Hiring out own equipment

Charlie Manton · October 12, 2015

Hi,

I am in touch with a hire house who want to hire out my new Sony A7RII.

The cut would be 50/50 - is this a good deal or not so good?

What do you think?

Thanks!

Mark Dunn · October 12, 2015

It's what I pay my picture agency, not terrible but you could negotiate.

As long as they carry the insurance and shipping and will replace it straight away if it's wrecked, go ahead. They presumably have better contacts than you so would get a lot more work.

Of course it means it may not then be available when you need it.

Charlie Manton · October 12, 2015

Might try and get it to 60 (me) and 40 (them).

Is a 40 minute drive to this place, which I would need to do.

R:E Insurance - I haven't insured the camera yet, I assume I would need to insure it for my personal use. Then they would need to insure it for their hiring out etc...?

Thanks,

Charlie

Mark Dunn · October 12, 2015

Having to deliver it is a bad deal. You want it collected and returned. Looks like only in the region of £75/day anyway so you don't want to be stuck with early starts and late finishes just for 30-odd quid.

Insurance for your use is a matter for you- I don't and I've probably saved the cost of the occasional claim over 30 years, and never had a loss- the question is could you afford to replace it.

But insurance on hire is something you should check very carefully.

Nathan Walters · October 12, 2015

I feel it's not worth it, but that's just me. Part of the benefit of owning your own camera is to be able to use it whenever you need it, instead of having to go through the rental process. It's likely you won't be making enough money for the benefit to outweigh the cost. Though obviously that's a huge matter of personal opinion.

Aapo Lettinen · October 12, 2015

I had a 70(me) / 30(rental house) contract with a local rental house for some lenses, I had my own insurance and they did all the work so a 60/40 split could be OK if they have their own insurance and will pay the expenses if the equipment is damaged.

renting stuff out is good idea if you have two of them or are using them only on certain time periods. for example lenses and some pro cameras are quite difficult to replace/repair quickly if they are damaged so your own shoots are also screwed if someone accidentally messes up your gear

Edited October 12, 2015 by aapo lettinen

Aapo Lettinen · October 12, 2015

their customers of course prefer the possibility to pick up all the gear from the same place so it would be better for them if you can bring the gear to their place when it is needed.

you can try to set for example a two or three day minimum for rentals if you have to drive there for returns and pickups. My lenses were at the rental house almost all the time when they rented them out (I had other lenses to use so that was not a problem) so there was zero work for me :)

Satsuki Murashige · October 12, 2015

70/30 makes sense for big ticket items with a long shelf life like cinema lenses. You both make back your money slowly over time, and since you made the initial large investment you have to recoup profit faster than they do.

I think 50/50 makes sense for cheaper consumer items with a short shelf life. The camera needs to rent a lot and frequently to make a profitable return for both parties. How long will your camera be the hot new thing on the block? Maybe a year? The less you spent on the item, the less percentage you should expect up front. With this kind of stuff it's all about having the latest gear available before everyone else. You can also expect the rental house to probably buy 3-4 more bodies if yours is going out all the time, in which case your rentals will go down since they will put their cameras out to rent first.

I'd live with 50/50 and negotiate instead for their insurance to cover your gear while in their possession at their shop and while it is on a job (obviously). If you trust them, I would consider leaving the camera in their shop for the first few months since that is when you will get the most rental. When you need it, go pick it up. Then when the rentals start to taper off, take it back and only leave it there when it is going out on a job.