London-based photographer Keith Donegan rented out £5,000-worth of camera gear through the Fat Llama web site and it was not returned. I have to say I hadn‘t heard about Fat Llama before. But with this tale I am now unlikely to forget.
Guarantee
Keith had been renting out his gear without a problem for some time. It‘s a case of advertising your gear, dealing with the logistics and banking attractive fees. Fat Llama does give a guarantee against loss, although the renter has to go through a few hoops to comply with the small print. Keith eventually got all his gear replaced — including the ex gratia battery charger and backpack that he had thrown in as a bonus.
Fat Llama would have paid Keith the full original purchase price of the gear, £5,158, if it hadn‘t been for his omission to photograph the gear immediately before the rental. As it was, he was just happy to get all his stuff replaced.
Tempting
There‘s a link to Keith‘s article below and it makes very interesting reading, I must say. Fat Llama sounds like a good place to make a bob or two, as Keith confirms. On the one hand, it has seeded the germ of an idea: I have cameras I seldom use sitting on my shelf, so why not rent them out to cover the depreciation? It‘s a tempting thought, although I am not sure how I would happily cope with the logistics — which I presume involve personal encounters (Keith‘s renter went to his home to collect, but didn’t come back) or insured courier services.
On the other hand, why not give it a try? What price an M10 or a CL? Would you take the risk? This M10-P is being Llama’d at £49. Or you can take it for £300 a week and £1,163 for a month. There’s also an M10-P and Noctilux for £120 a day or the Nocti on its own for £69. Provided the gear comes back unscratched and in one piece, it could be worth a punt.
- Here is the Fat Llama web site so you can browse what‘s available to rent
- Here is a link to Keith‘s original article with all the twists and turns of a heart-stopping few days
My kit is so personal, and for me hard to part with – I cannot even sell of the bits I haven’t switched on for years. So I doubt I could even consider this, the thought of someone else using my gear, changing my settings and generally buggering around with it, or not treating it with the love, tenderness and care that I take would ultimately brass me off. I cannot even think of a price that would make me consider even giving this a go. And even then perhaps the D300s would be the only camera I would allow out of my sight – and probably only worth £2.50 a year, a pint of warm ale, and perhaps a knee trembler behind the local bus stop on a dark Friday night.
Dave, your knees wouldn‘t tremble if you had in-body stabilisation.
Ha ha ha ha.. After a few pints, this body doesn’t stabilise easily.
Dear Mike, I only own equipment I have named. This would be like prostitution. Could I put Lady Di, my Q-P, out in someone else’s paws – never! My cameras and glass are very personal. If I was a casual superficial photographer that owned a souless camera like a Canon 😜, maybe I would rent or loan equipment. Not even my favourite and only wife of 38 years dares touch my tools unless she has a camera strap around her neck and is being supervised. Cheers! Brian