I'm sensing a theme on used P3’s

[HMR]

So I'm looking diligently on Craig's list and noticing a theme. Almost everyone who is selling is either admitting on the add or in subsequent emails that they just don't use them as much as they had hoped, as the reason for selling.

Now I have to admit I have a similar concern and that's one of the main reasons for looking a used ones. I don't want to tie up too much capital on a part time endeavor. And being in the Chicago area, it can't be as exciting to fly as say Colorado, California or any other scenic state.

So I am just wondering, are these guys expecting too much from their drones, did they have too much money at first or did they just get bored after a few flights?

Any of you hard core guys and gals have similar thoughts? And if so how did you overcome the impulse to sell?

Guess I am kinda looking for help so if I ever feel that way, I have an arsenal of good thoughts and ideas to carry me thru the tough times when she is in the closet and my wife is complaining. Lol

But it sure was interesting to see that excuse every time.

 

[Dirty Bird]

I'm guessing "I don't use it as much as I thought I would" sounds better than "I crashed it & want to unload this thing!"

 

[Oso]

So I'm looking diligently on Craig's list and noticing a theme. Almost everyone who is selling is either admitting on the add or in subsequent emails that they just don't use them as much as they had hoped, as the reason for selling.

Now I have to admit I have a similar concern and that's one of the main reasons for looking a used ones. I don't want to tie up too much capital on a part time endeavor. And being in the Chicago area, it can't be as exciting to fly as say Colorado, California or any other scenic state.

So I am just wondering, are these guys expecting too much from their drones, did they have too much money at first or did they just get bored after a few flights?

Any of you hard core guys and gals have similar thoughts? And if so how did you overcome the impulse to sell?

Guess I am kinda looking for help so if I ever feel that way, I have an arsenal of good thoughts and ideas to carry me thru the tough times when she is in the closet and my wife is complaining. Lol

But it sure was interesting to see that excuse every time.

I started to get bored back in August and September. I started this thread and got a few good ideas.

Already bored - how do you stay excited to fly your P3? | DJI Phantom Forum

 

[Sashady]

Or the "I paid $799, but am selling for the regular price of $999"

 

[BVC]

It's a toy.

I'd buy it new but I get some folk just can't afford it and used is an only option. Which is fine but just do your part and fully check things out and if it functions then roll with it <that's what I live by

 

[Rumbaar]

Yeah, like used cars. I only drove it on Sunday to church, will be the answer to why you're selling it.

 

[With The Birds]

One lady owner only driven to church on sundays and always garaged....

Makes sense.

They arent gonna say just got it back from dji after the third flight into the same tree.

Seriously, if you dont think you are going to have a lot of interest in it grab a cheap quad first and see if it is your thing.

If you have an existing interest in photography and like technology this hobby will be your thing. The phantoms are avtually a good value proposition when you look at what you get and they are easy to fly ready to go out of the box.

 

[Dan jolliff]

One lady owner only driven to church on sundays and always garaged....

Makes sense.

They arent gonna say just got it back from dji after the third flight into the same tree.

Seriously, if you dont think you are going to have a lot of interest in it grab a cheap quad first and see if it is your thing.

If you have an existing interest in photography and like technology this hobby will be your thing. The phantoms are avtually a good value proposition when you look at what you get and they are easy to fly ready to go out of the box.

I think it would be very hard to buy a used one unless you have some experience with them, could have problems. Like anything it should
Be tested by some one that used used one a good bit.

With only a couple months experience with mine I would agree it will not be as fun always but like having fishing poles and golf clubs I hardly ever use, I will be keeping mine. I have a Others sell the toys and move on. Just be careful on the used one as these are not designed for a lifetime and could be worn out and will be like your Walkman some day with better toys in you hand and the phantom forgotten and it will not have much value I have a mixed bag of uses for mine from work to recreation and these are a great value for
A quad. If you fly it for fun 25 times you will have your money's worth
They are amassing

 

[Droneted]

E Bay is full of crashed drones. Sometime they don't tell u they crashed it. Those always come with issues. I bought one that didn't say it was crashed. I should have studied the photos better. It came complete with cracks. I went back and studied the photos and there they were. The main board was sitting on broken mounts so it was free floating. There was even a piece of metal in one of the motors. Lucky for me the seller fessed up and gave me a big discount. I replace the motor and body. It if fine now and a cheap buy. You have to have the skill set to work on these. And a lot of luck. I would advise u to be very careful. If the price seems cheap there is a reason.

 

[Jimmykjimmy]

I knew this would happen. A drone without a purpose..photography, video, commercial will entertain just so long. Flying it continuously in your neighborhood will only irritate the neighbors. And bore the hell out of you.
There will be lots of used drones for this reason. And by next year at this time the fad will be gone.


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[b0dyr0ck2006]

I couldn't agree more, I would wager that most of the sales in the last few months have been people wanting a new toy to play with, then realise it's not really a toy and the don't really have the enthusiasm for it so end up selling to try and make back a little money. Obviously you also have the chancers who have crashed it and are trying to scam sell.

 

[Jeff48920]

DJI has been selling these things as "Your Flying Camera" since the P2 days. That is, specifically what it does best. It isn't the fastest, most maneuverable, or most fun quad on the market. Hell, even a $39 RTF Syma X5C-1 will do flips! What a Phantom 3 is, is a fantastic and interesting platform for photography. Like a great DLSR or high end single purpose video camera, unless you make time to find and travel to interesting places to shoot, you WILL become "bored" with your camera and it will be sitting in the corner and you will be wondering why in the hell you spent $3000 on the latest and greatest DSLR before you added the glass. By the way, I also found that some people who are disappointed with their Phantoms or DSLRs refuse to take the time necessary to choose the right lenses, filters and get the right sun angles and then get bored by the "mediocre" video and pictures. Ultimately they just blame the equipment or say they got bored with the hobby.
With FAA, Geo Fencing and worldwide restrictions cutting down the altitude, distance and places you can fly, many people will be further turned off by the Phantom/Inspire/Typhoon/Solo type SUAS and regret the amount they spent on the "limited use" toy.
My experience is that even after over 1,000,000 feet (200+ miles) and 150 flights on my P3 (with additional flights and miles on my old P2V and P2V+) I still get an adrenalin rush when I power the Phantom up and take off to shoot pictures and video that simply can't be obtained any other way.
Different strokes....

 

[AlexSP]

It's normal for that first excitement to go away after a while. But it's equally easy to find new and exciting things to do and learn, places to shoot and film, etc. with the P3.

I'm now taking part on a "game" that someone invented here a while ago, it's pretty cool. It started by each pilot making a "list" of places they'd personally like to shoot and/or film (like buildings, squares, parks, museums, etc.). Then you had to fulfill that "mission" to award points, then come up with a new list and so on.

Now it has changed, there's one big list of "targets" for all participating pilots to shoot, and each place is awarded points according to difficulty, access, interest, and other criteria like day or night, day of the week, etc. It's really exciting to plan a "strike" and do the shooting as stealthily as possible. It's pretty engaging and for me it's been helping with the propaganda for my filming company as well.

 

[Adam H]

DJI has been selling these things as "Your Flying Camera" since the P2 days. That is, specifically what it does best. It isn't the fastest, most maneuverable, or most fun quad on the market. Hell, even a $39 RTF Syma X5C-1 will do flips! What a Phantom 3 is, is a fantastic and interesting platform for photography. Like a great DLSR or high end single purpose video camera, unless you make time to find and travel to interesting places to shoot, you WILL become "bored" with your camera and it will be sitting in the corner and you will be wondering why in the hell you spent $3000 on the latest and greatest DSLR before you added the glass. By the way, I also found that some people who are disappointed with their Phantoms or DSLRs refuse to take the time necessary to choose the right lenses, filters and get the right sun angles and then get bored by the "mediocre" video and pictures. Ultimately they just blame the equipment or say they got bored with the hobby.
With FAA, Geo Fencing and worldwide restrictions cutting down the altitude, distance and places you can fly, many people will be further turned off by the Phantom/Inspire/Typhoon/Solo type SUAS and regret the amount they spent on the "limited use" toy.
My experience is that even after over 1,000,000 feet (200+ miles) and 150 flights on my P3 (with additional flights and miles on my old P2V and P2V+) I still get an adrenalin rush when I power the Phantom up and take off to shoot pictures and video that simply can't be obtained any other way.
Different strokes....

Couldn't have said it better myself. Exactly what I was thinking while reading all the comments.

 

[HMR]

All great posts/ideas. Being a pessimist at heart, my first thought is how bad was the crash or how bad is the fault that won't go away. But when talking to some of these guys it seems some genuinely just want to sell to get some of their $’s back. So we keep looking knowing there is the possibility of getting bored in flat ole illinois. Spending less $’s will certainly help in case I find myself steering at it in the corner of the room. Kind of what I find my self doing with my Nikon d7000 occasionally. Lol

Gonna look at a few in the coming weeks. Sure wish I had all your expertise in me when looking. I will do the best I can.


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[Pommo]

Seems to me like HONEST sellers are getting a bit of a slating here (the old 'tarring with the same brush' effect) Having bought my P3s a couple of months ago, I recently realised that I would like the benefits that Lightbridge brings with regards to better range, fpv etc, so I decided to sell my P3S in order to get funds to help me to buy a P3A. I put it on eBay and promptly sold it, albeit for quite a bit less than I paid, but that's to be expected. Mine had only been flown 12 times and had never been crashed or had any hard landings. So just to reiterate: eBay is not full of crashed drones, there are some honest sellers on there.


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