How do you buy equipment?

[kennephoto]

Good morning everyone, I would like to know how most of you acquire your photo gear, do you pay cash for everything or is there a way to finace some gear at a lower rate than credit cards? I save money as much as I can but things come up and you have to pay for stuff, and so I put my photography purchases on hold and it seems like it stays there forever. I have a full time job and I make money here and there from photography but its annoying borrowing equipment or renting all the time and missing opportunities for great shots or business.

[pierceography]

On the Internet (whoever has the best deal) with a credit card (which I pay off every month).  :-)

The way I see it, unless you absolutely NEED a piece of equipment you probably shouldn't finance.  If photography is mostly your hobby, then paying an interest rate on a hobby isn't a great decision.

[Kristofgss]

Lend myself the money from my savings account and repay myself at variable intrest rates. 

[J.R.]

On the Internet (whoever has the best deal) with a credit card (which I pay off every month).  :-)

+1

The way I see it, unless you absolutely NEED a piece of equipment you probably shouldn't finance.  If photography is mostly your hobby, then paying an interest rate on a hobby isn't a great decision.

I don't know whether one can really say that ... people do a lot of weird stuff over their hobbies / stuff they don't really need ... like car(s) purchased on finance, for instance. Its just a personal preference.

I usually wait for a deal and/or pay out of my savings account.

[kennephoto]

I hear ya and I do the same thing pay off my credit card every month and haven't paid interest on either card. Guess I should as for a raise haha. What do you mean pay yourself at variable interest rates?

[ksuweh]

I always pay cash for everything that I buy. A lot of my bigger purchases are bought with either bonuses that I get during the year or with my tax return. I do buy a lot of smaller items throughout the year as well. I have only bought things as I can afford them. Yes, doing it this way you will miss opportunities or have to rent things, BUT, the photography isn't bringing home the bacon, or even (in my case) self sufficient. You have another job that is supporting your photography habit/hobby/part-time job. Let it grow as you build your gear & experience.

The only other thing that I could possibly see is to get a small business loan & get what you want/need. I have considered this myself. This would only be if you are really pushing you photography & it isn't only a hobby for you anymore.

I also buy online, usually at B&H. I live hundreds of miles away from anything remotely considered a camera/photography store.

[Click]

On the Internet (whoever has the best deal) with a credit card (which I pay off every month).  :-)

+1

[crasher8]

Since all the local shops here have zero to no selection of finer gear I buy almost exclusively from B&H. During the past two years I did quite a bit of selling bodies and glass to fund new buys and with Canon gear having 95% of original cost resale value for like new gear it has been easy to do so. Now I'm in a happy place with what I have with little to no gear lust save for a new film body. (Thinking of switching from an Elan 7 to an EOS 3) I do use a card for my purchases but we pay all our bills off every two weeks. Credit card companies hate us.

[Old Sarge]

I usually buy on-line for convenience sake (although I'm really a bricks and mortar type guy, I'm also a lazy guy that doesn't like driving the twenty + miles to the only REAL photography store near me, or the thirty + miles in Dallas traffic to a really good photography store) using a credit card which I usually pay off every month.  I will buy from B&H or Adorama and use the Bill Me Later no interest for six months option.  I sometimes use that option even if I have the money in the bank to pay cash.  I never use it if I can't pay it off before the six months is over since the interest on most retail cards is ridiculously high.

[Dylan777]

I don't carry cash around much. I also don't  use my debit card. I only use my american express CC on my purchases(earn 1point on every dollars), including all bills setup as auto pay. We got over $3500 cash back from last year spending.

The key is pay off your balance every months, then your credit scores will be 800ish.

NEVER NEVER NEVER buy any stuff if you can't afford it. NEVER NEVER put balance on your cc just because your cc line is $20K -100K. Most cc companies are using compound interest to charge card holders.

Last but not least, buy it from authorized dealers bc it's your hard working/earning money.

[pdirestajr]

I am "lucky", I can take the elevator down to ground level and directly enter Calumet without even going outside, or walk 4 blocks to Adorama, or take the Subway one stop to B&H... It's hard not to spend money, but my accountant always tells me I need more write-offs, so I am just following orders

[kennephoto]

I don't carry cash around much. I also don't  use my debit card. I only use my american express CC on my purchases, including all bills setup as auto pay.

The key is pay off your balance every months, then your credit scores will be 800ish.

NEVER NEVER NEVER buy any stuff if you can't afford it. NEVER NEVER put balance on your cc just because your cc line is $20K -100K. Most cc companies are using compound interest to charge card holders.

Last but not least, buy it from authorized dealers bc it's your hard working/earning money.

I do that every month and I have never made a interest payment on either one of my credit cards. So now I have a great credit score but nothing to do with it. There's stuff I want to buy but I feel I will never be able to get it at this rate. I would love to have a 70-200 2.8 II and a 24-70 2.8 II and a 100 2.8 IS. I guess I could try selling my 24-105, 60efs, and my 50d because after using the 5d2 I hate using the 50d viewfinder.

[pierceography]

On the Internet (whoever has the best deal) with a credit card (which I pay off every month).  :-)

+1

The way I see it, unless you absolutely NEED a piece of equipment you probably shouldn't finance.  If photography is mostly your hobby, then paying an interest rate on a hobby isn't a great decision.

I don't know whether one can really say that ... people do a lot of weird stuff over their hobbies / stuff they don't really need ... like car(s) purchased on finance, for instance. Its just a personal preference.

I usually wait for a deal and/or pay out of my savings account.

Hence prefacing that sentence with, "The way I see it."  It's certainly a matter of personal preference for me, but photography is a hobby.  While I don't claim to be great with money, I try to finance as few things as I can (unless I can get some ridiculous interest rate).  Big ticket items for most people need to be financed: Houses, cars, usually anything over a certain threshold.  And while that lovely 600mm f/4 IS II would fall under the needing financing category for me, I simply can't justify it as I don't need it to sleep in, drive to work in, or make money with.

But, this is entirely a personal decision.  If someone is comfortable putting a camera, lens, or other equipment on their credit card and paying it off monthly, then go for it.  But that can quickly become a slippery slope... especially with photography, as I've found it can be quite addictive.  :-)

[Rocguy]

I put a little into my savings account each month until I have enough to buy something. But I am not afraid to put the balance on a credit card if it is an amount I can pay off in 2 maybe 3 months. A month or 2 of interest won't kill me and is usually worth less waiting.

And I also sell stuff I don't need/want/use anymore! Not just camera equipment. My paypal account, from eBay sales, makes for a great addition to my savings account.

As to where? I live in a city with basically 1 photography store and they are more expensive than anywhere else. I don't even go there to browse. They once tried to give me a "deal" on a display model that I could buy cheaper brand new elsewhere. I buy online from wherever I can get the best deal. If prices are about the same I'll buy from Best Buy. Some people seem to not like them around here? But I love their rewards point program.

[dilbert]

I buy equipment using money.