Red #728 For Sale - Seattle, Washington

[Mark B.]

'Tis the season for North Westerners to sell their Red's. I've finally gotten a webpage up and running with the details... www.BonPhotos.com/RedForSale.htm

The super-short version is that I'm pre-selling #728, with the matching Titanium 'R'. I'm expecting #728 to ship in early January. You can put in a bid for it using the webpage link above.

[Anthony Gratl]

Hi Lowkus,
Just a thought here. You're offering to sell the camera body only, no cf cards or cf module, batteries, viewing apparatus, nothing at all. At least, it appears that way, correct me if I'm not seeing this. (although maybe the module comes with the camera and you can shoot with someone else's cf cards)
So I'm thinking that your market may be somewhat restricted by the fact that almost noone whose waiting for a camera is going to want one that can't shoot any situations outside of a tripod attached to an extension cord...so it's going to be harder getting top dollar for your camera if you sell it without ANY accessories. Your market may well end up being Red owners only if you retain this approach.
Good Luck with the sale.

[Mark B.]

Yeah, just the body without any evf, cage, or batteries or any of that stuff. I figured whoever bought it would purchase whatever accessories they want directly from Red. Is Red not selling accessories to secondary owners?

[sbroock]

Yeah, just the body without any evf, cage, or batteries or any of that stuff. I figured whoever bought it would purchase whatever accessories they want directly from Red. Is Red not selling accessories to secondary owners?

Seems like a silly question, but why not just get your deposit back + the 10% or so that was being offered (not sure if that still stands)?

If someone is willing to pay a premium to get the body early you'll pay tax on it as ordinary income ... plus, it seems like a lot of hoops to jump through to (a) get the cash to (b) buy the camera to then (c) deliver it to the pre-purchaser.

[Mark B.]

Seems like a silly question, but why not just get your deposit back + the 10% or so that was being offered (not sure if that still stands)?

If someone is willing to pay a premium to get the body early you'll pay tax on it as ordinary income ... plus, it seems like a lot of hoops to jump through to (a) get the cash to (b) buy the camera to then (c) deliver it to the pre-purchaser.

There's more money to be had by selling it than by returning it to Red. Besides, I'd rather the camera went out into the world to be used by someone rather than sitting on a backup-shelf collecting dust in the Red storage room.

Many people are unaware that Washington doesn't have an income tax, one of the reasons that a lot of super-rich people live here (and also why a lot of poor people have moved away to Oregon). Also, because I don't regularly engage in camera sales, whatever profit I make by selling a RedOne won't fall subject to self-employment taxes. It's all fairly irrelevant to me anyway though, because due to an injury I haven't had any income this last year which means I'll be lucky to break through poverty level regardless of what happens. I'm living at my parents as I type this and if I file a tax return this year it will only be to show the government that there are extremely poor people having a tough time of it.

When you're poor, jumping through hoops becomes second nature.

[Mark B.]

Hi Lowkus,
Just a thought here. You're offering to sell the camera body only, no cf cards or cf module, batteries, viewing apparatus, nothing at all. At least, it appears that way, correct me if I'm not seeing this. (although maybe the module comes with the camera and you can shoot with someone else's cf cards)
So I'm thinking that your market may be somewhat restricted by the fact that almost noone whose waiting for a camera is going to want one that can't shoot any situations outside of a tripod attached to an extension cord...so it's going to be harder getting top dollar for your camera if you sell it without ANY accessories. Your market may well end up being Red owners only if you retain this approach.
Good Luck with the sale.

I took your comments into consideration and I've added a section to my sales page explaining accessories purchases. Basically, I can put in an order for accessories when I order the camera. The winning bidder can send me money for whatever accessories they want and I'll forward that money to Red. This should give any prospective buyers the flexibility to get whatever accessories strike their fancy and it will enable the accessories to show up at the same time as the camera.

[Darwin]

Hi Lowkus,
Just a thought here. You're offering to sell the camera body only, no cf cards or cf module, batteries, viewing apparatus, nothing at all. At least, it appears that way, correct me if I'm not seeing this. (although maybe the module comes with the camera and you can shoot with someone else's cf cards)
So I'm thinking that your market may be somewhat restricted by the fact that almost noone whose waiting for a camera is going to want one that can't shoot any situations outside of a tripod attached to an extension cord...so it's going to be harder getting top dollar for your camera if you sell it without ANY accessories. Your market may well end up being Red owners only if you retain this approach.
Good Luck with the sale.

Don't forget he has a 2,500 accessorie bonus that comes with the camera.

[Anthony Gratl]

Lowkus,
Your website has the following section:

"Payment:

The winning bidder must send payment in the form of a cashier's check for the full amount of the bid. I must receive the payment before December 31st, 2007. After the bank has verified the transaction as successful, I will contact you to let you know that the payment has gone through. When the camera is shipped to me from Red, I will then ship the camera to you and contact you to let you know that it's in transit (I'll provide the tracking number at this point). If I don't receive your payment before the requested date, your bid may be cancelled and the camera sold to a different bidder."

Are you honestly expecting someone to send you roughly 20 grand for a camera that can't even shoot, sight and seller unseen, and then send you more money for accessories, when the shipping dates also keep shifting?
Look, i'm not trying to come down on you, but you might want to rethink this strategy for the payment side of this arrangement. Given that ship dates are ever changing you might want to be a little more fluid and flexible. In January, we'll know if Red can pump out 600 cameras a month, and when they start doing that, the line of people waiting for cameras will get smaller and smaller very quickly. I for one am not going to pay a premium, in advance, no camera seen, when I know mine is a few months down the road. Having said that, I'm interested in your camera, as I can put it to 'good' use in those few months, but I think your terms are a little unwieldy. Again, no criticism intended, just a thought on strategy...

[till]

you should say you are selling your reservation number, not a camera, because the first you have...the second not.

[Andrew M.]

Yes, you will not be able to cash $2500 bonus without accessories purchase.