INFO FROM MY BOMBSQUAD REP ON WEAPON UPGRADE

[Shaun Gish]

My two cents (not that anyone asked) - I get the reasoning behind the mag trade in value. Sucks if you invested in 512s but at the same time it's better than any other format than I've seen.

I also think the package and upgrade prices are fair for what they include. It gets you in to a functioning camera and the $5k credit is very useful.

The he upgrade also seems to address a lot of the pain points of using a red.

The real issue is that this upgrade doesn't allow me to charge more (assuming magnesium weapon) or create a prettier image so it makes every single dollar harder to justify. Couple that with the rampant misinformation on the show floor/this forum and you end up with a PR disaster that doesn't help the perception of RED or its users. Haters gonna hate (hate, hate...) but there's some justification right now. The whole situation is sloppy and there are some really good things happening here that are being overshadowed by what sort of kind of feels "bait and switchey"

Don't get me wrong. I think weapon is an excellent step in the right direction but this whole rollout is incredibly frustrating (probably on both sides) and I'm not sure what to believe/what to do. The amount of time and effort it's taken to get to this point is frustrating (I missed a good portion of the show trying to figure out these details instead of hitting other booths. The initial added deadline of today didn't help (which I think has changed but again I'm not sure).

The pdf upgrade path will hopefully clarify things but really - I want to know what exactly I'm paying for at this point to know if it's worth it. Reiterating - this quality of use type upgrade makes every single dollar harder to justify spending and the vagueness and confusion makes it an even more difficult decision to just put faith into.

(A side note - every bomb squad rep I talked to on the floor was insanely helpful, considerate and just as frustrated as we are)

 

[Casey Green]

Everyone can thank Mark Toia for this one.

Just to be clear.. that credit is directly tied to upgrading your media. it must be used to purchase "replacement" 512GB mini mag cards.

It will be on the upgrade PDF.

Jarred, Brent and everyone working on helping clarify all of this:

Thank you! It is greatly appreciated.

I must admit, my partners and I also misinterpreted the exact upgrade options / value and ended up holding off. Looking forward to the .pdf.

Best,

~ Casey

 

[Matthew J]

Great great deal on the mag trade in's. Was going to get some 240's, but now for $100 more, I will just get 512's.

Jarred, since you can't reused the REDMags, you all should have them turned into a piece of art. That would be a cool recycle.

 

[alexjentz]

is there a cutoff time as for when the Trade In Program will not be active anymore at some Point? I hope it will be at least a while until after Weapons are rolling out.

 

[Frank Hague]

Either way though you end up with 10K worth of free stuff.... which is great

Uh, no you don't. They're giving you 17,500 credit for your Dragon brain only whereas I'm pretty sure you can sell it used tomorrow for 20k (some people are selling theirs for as high as 25k which negates the total almost all at once).

The amount of value lost on the remaining items you will need to sell is probably equivalent to the remaining "free" stuff, let alone the additional items needed to make the Weapon actually function-ready for set.

 

[Jordan Buck]

How does the trade in value change the fact that the accessories for weapon still cost money?
regardless of how much they give me for my camera that money would have had to have been spent to obtain those items

 

[PC Greene]

That is a great deal...thank you Jarred, Mark.

oh dear, I feel myself getting sucked back in, perhaps lol....

That's a hell of an awesome deal.

 

[Brent Carter]

is there a cutoff time as for when the Trade In Program will not be active anymore at some Point? I hope it will be at least a while until after Weapons are rolling out.

RED MINI-MAG trade-in will be at least until after WEAPONS are rolling out in force.

 

[Nick Morrison]

RED MINI-MAG trade-in will be at least until after WEAPONS are rolling out in force.

For those w/ large quantities of 1.8 mags...can trade ins be sent in batches...or is trade in a once only deal?

thanks!

 

[Brooks Moore]

New Update

New Update

Thanks for the info Jarred

 

[Jay Kim]

Everyone can thank Mark Toia for this one.

Just to be clear.. that credit is directly tied to upgrading your media. it must be used to purchase "replacement" 512GB mini mag cards.

It will be on the upgrade PDF.

Wow! Jarred and Mark Toia, Thank You!

By the way, anyone can answer if I have to upgrade to Mini Side SSD module before the weapon upgrade or I can do it at the same time as the Weapon upgrade?

 

[Chris Luker]

RED MINI-MAG trade-in will be at least until after WEAPONS are rolling out in force.

Can we use the $5000 credit-after-weapon-upgrade money and use it for this?
And do Education discounts apply to this?

 

[Brent Carter]

For those w/ large quantities of 1.8 mags...can trade ins be sent in batches...or is trade in a once only deal?

thanks!

One shot deal, man. But, understand you get your mini-mags first then send in your 1.8" 's. So, place your one order. Then can send back for credit in batches.

Wow! Jarred and Mark Toia, Thank You!

By the way, anyone can answer if I have to upgrade to Mini Side SSD module before the weapon upgrade or I can do it at the same time as the Weapon upgrade?

Either way. This is for the mags themselves, independent of the brains.

Can we use the $5000 credit-after-weapon-upgrade money and use it for this?
And do Education discounts apply to this?

Of course. And, no, no discounts on top of upgrades : )

 

[Chase M. Wrenn]

To make sure I'm clear....I have two 1.8" RedMags, one 64GB, one 128GB. For credit for both of these, $950 per mag, I'd have to purchase TWO 512GB MiniMags, I wouldn't be able to apply both of these credits to one single MiniMag, correct?

 

[Phil Holland]

To make sure I'm clear....I have two 1.8" RedMags, one 64GB, one 128GB. For credit for both of these, $950 per mag, I'd have to purchase TWO 512GB MiniMags, I wouldn't be able to apply both of these credits to one single MiniMag, correct?

Correct. It's a 1:1 trade in for the $950 per mag.

 

[Sergio Perez]

This is great news! I have 5 64GB's. When I upgrade to weapon, I will trade 3 and use the 5000 credit, which basically means I will have 1.5TB of shooting time vs the 3 240 GB I was initialy budgeting! Thanks RED TEAM!

 

[Mark Pedersen]

Brent. I don't need more wrinkles believe me. I guess I just mistakenly figured the basic package would at least be audio/video ready. Which is perhaps my mistake for not reading the fine print. I can certainly take this discussion to offline with my Rep etc... But to me it feels like the base expander will be a paperweight that ate 1750 of my accessory allowance. And so for a doc person like me the true cost to own becomes 34,500 less trade ins plus 3950. I am not sure right now that many people are even thinking about audio but eventually the penny will drop.

Totally agree with this. No interest in base expander. Can we please have the option to choose the REDVOLT expander and not throw away precious metal, electronics and money?

M

 

[Matt Bass]

I would love the option to upgrade to the to the WEAPON REDVOLT Expander rather than get the standard WEAPON Base Expander when purchasing the WEAPON. I would never use the Expander because I need to HOT Swap constantly and the new ability to have XLR's is huge when shooting documentary style work.

 

[Patrick Grossien]

Totally separate deal. Simple (I hope, haha), you place an order for Red Mini- mag 512 GB cards in the quantity you want to send in of the 1.8" Redmags (64 GB or higher). Send us back those Redmags and we credit you $950 per mag. One shot deal. Credit is one for one, Redmag for Mini-mag.

Wow! Amazing deal! Thank you guys!!!

 

[Reuben Evans]

Brent,
You said:

First, if you are upgrading, there is no rush to place your pre-order - from a financial standpoint. Let me start from the top:

Your upgrade bundle you are pre-ordering includes $5000+ of WEAPON specific accessories that you are getting AT THE SAME PRICE as a new WEAPON camera brain. For example, a new WEAPON MG brain (with media bay) is $34,500. Your upgrade bundle includes the brain (with media bay) PLUS top handle, SIDEKICK, WEAPON REDVOLT XL module, a Lemo adaptor, a BASE EXPANDER, and a case - and that is $34,500 as well.

You pay your $5000 deposit for this upgrade bundle.... After your bundle is invoiced and sent back to you, we will automatically apply a $5000 credit on your account for you to use on whatever accessories you'd like. Whenever you like, no expiration date.

I may be missing something, but that seems to conflict with what Jarred said here:

Yes, when invoiced, that $5000 Weapon credit will be applied bundles as well yes.

As a response to this:

Thanks Jarred. Is the $5,000 accessory credit an addition to the items bundled w/ the $5K deposit package, or is the credit refering to the items in the bundle? (hope that question made sense, heh)

• 1 WEAPON BRAIN (Magnesium) w/ Integrated Media Bay
• 1 WEAPON Sidekick (Magnesium)
• 1 WEAPON Base Expander
• 1 WEAPON REDVOLT XL Module
• 1 WEAPON Top Handle
• 1 WEAPON Lemo Adaptor A
• 1 WEAPON Package Case
• 1 1-Year Standard Warranty

Jarred's response led me to believe, and the rep that I showed it to you on the floor before making my deposit with him (and maybe others) that the credit would be applied to the price bundle (or package).
I believe that this was further confused because when the Mag. Weapon was announced Jarred posted a pic of the brain only but linked to the package http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?130606-Announcing-WEAPON-DRAGON-6k-Magnesium

That led me to believe that the "Brian only" package was actually not for sale, and that a package with the Brain and accessories was being sold. But according to Jarred, when you are "invoiced" (very different from "after you pay") "the credit will be applied bundles as well yes." So I read that as I will receive an invoice, with a credit of $5000 dollars on it (plus $15,500), and then I pay the balance.

I am not actually that upset, as I may need to buy the Redvolt expander for phantom power. But I think there may be the real possibility that two official messages have been sent by RED at different times, and that people made real large financial decisions based on that info. Decisions for which I have to answer to my higher ups.

So, what did Jarred mean by that statement? And if RED agrees that it may have led some of us to make a purchase decision (in the time between that statement and your clarification) based on that info, confirmed by official reps, then isn't it reasonable to come to some sort of compromise with people? (I'd suggest something like allowing the Base Expander amount to go toward a REDVOLT Expander.)

Thoughts?