If you don’t have the money to buy a brand-new drone for either your hobby or your work, you can always think about buying a secondhand drone. We are not against the idea of buying a used equipment for aerial photography. As long as its quality and “health” remains the same as it was brand new, it would yield the same output.
But even though you try to find a faultless secondhand drone, it can’t be helped that some unscrupulous beings would still take advantage of you. To get your hands on the best secondhand quality drone, you can follow this little guide we compiled for you.
Recognizing a good deal
Sellers would always price their products according to the value they paid for it. They would always fail to look at the current market price of the products, which put them in a weird position of selling the item for almost the same price as a brand-new one.
Before paying for a secondhand item, search for the exact model and specifications in the market. Check the current price and see how much you are getting as discount from buying a secondhand item. You need to be able to negotiate a price well if you’re buying something that has been used before.
Inspecting the drone
You should definitely not pay for a secondhand drone for aerial photography that you haven’t checked personally. Only buy from sellers who will offer to show the drone to you, so that puts your buyer’s range within your area or neighborhood. The first thing to check on a drone is cracks.
A minor crack will show that the drone has been in a crash. There might not be any serious damage to the shell, but problems could persist inside. Test all the parts—the propellers, the gimbal, the camera, the signal, the GPS, the interface, etc. Ask the seller if he could allow a test flight, so you can check the drone’s and the camera’s functions.
Checking the flight logs and battery history
The 3DR Solo, the Yuneec, and DJI products offer a feature where it logs the flights and the battery history. This would allow you, the secondhand buyer, to estimate the hours of service and the number of flights.
A simple look at the battery logs will show how much the battery has been recharged and discharged. Owners can delete this information, but some don’t even bother.