There is no secret in the last ten years I have reviewed and used some of the best scopes on the market and I have seen a trend happening within the scope world where what would be deemed high-end scopes even 2 to 3 years ago are now becoming far more affordable, non more than the night vision market.
The problem though is the second hand market, I for one have never really been able to buy highend scopes brand new, so testing and borrowing from the manufacturers to do reviews allowed me to play with the expensive toys, in view of this the only option for me personally buying secondhand, like many, was a better option to be able to own good glass, but the second hand market is swamped now with guys looking for original retail value of the scopes they bought 5 years ago and now it is more viable to buy new instead of old.
I understand that in times gone buy that buying a scope was an investment and good glass held its money but things have sincerely changed. Here is a couple of examples of what I mean.
A lot of guys are still trying to sell their second hand Zeiss Diavari's for around £700 to £1000, original retail for a 3-12x was £1300, now arguably yes the Diavari is a good scope but Zeiss updated their Conquest range in the last few years with the V4 now being sold for between £575 (R Macleods and Son) to £900 (in other places), the Conquest V4 stats are pretty much the same as the Diavari, so is spending the same money on a second hand scope as you would on a new one with better features really worth it?
The same has happened with the nightvision and thermal markets so it is not just clear glass where the issue is with, I saw an advert (not on here) the other day of a guy wanting £2800 for his Quantum XD50 that is 5 years old, but, you can buy a brand new Helion for less money, it makes no sense.
Don't get me wrong I understand the value of good glass, my first decent scope was a Swaro Habicht and it cost me £750 secondhand, I bought and still own a Meopta 7x50 for £150 from a member on here and it is still a fantastic scope and prompted me to buy a 3-12x50 Artemis 2000 again that I still use and got for £250 so the bargains are still out there but they are getting harder and harder to find within the second hand market.
Recently I thought with the price of glass coming down I have managed to buy new and it has been phenomenal to get access to equipment that allow me to shoot longer ranges a lot easier.
I know in the end I understand it is just people trying to redeem the majority cost of their old stuff to buy new, but in many cases it is hard to understand the justification. At the moment the secondhand scope market is NOT a buyers market and sellers refusing to budge on pricing means it is not a market at all.
Bit of advice when selling, look at what is available new before you think about how much you spent on your equipment, there is no point trying to sell a piece of equipment at a higher price than what you can get similar or better for new.
Just a thought.
The problem though is the second hand market, I for one have never really been able to buy highend scopes brand new, so testing and borrowing from the manufacturers to do reviews allowed me to play with the expensive toys, in view of this the only option for me personally buying secondhand, like many, was a better option to be able to own good glass, but the second hand market is swamped now with guys looking for original retail value of the scopes they bought 5 years ago and now it is more viable to buy new instead of old.
I understand that in times gone buy that buying a scope was an investment and good glass held its money but things have sincerely changed. Here is a couple of examples of what I mean.
A lot of guys are still trying to sell their second hand Zeiss Diavari's for around £700 to £1000, original retail for a 3-12x was £1300, now arguably yes the Diavari is a good scope but Zeiss updated their Conquest range in the last few years with the V4 now being sold for between £575 (R Macleods and Son) to £900 (in other places), the Conquest V4 stats are pretty much the same as the Diavari, so is spending the same money on a second hand scope as you would on a new one with better features really worth it?
The same has happened with the nightvision and thermal markets so it is not just clear glass where the issue is with, I saw an advert (not on here) the other day of a guy wanting £2800 for his Quantum XD50 that is 5 years old, but, you can buy a brand new Helion for less money, it makes no sense.
Don't get me wrong I understand the value of good glass, my first decent scope was a Swaro Habicht and it cost me £750 secondhand, I bought and still own a Meopta 7x50 for £150 from a member on here and it is still a fantastic scope and prompted me to buy a 3-12x50 Artemis 2000 again that I still use and got for £250 so the bargains are still out there but they are getting harder and harder to find within the second hand market.
Recently I thought with the price of glass coming down I have managed to buy new and it has been phenomenal to get access to equipment that allow me to shoot longer ranges a lot easier.
I know in the end I understand it is just people trying to redeem the majority cost of their old stuff to buy new, but in many cases it is hard to understand the justification. At the moment the secondhand scope market is NOT a buyers market and sellers refusing to budge on pricing means it is not a market at all.
Bit of advice when selling, look at what is available new before you think about how much you spent on your equipment, there is no point trying to sell a piece of equipment at a higher price than what you can get similar or better for new.
Just a thought.
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