Companies that Lease/Rent-to-Own Equipment?

Does anyone know of any companies that lease or rent-to-own camera equipment

over the web? I've checked locally and there aren't any such options.

 

I'm aware of a couple of firms that will lease to businesses, but how about to

individuals that are looking to pick up a new lens or camera body for personal

use, but don't have the resources to pay up-front or on a credit card? Say for

example that new piece of L-glass with a $1600 price tag. I would love to add a

few new things to my gear bag but as a hobbyist can't justify that sort of a

hole in my savings account, or on my credit card.

 

Is there anything out there?

Calumet offer leasing service through their mail-order department and web site. Just

make sure you're aware of all the terms up front. Leasing is expensive and one of

the reasons it can be a good way for a business to do it is that the entire lease

payment (or parts of it) may be tax deductible.

 

Their site's at www.calumetphoto.com

 

I'm sure there a bunch of others that offer this service as well. Calument is just the

only reputable" photo gear retailer than I know offer it.

 

Good luck.

I have never heard of any photo outfit doing the "Aaron's Dream Machine" style of leasing. As mentioned above, perhaps to a business. But not to individuals.

Rob, <P>On a rent to own, it really is a credit card type of scheme. You are paying interest over time. Take a look at your final costs. You might be better off putting some money away every week until you have enough. You really want to avoid paying 14% or what ever the rate is. You can lease a lens in most larger cities for a day or so as the need arises. You indicated in a Feb post that you worked for a photographer. Would s/he lend you stuff? Yo might decide you want other things instead first.<P> As a business, I've done the lease to own option on some refrigeration. My accountant has told me that because of interest deductions it is the way to go. It seems to work well.<P> I don't want to lecture or anything but, it really does not make sense to get into debt over a hobby. The 1600 will cost you enough to get the lens and a few filters or.....whatever. <P> My suggestion is to set up an automatic transfer of $50 or whatever you can afford weekly into you "hobby" account. When you are ready to spend it might make you think more than just signing on a dotted line. Perhaps you will not want to spend the money then.<P> We would all love to pick up newer, "better", more stuff. It does not mean we can or should. Might not be the best use of money. I'd love a D3, but, I'm going to add another room onto the house instead. I'll wait for the D4, and then get the D3 on sale. <P> As a side note, I'm not sure what your status in life is, but, if 1600 is out of reach, perhaps you can do something to increase your earnings. <P> Sorry if I sound like dad. I have a lot of young people who work for me and I've seen a few get hurt in the way you are heading.<P>Warren

http://www.google.com/search?q=leasing+companies&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

<p>I actually leased via calument/fotofunding - easier than credit lines. </p>

<p>But I do this for a business, so I may be in a different boat. If you can get work with your gear, I'd say go for it if there's really no other option to pay for it.<br>

Most leases are about 1.5 x the total sales cost spread out over the length of your lease, usually deposits are first / last month, and equipment must be insured.<br>

some leasing agencies will do individuals, but not for a hobby, they'll ask for tax forms or just some proof of you being in the photo/video business (although they aren't strict/unrealistic/scotland yard about it). </p>

 

<p>also 1600 is too low for a lease, the lowest I've seen is 2k via fotofunding and that's more of an anomaly.</p>

<p>5,000 leases are generally the starting point. </p>

<p>So for AN EXAMPLE OF YOUR AVERAGE LEASE TERMS, if you wanted a Mark ii 5d and a 70-200mm lens, a rough estimate would be</p>

<p>Mark ii = $2700<br>

70-200 = $1700<br>

total is $4400<br>

plus 7% sales tax $308<br>

plus shipping $50<br>

ORDER TOTAL $4758</p>

<p>Lease terms 1-5 years (usually 5 years is the max), but using 5 for an example<br>

$4758 x %150 = $7137 to be paid over 60 months for a monthly payment of $119.00 and a deposit of $238.00 plus an insurance certificate if you have a policy already. If not, add about $200 to the deposit, which you must pay once a year for insurance.</p>

<p>Rates will vary depending on the vendor and what option you buy (ie if you want to rent it only or lease to buy, but there usually isn't more than a few bucks difference in monthly payments)</p>

<p>Also NEARLY ANY LEASING COMPANY CAN BUY FROM ANY VENDOR FOR THE MOST PART...so you're not stuck with Calumet or fotofunding. Calumet usually doesn't have much stuff in stock and has awful prices. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hello everyone, new here. I am about to start my own photography business, and after being medically retired from the military, and STILL waiting on military disability, for almost 2 years now.. I am very broke. And I will never just rent something.. I would rather pay a little more to rent to own, than just rent it, and have nothing to show for it. So this is probably my best bet to obtain some decent enough equipment, and some super quality lenses. I would only need a couple, but I don't have 5-6k to drop at the moment. (who does?) Especially not me.. So anyone who has some good info on the cheapest ones out there, please let me know personally (if you can PM on this site or not) Or, if you are switching from Nikon to something else, and have some used equipment for sale, I would be very appreciative for the invite to check some things out.</p>

<p>Thank You,<br>

Josh Long</p>

<p>PS This site seems great, I cannot wait till I can afford* to be a real member, and take advantage of all the great stuff this site has to offer.</p>