Canon Printers Resale Value

Canon printers: price by condition

Seller-declared grades, sterling with an approximate US dollar equivalent at £1 ≈ $1.33 (July 2026). What each grade means.

What holds its value across Canon

• L-series lenses, marked by the red ring around the barrel — the professional line holds value far better than any body and routinely outlives the camera it was bought for
• Fast EF primes such as the 50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.8, which stayed in production for decades and adapt cleanly onto current RF mirrorless bodies
• The AE-1 and A-1 film bodies, which are the cameras a generation learned on and still sell steadily to students starting film
• RF-mount glass in general, because the line is current and the supply of used copies is still thin relative to demand

What pulls Canon resale value down

• Kit zooms bundled in every starter box, particularly the EF-S 18-55mm, which were made in enormous numbers and are close to worthless sold separately
• Fungus in the lens elements — it spreads, etches the coating permanently and makes a lens unsellable rather than merely cheaper
• Early low-resolution DSLR bodies, where the sensor generation dates the files far more visibly than the shutter count suggests
• Sticky aperture blades on old FD-mount lenses, caused by lubricant migrating onto the diaphragm, which needs a strip-down to fix

Identifying and dating yours

1. The serial number is on the base plate of a body and printed on the lens barrel near the mount — photograph both, because buyers use them to date the item
2. Shutter count is the real odometer on a DSLR: it is written into the EXIF of the last frame taken and free software reads it in seconds
3. The red ring marks L-series glass, and the EF, EF-S or RF designation printed by the mount tells a buyer immediately which bodies it will fit

What lifts any printer, whatever the label

Printers are cheap new and expensive to run, so buyers price on the cost and availability of cartridges rather than the machine.

• Models using widely available, affordable cartridges
• Laser printers, which have far lower running costs
• Duplex and network features
• Recent purchase with drivers still supported

And what pulls one down

• Discontinued or very expensive cartridge formats
• Dried or blocked inkjet print heads
• Discontinued drivers for current operating systems
• Very cheap inkjets, worth almost nothing

Working out what yours is worth

1. Print a test page and check for banding or gaps
2. Note the cartridge type and check it is still sold
3. Confirm drivers exist for current operating systems

What to state in the listing

• Brand, model, and whether inkjet or laser
• Cartridge or toner model numbers it takes
• Whether it prints, scans and copies, and whether it is wireless
• What ink is included and roughly how full, plus which cables are included

Brand, model and cartridge type: “HP Envy 6030 Printer, Uses 305 Cartridges, Wireless”. The cartridge number is genuinely useful because running costs decide the purchase. Say whether it is inkjet or laser and whether it scans and copies.

Preparing and photographing it

1. Print a test page and photograph it, which proves the printer works and shows the print quality.
2. Find the cartridge model numbers and note whether any ink is included and roughly how full.
3. Check the paper feed by running several sheets, since feed rollers are the common failure point.

1. The printer whole, from the front, with trays closed
2. An actual test page it has printed, held next to it
3. The cartridge bay open, showing what is installed
4. The model and cartridge numbers, plus the power and USB cables

When it sells best, and handing it over

Lifts in September and January, around school and work cycles. Laser printers and models with cheap cartridges sell fastest.

Remove the cartridges and tape them separately or the ink leaks in transit, which ruins the printer and the packaging. Heavy for its size, so weigh before quoting.

What buyers ask

Do Canon lenses hold their value better than bodies?

Yes, and by a wide margin. A body is dated by its sensor generation and depreciates steadily, while good glass keeps working across decades and adapts to new mounts.

What is shutter count and does it matter when selling?

It is the number of frames the camera has taken, the equivalent of mileage. Quote it honestly in the listing — buyers ask for it first and a low count genuinely helps.

How much is a Canon printer worth?

Roughly £26 to £105 depending on condition, against £25 to £100 for printers generally. The identification points above are what move a listing to the top of that range.

What the fees would take elsewhere

At the mid-range £65 for a Canon printer, against what the commission marketplaces would deduct:

Seller-side rates verified 26 Jul 2026, percentages only — the per-order and processing charges those platforms add are excluded, so the real gap is wider.

Listing is free and there is no commission — read how to sell a printer for the title, handover and timing, or the general printer value guide if yours is not a Canon.

See also: all Canon value guides · value guides by brand · buying a printer · Electronics · condition grades.