GuidesUpdated By Federico Ragusa
How to read a used listing before you buy
Before you pay for anything second-hand, check five things in the listing: the exact model, the condition, what you pay in total with postage, where it ships from and who is selling.
The seller writes the listing, so it shows the good side and goes quiet about the rest. When one of the five is missing, ask for it. The same checks work for a camera, a phone, a record or a bike.
Find the exact model
The title of a listing gives the commercial name, but the price depends on the exact model, and the two often differ. A Canon AE-1 and a Canon AE-1 Program are two cameras with two prices; so are an iPhone with 128 GB and one with 256 GB; "Sony headphones" can mean ten things.
The exact model is on the item itself: on the label underneath, in the settings menu, on the back of a record sleeve. If the listing does not give it, ask for a photo of that label. Settle the model before anything else, because comparing two different models gets the price wrong from the start.
Condition: what the seller declares, what the photos show
"Great condition" is an opinion. Look for the sentence that describes something: "a scratch on the back", "the battery lasts a day", "one corner of the sleeve is bent". Someone who writes like that has looked at their item; someone who writes "like new" and nothing else may not have.
Then check it against the photos. A blurry photo of a glossy item hides scratches; a photo with the screen off hides dead pixels. For a phone, ask for the screen switched on and showing white; for a camera, a photo of the lens held up to the light; for a record, the surface tilted towards a lamp.
- Always ask for a photo of the side you cannot see.
- For electronics: whether it turns on, charges, and every function works.
- For a record or a book: the grade on the scale sellers use, not an adjective.
- For clothes or a bag: a measurement taken with a tape, not the size on the label.
The price is what you pay in total
The big number in the listing is the price of the item. What matters is what you pay in total: the price, postage and, where there is one, the marketplace fee. On Vinted, buyer protection is added on top of the price; on eBay postage is separate and changes from seller to seller; on a classifieds site it is often left to be agreed.
So an item at £82 plus £7 postage costs more than one at £88 with postage included. It sounds obvious, and it is the most common mistake when comparing listings across sites. If postage is not stated, do not count it as free: count it as unknown, and ask.
Where it ships from, and whether it ships to you
Marketplaces show listings from all over Europe. A seller who only posts within their own country, or only hands over in person, drops out of your comparison however good the price. Check the town and the postage line before you get attached to it.
Where it ships from also tells you how long you will wait and what a return would cost, where the site allows one. At the same price, an item that arrives from your own country in two days is worth more to you than the same item from abroad in ten.
Who is selling
Look at the seller's other listings. A person selling their old camera has one listing, maybe two; someone with forty identical phones is a shop, with a shop's rules, and their price belongs in a comparison with shops, not with private sellers.
Other buyers' ratings count, but read what they say, not just how many there are: "arrived on time" and "as described" are the two phrases you want to find.
Compare with the others, then decide
Once you have the exact model, the condition and the total price, you can judge the listing properly. Compare it with other listings for the same item in the same condition, always with postage included: what other sellers ask today gives you the range a fair price sits in. Above it, wait or haggle; inside it, let the condition decide; below it, check again that it really is the same item.
Used camera prices, model by model
The typical price sits in the middle: for each model, half the sellers ask less and half ask more, delivery included. We only count offers that compare: same condition, delivery stated. We read the offers again several times a day, and the table is worked out again every hour. Prices read on 28 October 2026.
| Model | Typical price | Lowest | Compared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fujifilm FinePix S3000 | £21 | £11.60 | 44 |
| Fujifilm FinePix A210 | £23 | £11.65 | 40 |
| Fujifilm FinePix A330 | £26 | £12.49 | 40 |
| Canon EOS 300D | £41 | £19.99 | 37 |
| Fujifilm FinePix A204 | £23 | £13.94 | 35 |
| Fujifilm FinePix A202 | £18 | £10.94 | 27 |
| Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 | £60 | £40.04 | 27 |
| Fujifilm FinePix 2600 Zoom | £22 | £14.99 | 25 |
| Fujifilm FinePix MX-1200 | £21 | £12.94 | 25 |
| Fujifilm FinePix A850 | £38 | £19.53 | 25 |
| Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 | £34 | £19.52 | 23 |
| Fujifilm FinePix A340 4.0MP Digital Camera (Tested Working) | £26 | £13.90 | 22 |
What to ask before you pay
Keep the questions short and direct. A serious seller answers in five minutes.
- What is the exact model? Can you send a photo of the label?
- Are there any faults that do not show in the photos?
- How much is tracked postage to this address?
- How long have you used it, and why are you selling?
- For electronics: is it unlocked and signed out of every account?
What NotDone does
NotDone does this reading for you. From a photo or a listing it works out what the item really is, reads the declared condition, adds postage to the price and checks whether the seller posts to where you are. Then it compares the offers of other sellers for the same item and tells you: buy it, sell it, keep it or wait. The app is not out yet; the comparison of offers is already on this site, model by model.
Is a listing without a postage cost a problem?
Yes, until the seller tells you what it is. Ask before you make an offer: on a thirty-pound item, postage can be a quarter of the price. If no answer comes, assume the dearest postage you can think of and decide on that.
Is the lowest price always the best?
No. The lowest price often hides a different model, a worse condition or postage that has not been counted. Compare only offers for the same model in the same condition, postage included, and pick the lowest of those.
Can I trust the photos?
Photos show what the seller chose to show. Ask for the ones that are missing: the serial number, the device switched on, the side you cannot see. Someone with a good item sends them gladly; someone who stalls has already answered you.
Should I haggle?
Yes, when you have a reason. "Others are selling it for less", with a listing to show, works; "any discount?" with nothing behind it does not. If the price is already in line with what other sellers ask, haggling gains little: ask for tracked postage instead.