It is relatively safe to buy used lenses at a camera shop because you can personally inspect them before buying. However, the lure of online auctions cannot be denied. Online auctions or sales open up a huge number and variety of lenses to you. You will no longer be restricted to the limited number as well as quality of used lenses available at your local camera shops.

Of course, while there’s a much wider range of used lenses to choose from online, they also come in a wide variety of conditions. For example, if you are looking for the popular Nikkor AF-S 80-200mm ED-IF lens, you will find quite a few being sold in eBay at any one time. However, they are not all the same. If you check each auction out, you will see that they range from brand-new lenses to broken lenses that can only be used as spare parts.