New research from MPB – the world’s largest online platform to buy, sell and trade used photo and video kit – has revealed the UK population is sitting on a treasure trove of unused cameras… over £19billion worth of unused photographic equipment to be precise!
Over half (53%) of UK adults have at least one unused camera in their home, with 22% having two or more.
The picture for camera equipment, such as lenses, isn’t quite as bad, but over two fifths of UK adults still have these lying around unused in their homes.
On average, almost £300 worth of unused camera gear is currently sitting in each UK household
When looking at how much the UK’s unused camera kit is worth, the average value belonging to consumers is estimated at £293.50. This means the entire country could be sitting on over £19billion worth of cameras and camera accessories that they don’t use.
Despite how much consumers stand to make, only a third (37%) have sold an old piece of tech in the last 10 years, with 73% admitting they’ve never traded in an old item in order to get a new one.
When asked why they hadn’t ever sold an unused piece of tech, the two most popular reasons consumers give are… they think they won’t get much money for it (47%) or someone close to them might need it one day (25%).
Matt Barker, founder and CEO of MPB, said, ‘Circularity should be a way of life but our research shows that this really isn’t the case when it comes to unused tech. There are opportunities online and on people’s doorsteps which allow them to give their unused items a new lease of life and they should grab them with both hands. Camera kit is specifically built to last. Your old smartphone might not be much use to someone as a smartphone anymore, but if you’ve got an unused camera in your drawer then get it back into circulation so somebody can make the most of it. You also stand to make some cash and offset the cost of a new piece of kit in the process.’
Could a small treasure trove of unused photo equipment be hiding in your drawers at home?
Photography kit appreciates in value
MPB analysed the average price movement across the top 100 pieces of photography kit consumers receive quotes for on its website and found from March 2020 to March 2022 the average piece of kit appreciated in value by 1.6%… good news for the 53% of consumers that have an unused camera in their home.
MPB’s Matt Barker commented, ‘Consumers are already buying and selling used clothes, cars and furniture, and seeing the great gains to be made from this. We want to highlight to them that there are also huge savings to be made in tech too. Taking cameras as an example, the average MPB customer saves a third when they buy a used model from us, compared to if they had bought that same model new. Savvy shoppers are catching on to this, but there are so many people still out of the loop.’
A map graphic showing the percentage of UK adults with unused cameras and camera equipment by region
Find out more…
The survey was commissioned by MPB and was conducted by Opinium Research, amongst 2,000 UK adults, from 11-15 March 2022.
Following this survey, MPB has created a report that reveale the value of unused tech across the nation and the buying and selling behaviours of UK consumers.
To view the full report just visit MPB unused tech survey.
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