Looking for feedback

[Justin.Qamera]

Hi everyone, my name is Justin I just wanted to ask a question about a service I’ve been developing for photographers and videographers. Keep in mind that this is brand-new and I’m still working out exactly how to implement it, so your feedback would be greatly appreciated (hence the post).

Anyways, its called Qamera, and I already have a website running at www.Qamera.co. It aims to lower the costs of buying or renting cameras and camera accessories, and it essentially acts as a club for camera gear. You would pay a small monthly subscription fee, and in return get access to a huge virtual catalog of camera equipment, which you can check out and get shipped to you for free, keep as long as you want, and then send back and swap out for a different set of gear. If you think this is a cool idea (or if you don’t) please reply and give me your feedback. As a videographer myself, I know how expensive it is to buy or rent gear, and I think this service could help change that for our community. All replies are welcome I'm just looking for pointers.

 

[john.margetts]

You are going to have to buy a large amount of kit upfront which is going to cost you 100,000s before there is any point in anyone paying to use your service. Not saying it's not a good idea just a very expensive one.

Example: I join along with Fred, Jack, Peter and Alan. We each pay our first month's subscription fee and each decide to start our individual projects. We each want a Red camera and associated paraphernalia so, in your first week, you need to supply five Red cameras etc. Two weeks later we each finish that project and start on our next - you now need to supply five Canon EOS 5 MK III cameras and five L series lenses.

Gets very expensive very quickly!

 

[Justin.Qamera]

You are going to have to buy a large amount of kit upfront which is going to cost you 100,000s before there is any point in anyone paying to use your service. Not saying it's not a good idea just a very expensive one.

Example: I join along with Fred, Jack, Peter and Alan. We each pay our first month's subscription fee and each decide to start our individual projects. We each want a Red camera and associated paraphernalia so, in your first week, you need to supply five Red cameras etc. Two weeks later we each finish that project and start on our next - you now need to supply five Canon EOS 5 MK III cameras and five L series lenses.

Gets very expensive very quickly!

John thanks so much for the feedback I really appreciate it
You are right there's no way this would work if we had to buy all of the cameras upfront, so the plan instead is to lease the cameras, because unlike any single person a business should have the necesary influence to secure a lease agreement on the equipment. All of the accessories and such we would of course have to buy, but at least for the very high end cameras the math ended up checking out when we were doing research.
One other factor is that with the way the website is set up we can control how many members the service actually has, so we would ensure we never had more members than supply. We also have a general idea of what equipment people are looking for, so at first we could maybe accept mostly beginners and hobbyists looking for relatively cheap equipment and only have a few of the professionals on the site, and then gradually change that balance as we grew our supply.

Anyways, like I said still trying to work some things out, which is why we value feedback so much.

 

[smoke665]

One thing to consider is that this is operating somewhat like a library, except instead of books you have equipment. Every library I've been to has a limited number of copies, and a check out time period. They vary the number of copies based on popularity of the item. Without a defined loan period what's to keep someone from monopolizing your most expensive equipment forcing you to constantly replace that equipment or deny service to other members.

 

[Justin.Qamera]

One thing to consider is that this is operating somewhat like a library, except instead of books you have equipment. Every library I've been to has a limited number of copies, and a check out time period. They vary the number of copies based on popularity of the item. Without a defined loan period what's to keep someone from monopolizing your most expensive equipment forcing you to constantly replace that equipment or deny service to other members.

Hmm yea that's a good point. I'll think about it and see if there might be another way to get around that, but if not some kind of time limit might be necessary to make sure people aren't keeping the gear indefinitely.

 

[Gary A.]

Interesting idea. smoke665 makes a valid point on unrestricted time. You could have different levels of membership. The more you pay the greater your privileges. I think you should create a corporate/institutional membership and market schools coming out of the blocks. Many government jurisdictions and agencies have photographic needs. Supplying them with the tools of the trade would be easier on their budget than an outright purchase. You can sweeten the pot by offering free instructions and online help once they get the equipment. I don't know how the numbers pan out, but it definitely is an interesting idea.

 

[smoke665]

One thing to consider is that this is operating somewhat like a library, except instead of books you have equipment. Every library I've been to has a limited number of copies, and a check out time period. They vary the number of copies based on popularity of the item. Without a defined loan period what's to keep someone from monopolizing your most expensive equipment forcing you to constantly replace that equipment or deny service to other members.

Hmm yea that's a good point. I'll think about it and see if there might be another way to get around that, but if not some kind of time limit might be necessary to make sure people aren't keeping the gear indefinitely.

Another factor is you mention you're thinking of leasing equipment. I haven't run exact numbers, because it would depend on credit, residual, etc, but I'm guesstimating that because of the nature of the equipment a lease on say $10k of equipment would be somewhere around $300/month. So the same comments as above, if I was need of this equipment and your monthly subscription was less then a payment, why wouldn't I simply hang on to it. The other thing is depending on the distance involved you'll likely lose a week in transit.

@Gary A. Made a good comment, about subscription levels.

 

[zombiesniper]

Weather you lease or buy you need to have a huge in stock availability of really expensive gear.
On the lease agreement it's going to be more expensive than you think. The original business has to convince their insurance company to allow leased items to then be reloaded out. That kind of insurance will no doubt be more expensive.
I wouldn't be looking for gear that I could reasonably afford. So you're looking at a minimum of a couple k per body/lens. So the previously quoted 100k is just the start of the problem.
You also have to have the type of customer that wants or needs to keep using this gear. I know I own 90% of what I want and have only once thought of renting a lens therefore I wouldn't be interested. Now I may not be the norm but if per chance people only see the need to get a new piece of gear once a year, it would be cheaper just to rent it vice a subscription.
If I were to use this type of service you could be guaranteed I'd only be interested in the $5-50K kit that I couldn't afford.

Now I know it seems like I'm crapping all over your idea ....well I guess I am but That's not my intent. Let me go onto the good stuff.
Is this type of service of interest to people. Quite possibly and it could be a great business to get into.
There are plenty of photographers out there that currently rent lenses. There are likely quite a few that even rent a lot of lenses.
The corporate/enterprise aspect could be a huge revenue stream for this type of service.
Just take the time to look at all aspects of the business so that you are well prepared for anything that could arise.

 

[Designer]

Hi everyone, my name is Justin I just wanted to ask a question about a service I’ve been developing for photographers and videographers. Keep in mind that this is brand-new and I’m still working out exactly how to implement it, so your feedback would be greatly appreciated (hence the post).

Anyways, its called Qamera, and I already have a website running at www.Qamera.co. It aims to lower the costs of buying or renting cameras and camera accessories, and it essentially acts as a club for camera gear. You would pay a small monthly subscription fee, and in return get access to a huge virtual catalog of camera equipment, which you can check out and get shipped to you for free, keep as long as you want, and then send back and swap out for a different set of gear. If you think this is a cool idea (or if you don’t) please reply and give me your feedback. As a videographer myself, I know how expensive it is to buy or rent gear, and I think this service could help change that for our community. All replies are welcome I'm just looking for pointers.

I applaud your initiative, and I hope you find a formula that works in some way.

First of all, I don't see how your plan would lower the cost. There are already rental companies who will rent out equipment, and do not require a retainer. By paying a monthly fee, I would be paying whether I used anything or not.

I know you can't be expected to control 15 of something, or even 5 of something, so there would be a waiting list for most things. Besides the enormous up-front cash outlay (even if leasing) you will have technical staff, shipping, insurance, replacement costs, repair costs, office expense, website maintenance, advertising, legal, profit, and possibly other expenses that I haven't thought of.

On the face of it, it does seem like I might be interested, particularly if I can borrow something that I had considered purchasing, but then I can probably rent it from the already existing firms.

By the time you figure all the costs, I wonder what kind of bottom line you will end up with.

Good luck!

 

[smoke665]

Not shooting your idea, down, because it is interesting, just not sure of the logistics involved. There are "membership clubs" throughout the country for various types of hobbies. IE: Woodworking shops, ceramic shops, hot rod shops, automotive repair shops, etc., where for a monthly fee you have access to a fully equipped shop with all the tools. I've never seen one, but I would think a fully equipped photography studio with all the lights, cameras, lenses, accessories, would have a niche. Granted you'd be limited by geography, but a larger city would be ideal. The upside would be that your investment would be contained, in a much smaller space. You could still "checkout" equipment for those who wanted to shoot outside.