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I am looking for a place to find used or inexpensive photography equipment like tripods, light stands, backdrops, ext.

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Beyond ebay & Craigslist, here are a couple other ideas:

  • Watch for refurbs at Adorama. I think you can find these from some other vendors, too. At a minimum, use these prices as absolute top-dollar for used equipment (if you can buy it refurbished for $X, you wouldn't want to pay more for it used).
  • Adorama (as well as many camera shops) also carries used equipment, but you won't find too many steals on this stuff. The only benefit is that these guys will do a good job of grading equipment, so if they say it's in good shape, it's in good shape.
  • Watch for used stuff from rental outfits like lensrentals.com -- this stuff is well-used, obviously, but it's also (generally) well-maintained. If a lens comes back w/ a complaint about something, it'll be serviced before it's rented out again. On top of that, the people who are renting from these vendors are serious about their camera equipment, and they're likely to know how to take care of it (you don't ship in a 400mm f/2.8 lens for Billy's birthday party).
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The well-regarded used camera dealer KEH has categories for tripods and light stands. I could not find one for backgrounds in a quick look.

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KEH is decent, but they're a business, and so their prices are obviously skewed to make a profit.

I've found that the buy and sell forums on Fred Miranda are one of the best places to buy used equipment from reputable sellers.

I've purchased several light stands from sellers there.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I have had good results with KEH \$\endgroup\$
    – labnut
    Commented Apr 19, 2011 at 19:27
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Check you local photography store, they have tons of used equipments (that are often not cataloged on the web). Keeble & Schucat in the SF Bay area, B&H in NYC are some well known stores.

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In the UK, most camera shops have at least some second hand gear.

I have used Jacobs in the past, (both for new and second-hand) and I liked them.

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