how do you deal with HD rentals?

[Star Video]

Seeing as I don't own a full-sized HD camera, I usually have to rent one. All the rental houses in Dallas (and i'm pretty sure everywhere) require you to pay up-front for the rental of a Sony F900 or Panasonic Varicam, or other full-sized HD camera.

Seeing as there's so many formats out there, and as a freelancer, I can't yet invest in an HD camera and make a profit, i'm forced to rent this gear. But, dealing with clients can be a hassle for me, because I always ask for half payment for the shoot up-front. This is so that in case I get burned and don't get paid for the shoot (this has happened to me) at least I get the rental paid for.

Also, these rentals are expensive, sometimes I don't have the 850 dollars, (or$1,700 for two days!) money in the bank to even afford the rental even if I wanted to wait for a client to pay in full net 30 days. (I don't want to use any more credit cards to pay for rentals)

Sometimes, I lose potential business because of my rental policy, so, I would like some advice as to what do do...thanks...

[Baltimore Shooter]

Can you "get in" with a rental house or someone who owns several cameras, inc. HD cameras?

I did a shoot a couple of months ago where I had to rent a Vericam and I didn't have to pay in full for the rental because I had rented their DigiBeta and 16x9 BetaSP camera several times. So they knew me, I have a history with them, so I was able to rent the Vericam and pay in 30 days. Now, the first time I ever rented a camera with him, I had to pay in advance, but after that it was net 30.

It's also worth pointing out that this guy is a shooter to who happens to own about 6 or 7 cameras. Maybe there's a shooter in your area like that.

Warren

[Nino]

Over 70% of small business start-ups fail within the first year and 20 percent more fails within the first five years. Them main reason for failure is the lack of operating capital, in few words, not having the money that you need to operate your business while waiting for your receivable. The present HD situation is a problem for everybody not just for you; if you can’t get open accounts then you have to allocate a greater working capital to meet your present cash flow.

Looks like your customers will not change their way to do business and I seriously doubt that you have enough influence on them to cause any changes. So you either find enough credit to carry you thru the receivable period, whatever that might be, or just forget about those clients and only service those that will meet your financial situation, don’t be afraid to tell them of why you can not service them. You are self employed and you can not afford to carry such large payables while waiting for the receivable.

Evidently the rental companies will not give you an open account, so that solution is out.

I don’t understand why you don’t like to use credit cards, the only reason that I can think is that when you get paid from your clients instead to putting the receivable totally toward the charges for the rental you only pay a partial amount and use the money for something else. Discipline, think of the credit card as an open account with your suppliers, when you get paid you paid the total amount as you would with your suppliers.

As Warren suggested you might look for other shooters who have those cameras and see if they rent out their gears and what deal you can work out with them, they are probably more likely to wait until you get paid.

[joecam147]

That's a tough situation but we all get there sooner or later. You do what you have to do to make it work if you want to service the clients. What to do ? If you can't establish an account with a rental house to bill you then you have no choice but to use a credit card or credit line, just get a card that has a decent limit and DONT use it for anything else. You may have to eat some finance charges if your invoice goes past thirty but the markup on HD is pretty good at least for now. You should be in the $2400-$2000 range for F900 and HDX900/Varicam, you set the rate, what do you need for the shoot and still make some money ? It's not the best scenario but it works until you are able to take the plunge. Used Varicams can be reasonable...F900, well not so reasonable but the new 'R' version of the F900 is a pretty nice improvement over its predecessor, check it out if you can. Good Luck, hang in there, you gotta keep workin it till you're able to buy, then you have a whole new set of problems. Oy.

[SimonW]

If they aren't willing to pay enough to be able to shoot HD, then you need to forget them. Just tell them straight. Its either SD with the equipment that you have, or they pay the extra that you need.

Do these clients usually give you good work? If they don't, then ditch them. Make room in your diary for some clients who are worth working for. Though I know that is easier said than done!

[freedom]

Star
Have you talked to VER in Dallas? VER had me fill out a credit ap and pay cash on the first rental, but now I get invoiced for all rentals. And they always take at least 2 weeks to get the invoice out to me! Their rates are pretty good too.

For me, the bigger potential problem is when I have an SD job with my gear on Monday & an HD job on Tuesday. When do I find time to pick up the camera? Rentals are a pain in the ass! I have a private owner Varicam that I can pick up anytime and that is a lifesaver, when available.

[dhart]

You should be able to establish credit after a couple of rentals. Ask for a credit application. But be sure to pay in 30 days of receiving the invoice.