Zen Ray Resale Value?

[OSCAR1987]

I am laid up with foot surgery and trying to decide what gear I want to sell now and possibly upgrade later when I get back on my feet. I bought a set of Zen Ray 10X42 Binos last summer for @ $225 and I like them, but I might want higher magnification for next hunting season. I took them to a pawn shop and they offered me ten bucks. I wanted at least $75. The guy dismissed them as "made in China" crap.  GRR! This guy is ignorant!  Is this the common attitude about Zen Ray? This will have a bearing on my purchase decision when I upgrade. I will have to stay under the $500 mark and stay married.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[JackOfAllTrades]

Certainly... ZenRay is a young company when compared to Zeis, Swaro, Leupold, Bushnell, Nikon and Leica.  But not all pawn shop workers know every brand and quality of such. You'll probably see interest on the birder forums and maybe some of the hunting forums regarding ZenRay.

What model are they? You might put them in the classifieds here.

-Steve

[bobcat]

Pawn shop definitely is not a good place to sell optics unless you're really desperate and in a hurry. But even then it would have to be something more well known. I think you could easily sell them on here for $75 or a little more.

[OSCAR1987]

My wife put them on Ebay and they immediately got bid at $75
I guess they are more aware of the value than that idiot at the pawn shop. She put a buy it now at $150 about half the new price so PM me if you want the link to that ad- Ends tomorrow (Sunday)
I still want suggestions about what a good replacement pair would be under $500
I think a higher magnification might be useful because I still have a cheap pair of Bushnell 8X40 that are plenty good for the West side, but we plan to go to the East side next season
Suggestions??

[bobcat]

For hand held binoculars most people don't go over 10x. I have 8's and 10's but would like to get a 15x sometime, but I wouldn't want it for my only binocular. With a 15x bino you would need to use a tripod or something else to steady it. You'd be surprised how far you can spot animals with a GOOD 10x binocular.

[OSCAR1987]

I have only hunted the east side 1 time for 5 days last early bow for deer. saw a lot of whitetails and got close twice. I want to try it for rifle deer next year and will take my cheapo 8X40 Bushnell for brushy areas and whitetails around Methow. I will still want another set for the more wide open areas while mule deer hunting and don't mind using a mono pod or something for stability.

[bobcat]

Here is a good quality 15x56 if you can save up another $100 (or lie to the wife).  These are $899 but you can get the open box/demo unit for $599:

http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/minox.pl?page=62036

[bobcat]

Or you can spend a lot less money and get a Pentax 12x50 for $159:

http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/pentax.pl?page=pentax65809

[OSCAR1987]

Those Pentax might be the ticket
Thanks!

[bobcat]

I'm actually tempted to buy those 12x50's for $159 also! The fact that they are only $199 (regular price) doesn't mean they are low quality- it's just because they are porro prisms which are cheaper to make than the roof prisms. Thing is they are also bulkier and heavier but in certain situations it may not matter. I think these 12x Pentax binos would be a good one to have. But you wouldn't want to spend a whole lot of time hiking with them.

[OSCAR1987]

The ones I put on Ebay will probably sell for that much so I might be able to call that a wash and spend the $500 on a hunt next season!

[bearpaw]

I use Swarovski 15x56's all the time. You just need a steady hand and to get used to them. Not sure how 15x would be in a cheaper brand. I always thought a 12x would be a good midway binocular.

Get the best you can afford, for 20 years I bought numerous cheap binoculars, I got my Swarovski's 10 years ago and have not bought a pair since. I have a couple pairs of Burris that the CEO of Burris gave me, they are pretty fair, but they are definitely not of the same quality as Swarovski.

[OSCAR1987]

Thanks, Dale

[OSCAR1987]

I finally figured out how to post to classifieds here. I listed the item number to the Ebay auction. Hope thats acceptable...I don't want to greak any board rules.

[OSCAR1987]

Guys
The binos sold for over $100!