To Rent or Sell?

[Mark B.]

So I ordered two of these Reds, back when I was optimistic about becoming employed. But I have a wrist injury that hasn't gone away fast enough and so my income has been $0 for a long time. Now I find myself in the predicament of having two reservations but only enough money to afford one camera, if I'm lucky. So I've figured out a couple alternatives on how to proceed, but before I decide which way to go I'd like to get suggestions from you on what I ought to do...

1) Sell the first camera, using the small profits from the sale to help buy the second camera. I'd walk away with only one camera, but that's all I need and it wouldn't hit my bank account quite as hard.

2) Borrow money so that I can buy both cameras, with the hopes that having two cameras will increase the likelihood of getting rental revenue, which I could then use to pay for the extra camera.

3) Some other option I haven't thought of.


My cameras are in the 700's range and will probably show up in early December. I don't have experience in the industry, so even with two cameras getting rental work may be difficult for me. I could probably rent out myself and the two cameras (no other equipment) for $500/day, but at that rate I'd need to be booked nearly full-time or my living costs and loan payments would get seriously dicey.

[Jeremy Teman]

Borrow money from a friend or family, and buy both. You will be getting yours early enough that people would still be willing to buy it for more than the 17.5k price tag. You could possibly pay off a huge portion of the camera you are going to keep. Work with it for long enough to know if its worth it to buy another and by then maybe you would have earned some money, or know that two was too many.

You could always get a refund on both and come out with a little money

[Jim Exton]

Put one of them to work through a rental house. That way it can make money for you, perhaps even paying itself off pretty quickly.

[Michael Brennan]

Sorry to hear of your injury.

Speak to your local rental companies.
Find one that has not ordered a RED and will be gagging to cross hire.

Buy and own the cameras and leave both of them with the rental company for a share of the revenue.

If you go your own way, by the time you let the world know you have it, the world will have it!

50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.


A good rental company will have solid insurance and can be trusted.
If you leave it with them they will be confident of renting it out and they will also know of its availability.
If you have to deliver to them as and when they get a booking they will need to check it out each time which is a pain, especially if they have to turn it around quickly.

Some crystal ball gazing...Jim says he is planning/capable of making 700 a month come March, you'll perhaps only have a window of a few months to make money and if you are in the Nothern Hemisphere it is not so busy at Christmas.




Mike Brennan

[donatello b]

i vote #1 - best based on your current situation ...

[Sam Druckerman]

So I ordered two of these Reds, back when I was optimistic about becoming employed. But I have a wrist injury that hasn't gone away fast enough and so my income has been $0 for a long time. Now I find myself in the predicament of having two reservations but only enough money to afford one camera, if I'm lucky. So I've figured out a couple alternatives on how to proceed, but before I decide which way to go I'd like to get suggestions from you on what I ought to do...

1) Sell the first camera, using the small profits from the sale to help buy the second camera. I'd walk away with only one camera, but that's all I need and it wouldn't hit my bank account quite as hard.

2) Borrow money so that I can buy both cameras, with the hopes that having two cameras will increase the likelihood of getting rental revenue, which I could then use to pay for the extra camera.

3) Some other option I haven't thought of.


My cameras are in the 700's range and will probably show up in early December. I don't have experience in the industry, so even with two cameras getting rental work may be difficult for me. I could probably rent out myself and the two cameras (no other equipment) for $500/day, but at that rate I'd need to be booked nearly full-time or my living costs and loan payments would get seriously dicey.

I'm sorry to hear of your situation and I hope you recover from your injury fully.

2 Reds and you for $500/day is a Very low estimate. We're not talking dvx100's here.... I think you could and should do Much better!

Even as we speak a lot of the hard core film natzies are starting to sing Red's praises.

My advice is Not to worry about it until you're a few weeks from taking delivery....

Let's hope in that time that....

1 You'll feel better, have some income and as a result, be more confident.

2 The rental rate for the Red will have been established much higher than your prediction.

3 The demand for the Red will be so high.... you'll have a few gig's booked before you get them.

4 Either way, by waiting to decide you'll be giving yourself the opportunity to see how this all plays out, instead of stressing to much.

Good Luck!

[Gavin Greenwalt]

Completely selfish here but if you would be interested in a long term rental in the times when it's not out on jobs I would love to make an offer. Some sort of 12 month lease. PM me if you're interested.

Or maybe some other Seattle area shooters would be interested in Co-Oping the extra cam.

[Andrew Benz]

Hey Mark,

I have to go w/ Donatello given your current situation unless Gavin is an option or if you have a vigorous rental market for your second camera.

Being injured and having overwhelming bills is not conducive to creativity or anything... I wish you the best and hope you get healed and back on the path to your life and goals.

Cheers,

Andrew

[Mark Thorpe]

I'd say cash one in, get your deposit back and cut your headache in half. Market yourself, and the camera availability, aggressively between now and delivery time and I reckon you will be pleasantly surprised at the potential for paying rental gigs once you get going. Then you would have wished you kept both cams but thats the trade off. Even if things go brown once you get one cam I reckon if you wanted to sell it at that time you'd see a small profit on your investment. Mind you, that window of opportunity won't last as and when manufacture catches up with reservation numbers.

Make a decision, live with it and hope it flies.

Best of luck with your thought process and get well soon.

Cheers,
Mark.

[Shawn Nelson]

I'd sell the first one so you can own the second one without risking financial disaster. Buy at least the EVF so you can cash in on the $2500 reserve holder allowance (that right there makes the initial packge worth $2500 profit). I bet you could sell the Red with $2500 worth of accessories for at least $23k.

[Chuck T.]

I am looking for few cameras for long term lease, let me know if i can be of any help.

[Mark B.]

I think I'm missing something (well, many things, really). Why would you want to long-term lease when you could buy an additional camera and probably save more money in the long run? Are you thinking of leasing to avoid the long purchasing queue? Or is it a write-off thing? Or just that you can afford monthly payments but not the lump-sum cost of buying another camera?

[PaulClements]

Sorry to hear of your injury Lowkus.

If I was you I'd sell one. More importantly I would try and sell it now. Maybe a classified ad on ebay and a post here on Reduser. Fact is you're going to get a minimum of $17500 for a (practically) direct from factory delivery, in which case you would earn $2500. You might want to take a deposit from the individual for say $1000 to hold them to their word of fulfilling the purchase. Truth is though there might just be someone who wants their Red that 2 or 3 months earlier and pay you a couple grand more than the $17500. If you do you might just find that you can purchase the other RedOne for about $10000 with the rebate of $2500 on it plus the $5000ish grand you make on the sale.

That's what I'd do.

Cheers

Paul

[Jeremy Teman]

Yeah, I think that is the best option

[Finner]

Buy the first one and try and sell it before you get the second one. If you can not sell it just ask for your money back on the second one from red.

Realistically I see a lot of people that have little to no experience thinking that having a RED to rent will get them into the industry. It just does not really work that way. There are no shortcuts that will surpass hard work, experience and years of networking. I foresee a lot of inexperienced people sitting with reds collecting dust and not really doing anything more then their own shoots.

[damonbots]

Lowkus,

Put the first one on Ebay starting at $20K. I'll boil and eat my shoes if it doesn't sell for $25K+. Whether you're in "the industry" or not, that's one hell of an investment payoff. Just be careful who you deal with. Sorry about your injury. I really hope things work out for you.

[Mark B.]

Thanks for the sympathy everybody, injuries are a pain and it's nice to get a kind nod once in a while.

So after careful consideration, factoring in all your suggestions, I've decided to sell the camera rather than rent it out. The peace-of-mind that comes from not putting myself into extreme debt, that was the clincher.

[John Godden]

Thanks for the sympathy everybody, injuries are a pain and it's nice to get a kind nod once in a while.

So after careful consideration, factoring in all your suggestions, I've decided to sell the camera rather than rent it out. The peace-of-mind that comes from not putting myself into extreme debt, that was the clincher.

Very smart move!

Take care and get the injury behind you! :biggrin:

[Emmanuel Cambier]

Smart move, get better and don't hesitate to contact me either.

[flmguy]

if you are interested in selling email me. when will it be avail. and with what accessories. flmguy01@yahoo.com

[Mark B.]

Camera has been sold. I thought the thread had died of old age but every once in a while someone seems to make me an offer. So I have to close this down officially.

[Jeff Kilgroe]

...since the camera is sold, I'll lock the thread down.