one? If you get answers, it's a legit camera.

Re: Thinking of buying a second hand camera
 

Is there a way to check a serial number? That is a good question.

Haven’t found any good government site where serial numbers can be checked but there are some private sites that try and collect information where people can post serial numbers of their stolen cam. Unfortunately, it’s a hassle checking them and if one has to give out personal information to log in then who knows how good or safe the site is.

In the case of Sony USA, in one case I did call them, I think tech support, with a serial number question of a cam I was looking at and they checked their database and found it was unregistered. Unfortunately (again), this doesn’t mean it wasn’t stolen, only that it was never registered and a lot of people don’t register their gear. He did give me the date of manufacture so I could compare it with what the seller was telling me. He suggested asking to see the original sales tag (a good idea) but for the more consumer cams how many people keep their sales tags? In this case the seller said they didn’t have it.

If the cam being advertised doesn’t have some of the accessories, like the OEM charger, lens hood, owners manual, etc., that can be suspicious. If the price is really low and the seller says they need the money it’s probably because they didn’t want to run the ad very long in case the original owner discovered it.

Like Mike says, asking questions and trying to get a good feeling about the deal. If they’re nervous it could be a sign, or, maybe they’re just on drugs.

With a more pro-model cam that’s used for business I think it would be easier in one respect because the seller should keep a receipt for their tax records.

I’ve bought a lot of used gear over the years and haven’t got burned yet; however, there is always a first time.

Here’s an thought: If buying a used cam one needs to make sure the functions work. Take some video while talking about it, recording the audio, and include a picture of the seller in the video. If they don’t like that then, for sure, don’t buy it.

Re: Thinking of buying a second hand camera
 

Also try to find out what sorta video work they did. Google their name/email/ph#. You should be able to tell just by their answers & interest level.

Re: Thinking of buying a second hand camera
 

Is there something that's making you suspicious right off the bat?

While I've never personally bought a used camera, I have bought lots of other stuff that's used (through Ebay and CL) and have never had any concerns myself.

I know if buying "grey market" there are concerns, as someone shared a story from petapixel where a guy bought a "new" Nikon, but he had to send it in for service and Nikon told him the SNs on body and FW didn't match...

As noted earlier, ask a lot of questions, do some google work and see if the guys stories match up etc. That's about all you can do.

Re: Thinking of buying a second hand camera
 

Nothing making me feel dodgy! The seller insisted on talking by text - it turns out he is partially deaf, so it was his preferred method of chatting. Very nice chap, bought the camera!