In a moving photographic market, where cameras and lenses can reach unaffordable prices, second-hand became a relevant alternative for photographers who want quality equipment without spending a fortune. To bring enthusiasts and professionals to take the plunge and overcome the doubts that persist about the reliability of second-hand products, companies such as MPB offer the purchase, sale and exchange of photographic equipment guaranteed and inspected by professionals.
Since its inception in 2011, MPB, based in Brighton, Brooklyn and Berlin, has been committed to transforming the photography market by repurposing camera bodies, lenses and accessories. MPB has become the world’s largest online platform for buying, selling and trading used photo and video kits, bringing over 300,000 items back into circulation each year for enthusiasts and even creative professionals.
The company offers a double benefit: economic first for photographers, who can both safely resell their equipment and buy a wide range of products (from Canon to Leica, Manfrotto, Gopro or Hasselblad) at lower cost, and ecologically by significantly extending the life of photo kits.
These values are reinforced by the work of a team of specialists who inspect, document and categorize each product. The camera bodies, lenses or accessories offered on the site are thus displayed at a price that depends of the brand and model, but also on the aesthetic condition and the current photo market. There are no hidden defects and no bad surprises, especially since MPB offers a six-month warranty on all purchases to ensure the purchase of reliable equipment. The company, which is still relatively unknown in France, has acquired a solid international reputation, as illustrated by its 5-star rating based on 16,000 reviews on the customer review site TrustPilot.com.
A committed company
Driven by the evolution of society and the world of photography, MPB is constantly listening to these changes and accompanying them by supporting ambitious photographic projects: production of a video series on the photographic treatment of the Black Lives Matter movement, interviews and articles by photographers, awards and prizes, technical guides, exhibitions sponsors such as We are Here, featuring the work of black women photographers in Great Britain, etc.
The company also produces numerous articles, interviews and studies that reflect research and questioning of the way we consume technological equipment and that put ecology (partnership with the association One Tree Planted) and the circular economy at the forefront. MPB has financed research on the consumption of second-hand products in order to demonstrate the growing attraction of consumers towards the revalorization of products.
As a company anchored in the present and looking to the future of photography, MPB makes it possible to offer a relevant alternative to the traditional market and to show that second-hand is an appropriate response to both the economic challenges of photographers and the future of our society.
Benjamin Rullier
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