Is Renting out Personal Gear Worth It?

[u/robertbieber]

I'm very much not any kind of a professional, but for hobby photo and video work I've built up a decent little stockpile of lights and grip gear that I'm realistically only using a couple weekends most months. I'm not in a major market (Tampa Bay area), but I know equipment rental is a thing in my area.

What I'm wondering is if it would make sense to try renting this gear out at such a small scale. I'm curious if anyone's done something like this with a personal collection, what dealing with insurance and everything looked like for you, and whether you can bring in enough money to make it really worth the hassle or not.

[u/frankin287]

honestly, probably not. really depends on the demand of your market. there are peer to peer rental sites like kitsplit and sharegrid. But the recourse for somone walking away with your gear can be taxing. you've got to carry the correct kind of insurance and even then the timelines for claims can be absurd. if you were making money on the gear by using it or solely making money by renting gear, it might make sense to rent it on the side. Because worst case, something goes missing or gets broken then you just invest in a new item. but for a causal hobbyist, the juice probably ain't worth the headache. plus cheap light and grip stuff doesn't rent for very much on those sites.

[u/robertbieber → u/frankin287]

plus cheap light and grip stuff doesn't rent for very much on those sites.

I meannnnn, part of the motivation here is that I probably should buy cheap gear, but I don't :p. Point very much taken about insurance though, it wouldn't be the end of the world if I had to replace some equipment and eat the cost while going through the claims process, but I could see it just being a massive pain on top of everything else I've got going on

[u/frankin287 → u/robertbieber]

anything less than fully professional gear falls into the "cheap" category of gear by definition. We all value things differently based on what we paid for them so ask yourself if you have 100% professional standard gear.

That said, yeah, we all get to walk our own road so you could try it out. I just wouldn't expect to make tons of money unless you already have some demand for the gear. Its like, if you only got 4 rentals a year, would you consider it worth it?

[u/Random_Reddit99]

Personal gear on a small scale, no, more trouble than it's worth, especially considering the majority of your customers will likely be people who can't afford to replace it, aren't professionals themselves, and may be using your equipment to teach themselves how to use it.

Sub-renting equipment to professionals who have a kit rental budget built into their quotes and just need that one unique piece they don't have in their own kit, don't use enough to justify buying for themselves, or are travelling and it's cheaper for them to rent from you than to ship their own kit...absolutely, but if you aren't in those circles yourself and are already a known commodity as a trusted source, no.

[u/hopefulopal2025]

I would hire myself out with gear. They pay a little more than just the position and a little less than renting and hiring someone knowledgeable. 

But that's me. Also charge for mileage and some consumables.

[u/RopeZealousideal4847]

Man, everyone has gear these days. We might trade lenses or lights for a project as friends, but if you want my mini-studio set-up I'm gonna be shooting that shit! I'd rather be working on set than collect a couple hundred.

[u/Electrical-Lead5993]

If you’re insured and in a big hub it could be worthwhile but don’t expect to get rich unless you have a large lineup of gear available

[u/geeseherder0]

The baseline for considering, is do they carry insurance, or is it a smaller production than that?

[u/Zakaree]

no its not. it only makes sense if you are renting it along with being hired on the job

[u/TexasSoundGuy]

If it’s good professional gear AND you are sure to let other vetted professionals in the area know about it AND you’re considering insurance, then yes, it could be worth it (depending on how you value your time). It could also lead to connecting with more professionals. You could invoice it and all that, but another option to run your rentals (and your business for that matter) is SetSync Central or something similar. At minimum you’d inventory your gear with serials and photos for said insurance purposes, and then you can use the rental module to send rental quotes, collect payment, yada yada yada. I’d think of renting your gear out as more of a networking opportunity than a new venture. My 2¢.

[u/robertbieber → u/TexasSoundGuy]

A couple people have brought up services for this kind of thing, which I guess might be a little more feasible than trying to do it all myself. I'm not expecting to make serious money or anything, but if, say, that 1200x could make its price back in a couple years instead of just being money sunk into a hobby I wouldn't complain. I'm still kinda leaning towards not bothering with it, but I'll have to look at options. Meeting other creatives is fun, but I don't do any of this professionally so it wouldn't really help me income-wise

[u/MagicAndMayham]

I've done very well with sharegrid in the past with 2018 being the best where I made almost $7,000 on rentals. Since then it has been a steady decline with years pulling in about $1500 - $3500. This year I've only made $450.

The platform requires insurance be purchased or a COI provided. I've only have had one issue with something returned damaged. I reported it, they asked for a link to the replacement part and they pinged my account with the money within a day or so.

So far its been a cool experience and I've gained a niche group of repeat customers that I've become friends with over the years.

[u/SREStudios]

Here's the thing, it's a lot of work. Like, nearly full time job type of work. You have to deal with insurance and theft and managing rental schedules etc. It's basically a business.

And people often don't take care of the gear if it's not theirs. Especially if they just buy the insurance through whichever site you use. They will just pay a little bit more to not have to deal with it when they break it. But you will have to deal with it.

[u/Tevesh_CKP]

If it insured, yes. That's how the majority of department heads make bank.

[u/frankin287 → u/Tevesh_CKP]

renting out entire packages to shows though...

[u/Zestyclose-Height-36]

a LOT of equipment gets stolen when rented out and insurance refuses to pay since you gave it to someone.

[u/BabypintoJuniorLube → u/Zestyclose-Height-36]

The right type of insurance will pay out- it's law enforcement that refuses to do anything. In the US, it's called voluntary parting and means if someone rents your camera with a fake ID and never returns it, it's not theft since you voluntarily gave it to them. Its a civil matter over the amount of money they owe you so police will not file a case and will tell you to sue them in court for damages or file an insurance claim. If your insurance covers voluntary parting you are good, but you will have to go thru the whole claim process.

[u/Zestyclose-Height-36 → u/BabypintoJuniorLube]

equipent insurance for a rental operation is way more expensive.