MPB is one of the largest online platforms in the world for purchasing, selling, and trading used photo and video equipment. The company, founded by Matt Barker in 2011, lives by a simple credo: to make equipment accessible and affordable to image lovers while contributing to a more sustainable future.
As we know, while the new market is not often accessible to everyone, it is not always easy to find your happiness on the used market either.
The fear of acquiring damaged goods, the lack of confidence in online shopping… these are the obstacles that the second-hand market sometimes faces. That’s why MPB makes sure to offer a safe platform, managed by a team of passionate specialists.
MPB, 400,000 items put back into circulation every year
“Buying used from MPB is just as quick, easy and secure as buying brand new. Our product specialists check, grade and verify every camera and lens to make sure they’re all in good working order,” asserts Matt Barker, CEO and founder of MPB.
Unlike in the new goods market, the choice here is to rely on a circular economy: “more sustainable than a linear model of manufacture, consumption and waste. Camera equipment, in particular, is built to last for many years,” observes the MPB representative.
MPB guarantees its customers a wide selection of camera bodies, lenses, cameras, filters, and accessories at accessible prices while offering very interesting trade-in offers.
One can find a lot of Leica cameras, a Sony Alpha A7 III at $1,369, basic lenses such as a Sigma 24–70mm f/2.8 DG DN ART at $1,029 in perfect condition, or Fujifilm X100T at $979.
In total, MPB has over 625,000 satisfied photographers, while releasing more than 400,000 products each year.
MPB: An eco-responsible model
The company’s approach also addresses environmental issues by putting an end to overconsumption and meeting an obvious demand on the part of photography amateurs and professionals.
“As environmental concerns are becoming increasingly important to greater numbers of people, they’re realizing that buying and selling used just makes sense. MPB is making it as quick and easy as possible for people to make that change,” notes Barker.
MPB’s business model is thus 100% circular, and aims to increasingly reduce the environmental impact of the business. “Our packaging is plastic-free and uses sustainably sourced card and paper that is easy to reuse or recycle,” says the general manager. Today, more than half of the electricity used by MPB comes from renewable sources. The goal is to reach 100% by 2025.
“We’re transparent about our sustainability performance, so we’re publishing all our sustainability data at mpb.com/impact,” Barker adds.
A secure site with a passionate team
MPB’s mission is to provide a secure online platform to inspire confidence in buyers and sellers alike. Because this is what often holds many photographers back: the lack of trust in online platforms, whether selling or buying photographic equipment.
Based in Brighton, Brooklyn, and Berlin, MPB’s team of 380 across the three locations includes hardware specialists and experienced photographers who inspect each photo kit they send out. Upon purchase, each product comes with a six-month warranty, “which gives our customers the assurance of the reliability of the used equipment they purchase,” the site promises.
“Our teams of product specialists check each camera and lens against quite a long list of different criteria. In brief, we conduct exhaustive testing on the item’s performance. We search for various types of damage. And we check for every single potential issue that could face the camera or lens.”
Every product on MPB’s website has a precise description: product photo, physical condition, price, number of hours of use, number of shots… The product is thus classified according to five categories, depending on its external and technical condition, from “Like new” to “Heavily used.”
MPB, “Making photo and video kits more accessible than ever”
To sell an item, all you need to do is fill out a form about the product to get a quote from the MPB team. If the condition of the equipment is as stated, MPB confirms the price and issues payment immediately. Customers are also able to trade in their equipment: no more cameras and lenses gathering dust at the back of your closet.
There is no doubt about the quality of service and the professionalism of the platform: among nearly 23,000 reviews given on the platform, 93% have given it 5 stars out of 5. “The site is transparent about the condition of the products and the photos are of the equipment on sale. The quality-to-price ratio is just amazing!,” commented one user.
In a constantly changing market, where some major brands, such as Nikon, are putting an end to the production of digital SLRs, the secondhand market has a lot to offer and, with MPB, Matt Barker intends to pursue his strategy of “continuing to make photo and video kits more accessible than ever.”
To sell, buy, or trade, visit: www.mpb.com
