Korean Job Discussion Forums

dory · Joined: 27 May 2010

Anyone know if the camera stores in technomart or namdaemun will take trade-ins?

tophatcat · Joined: 09 Aug 2006 Location: under the hat

dory · Joined: 27 May 2010

an e-pl1.

an olympus four thirds micro, (interchangeable lens) camera. it was 800k when i got it but probably more like 250k now.

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

spicy · Joined: 25 Oct 2009 Location: Sinchon / Ewha / Hongdae

I have a buddy who's a salesman in Namdaemun. Met him randomly one day when I ran into Brian Keathley (one of the head guys on Seoul Photo Club group on Flickr), said he'd been using him for film needs pretty reliable for the past year or so, so I started using him. That was 12mo ago.

I've bought probably 3mil or so worth of stuff through him, traded in probably 2mil worth of stuff through him. Also have another good friend who I introduced him to who also uses him.

He's pretty reliable, a nice guy (we go out and grab dinner together once a month or so), and honest. His English is good too.

Only thing is that his trade-in prices aren't too great (part of the reason why his outright pricing is really competitive), so he's much better to just buy from, rather than doing trade-ins. But if you're looking for used gear, he's proven very reliable and straightforward regarding condition.

He mostly specialized in film, but also does all the major digital bodies/lenses, and has proven pretty good about being able to source stuff (I've texted him requests about looking for obscure lenses, and he'll usually get back to me within an hour or two saying he's got one or can get one -- only once did he say he didn't think there were many in Korea and that one would be verrrryy expensive).

PM me if you want his details. I can point you towards his personal website, which is pretty good and kept up-to-date.

rendragmc · Joined: 21 May 2010

I thought the guys in Namdaemum were pretty fair. Agreed that the trade-in prices are never gonna be as good as if you sold them yourself....but it relieves you of the hassle of finding a buyer. I traded two lenses last year and bought a "new" used lens. I think I got about 70% of what I could have sold it for individually. I went to several shops and they all were very similar on how much they'd give me for trade-in.