Leasing Photography Equipment (USA)

Has anyone here leased photography equipment? If so, can you provide details, please.

1. Did you do it through a retailer, such as B&H or Adorama?

2. Would you do it again?

I contacted a member here, who also happens to be an executive of B&H and he said they do have third party firms that lease for them. I am waiting for him to provide me information.

Thanks,
mark

Leasing is done through a 3rd party, and they review and either accept or reject your application. The retailer is just a channel: the financial firm pays the retailer in full and then they collect the cost plus applicable fees from you on a periodical basis, usually monthly. Sometimes it's the same firm that works with different retailers.

Product lease agreements are highly involved. It wouldn't surprise me if GE is in the game somewhere, somehow.

Looked into it. The cost after it was all said and done was too much. I want the gear at the end and personally it would have cost way more than I was willing to pay to buy the gear at the end of the lease.

the flying moose wrote in post #16611615
Looked into it. The cost after it was all said and done was too much. I want the gear at the end and personally it would have cost way more than I was willing to pay to buy the gear at the end of the lease.

Look at some other retailers online. If it's lenses and such, many times you can get extended financing at 0%.

I've bought several lenses, bodies, and flashes from newegg, or amazon. If you use their financing option it's typically 12-18 mos 0% interest. Just make sure you get the stuff paid off BEFORE the term ends. If you don't you get socked with all of the accrued interest.

That may be an option for you. I don't think their selection of umbrellas and other more technical items will be as broad as BH, and they are not specifically a photo shop.

Just a thought.

When I was getting into my Phase One rig, I originally started working with Digital Transition's Leasing company.

The numbers they came back with were comical. 16.99%. Insane. I decided to just go through my local bank, and got a loan at 3.99%. No question on who owns the gear at the end.

If a finance company ever asks for a "documentation fee", its a huge red flag.

chris_holtmeier wrote in post #16612832
If a finance company ever asks for a "documentation fee", its a huge red flag.

Really? Keeping in mind you said finance company, and in the financial sector this means something very specific.

Outside of the FC model there are A LOT of valid reasons for a lender/lessor to charge a documentation fee. I've been known to negotiate around one, but that's negotiation, not a judgment of whether or not it's appropriate.

Back to the original question. Leasing is bad for the average consumer. You pay all the depreciation and still don't own the equipment. It's usually obsolete, and if for some reason you want to keep obsolete equipment, it does not have the value of the residual price. Old adage stands true, don't lease anything you intend to keep...and consumers tend to keep their toys. Better off financing even if the monthly payment is higher.

Flip side, as a business it's a different animal. It's an expense, your clients aren't paying you up front for the next three years, why should your expenses be fronted? Advantages include the fact that the monthly payments tend to be lower and when the next life-changing body or lens hits the market you simply turn in the obsolete equipment and lease the latest and greatest (at the end of the lease agreement). Also with most business equipment you just spent the last three years ragging it out. Don't think, "My precious camera", think, fax machine.

Yes, you can purchase at a low rate, but that's a different conversation and a usually higher monthly tab. Again, think business.

You can also talk to your CPA as these expenses are handled differently when tax time comes around. E.g., Section 179 deduction for outright purchases.

-F

At BHPhoto you can get to the leasing section by simply doing a search for leasing on their website. http://www.bhphotovide​o.com/find/jsp/leasing​.jsp

I leased my sign shop equipment back in 1995 and had it paid off in 4 years. It is still paying all the bills at 19 years. Of course the cost before leasing was $16,000 and I paid $21,000... but it paid for itself. Leasing always has the option to buy out at the end. You can select smaller payments with a larger buy out, or higher payments with something like a $1 buy out at the end.

Check with your accountant, but leasing usually gives you 100% write-off ability of the payments made. You're writing off a monthly business expense, and not the depreciation of the item. That's why most company vehicles are leased and not purchased, as an example. There are typically 3 different end of lease options: FMV (Fair Market Value), 10%, and $1. Depending on the item being leased, each EOL option has advantages and disadvantages. FMV usually carries the lowest monthly payment, and $1 the highest. The FMV price can be negotiated at the end of the lease (about 90 days before it ends is when you contact them about the FMV), and there are occasions where the FMV is deemed to be $0.

Leasing could be a good way to go if you're buying an item as a business entity. Usually little to no down payment is necessary, payments can be reasonable and competitive with credit cards or traditional financing, and the tax advantage can be significant. Is it for everyone? No, not at all. But if you're buying new gear every 3-4 years, and typically are putting it on a credit card, then leasing can be a good way to go.

If I were pro photographer, it's something I'd seriously consider.

A side note on EOL terms, FMV specifically. I used to work for Canon USA in the office products division (copiers, fax machines, etc.), and we did 99% of the sales as leases. Of those, probably 90% were done with the FMV option. Of those, when the lease ended, almost all were valued at $0 or one month payment, so the buyer got to keep the machine at lease end for very little. That was with Canon's in-house leasing company - COPELCO (Canon Office Product Equipment Leasing Company).

Thank you all for very helpful replies. I'm in touch with BH leasing dept and the credit app they sent is from Canon. My fear on FMV is the 200-400 at lease end, unless I'm wrong or not understanding, will have a FMV of many thousands of dollars. No?

MDJAK wrote in post #16629169
Thank you all for very helpful replies. I'm in touch with BH leasing dept and the credit app they sent is from Canon. My fear on FMV is the 200-400 at lease end, unless I'm wrong or not understanding, will have a FMV of many thousands of dollars. No?

Probably...

I'm surprised B&H does not have a web page outlining, even if merely generally, their leasing terms.

Vistek does, and their end of lease is only $10.

That's where the math is going to come in. Get quotes for all the available buy outs, and then do the math to see which, if any, works out the best for you.

A lens is (IMO) a different animal then a body purchase. A lens like the 200+400 you would probably never want to give up, and it won't become outdated (for the most part). Typically, a lease isn't the ideal way to acquire something you want to keep. Bodies we upgrade and change out every couple of years, so a lease works pretty well for those - a potentially cheap way to have the latest and greatest.

If you just really want the lens, but your finances don't allow for the outright purchase at this time, this may not be the right time to get the lens. If you need the lens, and it's the only option to get it, then that's a little different.

Alveric wrote in post #16631804
I'm surprised B&H does not have a web page outlining, even if merely generally, their leasing terms.

Vistek does, and their end of lease is only $10.

If the leasing is through Canon, they probably have 3-4 EOL options, as I outlined earlier - anywhere from $1 to FMV. The difference between a $1, $10, 10%, or FMV EOL will be reflected in the monthly lease payments. The smaller the EOL, the larger the monthly payment.

Lots of times, a lease with an FMV, when you add up all the monthly payments, and add in the guesstimated FMV, turns out to be less then having paid cash for it at the beginning. Another thing to keep in mind, is the value of the dollar. A monthly payment of let's say $300 now may not be as painful 3-5 yrs down the road.

Alveric wrote in post #16631804
I'm surprised B&H does not have a web page outlining, even if merely generally, their leasing terms.

Vistek does, and their end of lease is only $10.

As someone posted above, they do, sort of.
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com/find/jsp/leasing​.jsp