Price for used 1.8" REDMAG Package?

[Bill Stengel]

It's deduction season, and I am considering moving over to MINI-MAGs as I've got some documentary projects on the horizon and the additional mag space will be helpful. I intend on selling my 2x240GB, side-SSD and reader here, but I'm curious to find out what a fair price would be for the package. I got them all July of 2014. New, they cost $4595. What's the most reasonable way to depreciate these items?

Does this seem like a better way to go over doing the REDMAG trade-in (is that still going on?) and trying to sell the side-SSD/reader separately?

 

[Adam Griffith]

I'd explore what RED will give you - I believe they are still doing it. Credit 1 for 1 on used mags when you purchase new MiniMags.
I tried to do it however they couldn't do it as I am not the original purchaser (i got my package 2nd hand) so I will be selling them on here instead.

See the market place and look at what the others are going for. I'm going to sell my 128GB cards, from what I've seen they're going for around the $700 mark.
I've noticed the Side SSD is worthless as everyone here would already have one so unless someone smashed theirs - there is a very small market for them.

I bought 3 x 512GB miniMags on here for a good price, saved about $2400 getting them used ($2450 new vs $1650 used) which equates to buying 2 and getting 1 free really.

I will have to buy the Side SSD new as there aren't any used ones around for obvious reasons.

Best of luck Bill,

 

[Bill Stengel]

I'd explore what RED will give you - I believe they are still doing it. Credit 1 for 1 on used mags when you purchase new MiniMags.
I tried to do it however they couldn't do it as I am not the original purchaser (i got my package 2nd hand) so I will be selling them on here instead.

See the market place and look at what the others are going for. I'm going to sell my 128GB cards, from what I've seen they're going for around the $700 mark.
I've noticed the Side SSD is worthless as everyone here would already have one so unless someone smashed theirs - there is a very small market for them.

I bought 3 x 512GB miniMags on here for a good price, saved about $2400 getting them used ($2450 new vs $1650 used) which equates to buying 2 and getting 1 free really.

I will have to buy the Side SSD new as there aren't any used ones around for obvious reasons.

Best of luck Bill,

Thanks Adam.

I'm following up on this thread, as I've had my 1.8" package (2x240GB, Side-SSSD, reader, and some other stuff) posted here on REDUSER and now on eBay for a while with zero interest. I've gradually come down from $3300 to $2750 for the package, or to about 55% of what everything cost new. Sure, what I paid new is largely irrelevant other than for indicating how much I am depreciating.

My question is: how soft is the market on second-hand 1.8" media and 1.8" accessories? Is depreciating by half (or more) normal? I understand that the new MINI-MAG standard (which I jumped on board for) has shaken up the used market for 1.8" et al, but is it really that bad? Is $2750 grossly unrealistic for what I've got in the condition it is in? Is a la carte the only way to sell this stuff?

Thanks!

 

[Brian Merlen]

No one wants the side ssd module at all is the reality, this impacts the package costs against the cards, which can be traded in for 1000 credit or something on 512 mini mags...or sold outright for more maybe? I'm looking to unload mine soon as well but I wonder if the trade in wont be the better alternative depending what second hand market is up to

 

[Bill Stengel]

No one wants the side ssd module at all is the reality, this impacts the package costs against the cards, which can be traded in for 1000 credit or something on 512 mini mags...or sold outright for more maybe? I'm looking to unload mine soon as well but I wonder if the trade in wont be the better alternative depending what second hand market is up to

Thanks, Brian.
This makes sense. There's a Side-SSD on eBay at $339 OBO with no movement. It's crazy to think how a formerly $1500 item can be worth goose egg in a little over 18 months. Looks like I'll have to reassess.

 

[Brian Merlen]

Well they kind of had to kill legacy off so it always sucks but you can keep on this generation forever and skip mini mags too? I'm upgrading to 8k so not sure yet but five of my eight are eligible for upgrades... I almost am considering buying a used dsmc1 with so many parts laying around but second gen Raven or scarlet w may be my answer instead. Since so many parts are EOL there's advantage to either choice

 

[Terry VerHaar]

Some data points...

I was thinking the same thing after shooting interviews recently and realizing that my Scarlet Dragon can only get about 14 minutes of 5K @ 8:1 per 64G SSD. I have 4 x 64G cards but several interviews in succession will eat that up quickly. Of course, I can increase compression but there are compromises to that, too. So, I thought about upgrading to mini-mags sooner rather than later.

The trade-in deal is still going, according to my BS rep; confirmed just this morning. It gives you favorable pricing on the 512G mini-mags for each SSD you trade in. And, yes, you must have purchased your SSDs directly from RED for them to qualify. And, for review, you must buy and pay for in full, the 512 mini-mags (at $2450 each). Then you'll do the trade-in and get the difference credited back to your account. I seem to recall the refund is $1K per unit but haven't confirmed that as yet.

I know I will eventually move to mini-mags but it did occur to me that, since I get no performance boost with my Scarlet Dragon (at least on the recording end) from the 512 mini-mags, perhaps I should just grab a couple of larger SSDs on the used market for now. So I got to calculating the price per gigabyte.

At a net price of $1450 for the trade-in 512s, that's $2.83 per GB. At the regular price, it's about $4.79. I won't go through the whole list of sizes but the cost/GB does go up as the units get smaller (and down for the 1TB, as compared to regular price on the 512s).

So, while price/GB is not the only criteria, it is a crucially important one. Of course, used SSDs are more prone to quality issues (with no warranty) so they are risky. But, what surprised me is that folks seem to be pricing them unrealistically (compared to new mini-mags) on a per GB basis. Paying upwards of $5/GB for a used card that is more prone to failure and is closer to EOL, seems unwise when I can get new for less. Yes, I'd have to upgrade my camera module for mini-mags but I'll probably want to do that eventually, anyway.

If I could find used SSDs that were more appropriately priced, reflecting both their "wear and tear" and their proximity to being obsolete, I might hold off on the upgrade process for now and save some cash flow. But, failing at that, I think the transition to mini-mags may be the smartest way to proceed.

And, IMO, the pricing on new SSDs in the RED store is no longer realistic either; just like it is unlikely that someone will spend $14,500 on a Scarlet Dragon brain when more powerful products are coming, for less money.

 

[Brian F Kobylarz]

Terry - Thought I might add to the data points you referenced.
I went through a lot of the same analysis when I chose to make the Weapon upgrade...
Some of this is from notes while speaking with my BS rep, some from RED posts.

The SSD credit / trade-in is only good on a one to one on the 512's. One cannot use (4) regular mags for credit to a 4-pack of the mini-mags. Unfortunate but understandable.

The credit is $950 per SSD mag so the 512's net is $1500.

The used mags need to be tested for functionality before the credit is issued.


If you are keeping your current camera and it is using the older mags, in the right circumstances, it can make a lot of sense to look for some great value used mags.
As you inferred, if you invest in the mini-mags, you would need to upgrade the side SSD for $1500 and invest in a new reader for a couple of hundred more.
OTOH, if you have the current camera upgraded to one of the DSMC2 cameras, the side SSD is included.
If you find yourself in the Scarlet-W upgrade path, you could find yourself using both classic and mini-mags since you get to keep your DSMC Scarlet-Dragon.

One thing I like about moving to the mini-mags is the adapter GTech has for the ev series.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

The SSD credit / trade-in is only good on a one to one on the 512's. One cannot use (4) regular mags for credit to a 4-pack of the mini-mags. Unfortunate but understandable.

Good thoughts but I am not sure I understand this part. Per my rep, you can trade any SSDs that you have purchased directly from RED for an equal number of 512 mini-mags. This was made clear in the email I received. The credit is $950 per mag for each one traded.

Or am I not understanding your point?

 

[Curran Giddens]

Good thoughts but I am not sure I understand this part. Per my rep, you can trade any SSDs that you have purchased directly from RED for an equal number of 512 mini-mags. This was made clear in the email I received. The credit is $950 per mag for each one traded.

Or am I not understanding your point?

When you buy a 4-pack new from Red as package it is cheaper than buying 4 individual mini-mags. Also comes with a case...

 

[Bill Stengel]

Good thoughts but I am not sure I understand this part. Per my rep, you can trade any SSDs that you have purchased directly from RED for an equal number of 512 mini-mags. This was made clear in the email I received. The credit is $950 per mag for each one traded.

Or am I not understanding your point?

Terry,
Thanks for weighing in on this. All good points thus far. The 4-pack of 512 minis is discounted at $9100 or $2275 each. 4 1.8's traded in for 4 minis at full price is the ticket, no?

In other news, I've contacted my BS rep to see about initiating the trade-in process. I'll give the side-SSD to my kids to use as a frisbee. |:

 

[Terry VerHaar]

OK - I see what you guys are saying. I did come across the reduced price for the 4-pack but figured, apparently correctly, that I couldn't get the rebate on that pricing. It would be nice, though!

The trade-in really is a very good deal.