Transfer of Ownership Fee

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Solid, sensible policy that serves the customer and helps protect RED owners everywhere - change nothing.

Agreed.

And I can see the argument for a bit cheaper on the transfer and more for the evaluation, but I think charging more for the evaluation would keep people from using that service. I can also say that I've been very pleased with how RED handles the whole evaluation and transfer process.

 

[Brian F Kobylarz]

Couple of things to consider.

Do any of the other major players maintain a database of ownership once the camera trades hands? Canon? SONY? ARRI?

Need some help identifying an unauthorized transfer of ownership (aka stolen camera) or tagging an abused piece of hardware?
Where else does one get peace of mind confidence when buying used gear? Will Canon certify a used camera for less money? Do they even have a program to certify used cameras?

Do any of the other major players offer upgrade programs in which the registered owner can essentially recoup most if not all of their original investment?
Think of the RED One to EPIC program -or- the current Scarlet / EPIC to Dragon upgrade programs that have been announced.

Since inception, I cannot recall a single instance of needing to pay for a firmware upgrade - even when significant capabilities are included.
Try that on an ARRI product. Just for higher frame rates you pay for a new license. Now, that is something to bitch about!

Buying second hand RED camera does come with a cost - but it also comes with benefits no other camera manufacturer offers.

If you don't have the money for new, this option is certainly worth the price of admission.

 

[Bradley Crane]

There is always Canon. :smiley:

Don't mean to be snide but it seems you do realize you are getting some value for your money, you just don't agree on the price tag. That tends to happen a lot in life. It is only my opinion but given the magnitude of your transaction, it seems like a reasonable value to have a certain amount of protection from RED.

I am curious, did you opt out of having the cameras inspected? And, if so, how much more would that have cost? I thought the whole transfer fee, including inspection/certification was $750. Do I have that wrong?

Gross. Though I do use canons every once and awhile... when it comes to crash cams I prefer t2is to GoPros

I opted out of inspection. It's 500 for transfer 100 for inspection. If the inspection is as thorough as I expect it is 100 seems pretty dang low.

 

[Bradley Crane]

I am pretty sure there are other threads where I have some replies, but quick summary:

Customer's choice:

Send in camera for evaluation. Eval fee is $100. If repairs need to be done in excess of $100, the eval fee is waived. Customer then does transfer of ownership for $500 and becomes owner of record and receives 90 day warranty. Or, could do Transfer RED ARMOR and get a full year of coverage.

OR

Not send in the camera. Without sending in, no eval fee. But also not eligible for 90 day warranty or Transfer Armor.

You cannot look at the $500 as "changing" a name. If is so you are properly owner of record, get communications related to that camera, get 90 days warranty with option of one year (should you choose to send in for eval and repairs, as needed), any upgrades that camera would be eligible for, authorize repairs, etc.

Thanks for chiming in. I'm kinda embarrassed my blowing off steam has received so many responses. But you guys really do pay attention. And that's pretty cool.

 

[Bradley Crane]

RED has allowed me to transfer all 5 cameras into my name for 1 $500 transfer fee. They did not have to.

 

[Daniel Stilling]

That's really nice of them.