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Gear Appraisal


austinmplocher

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Have you guys ever successfully had someone do a gear appraisal for you? I've got a pretty big spreadsheet of gear, mixers/recorders, booms, wireless, etc. I'd like appraised and haven't had any luck going thru the expected channels here in NY, Gotham and Pro Sound. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

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8 hours ago, Eric Toline said:

I would suggest totaling the new replacement costs of everything and work from there, assuming it's for insurance coverage.

 

Even if it is older gear such as say a 552 or original MixPre or Lectro 200 series?! Some of those are not even sold any longer. 

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1 hour ago, IronFilm said:

 

Even if it is older gear such as say a 552 or original MixPre or Lectro 200 series?! Some of those are not even sold any longer. 

 

In that case check the used gear listings on dealers websites or Ebay and see what they are selling for. Just because they are no longer made does not mean they don't have a value.

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I'd say looking at consignment prices or prices on our WTB/FS section may help. Usually people have a good idea of what is selling for what price because they are active in the community, and buy/sell fairly regularly, so most people wouldn't need appraisal service. 

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I think I've been misunderstood. Sure, I'd do fine selling off a piece of gear. 

 

A couple mixers and I are going into business together and need to accurately be able to acknowledge the assets we're bringing in. We've got a large spreadsheet with four tabs of long gear lists. We'd like to avoid sifting through the WTB/FS section or eBay to assess each and figured a retailer, especially one with a used section, would have the tools to do this better.

 

 

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12 minutes ago, austinmplocher said:

I think I've been misunderstood. Sure, I'd do fine selling off a piece of gear. 

 

A couple mixers and I are going into business together and need to accurately be able to acknowledge the assets we're bringing in. We've got a large spreadsheet with four tabs of long gear lists. We'd like to avoid sifting through the WTB/FS section or eBay to assess each and figured a retailer, especially one with a used section, would have the tools to do this better.

 

 

Ok, try this. Everyone make a list of the new cost of all their gear then deduct 25% for wear & tear, age, etc. That should put you in the ballpark.

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15 minutes ago, austinmplocher said:

Thanks Eric. We've done that for the sake of projections, but, we're looking for a more detailed version. Maybe that's not as achievable as we'd thought?

I'm out of suggestions. IMO I think you're over complicating the issue. Good luck on finding a solution that works for you.

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If you can’t find the prices online, your best bet maybe to sit everyone around a table and lookat every piece of gear and settle on a value through discussion. That way nobody can complain about something being over-/undervalued, because you all basically appraised it yourselves and everyone agreed. 

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Depreciated value.

 

I think there's some forum lost-in-translation happening here or something. We're competent in assessing our values. I thought it was pretty clear in my OP that my intention was to ask if anyone had had a gear appraisal done and for feedback on the experience. I guess not.

 

Constantin, certainly agree with your input. Though laborious with 500+ items, this may be our best bet.

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Thanks for looking into this, Austin. I thought I remembered Rich Topham at Pro Sound doing appraisals back in the day. I'm not sure what he charged, but I imagine it was pretty reasonable. 

 

The goal here is finding an objective 3rd party to appraise gear based off a list that has purchase dates and current cosmetic condition, to value a the equipment portion of a company's value (as well as accurate insurance reasons). Self appraisal isn't necessarily objective. 

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10 minutes ago, ronmac said:

 

Not to pee in your cereal, but if you and your partners can't be objective in the many, many business decisions you will be faced with......

 

I was eating cereal when I read this, thanks for the visual ! Hah. You're right. We trust each other enough to properly appraise, but would prefer to hire out this task. And as John said, to have someone sign off on it.

 

11 minutes ago, John Blankenship said:

Ok, get it... 

 

It sounds like basically you just need an objective third party with the expertise to sign off on your numbers.

 

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On 3/14/2018 at 8:26 AM, austinmplocher said:

haven't had any luck going thru the expected channels here in NY, Gotham and Pro Sound.

 

Austin, any idea why they didn't want to do the appraisal? Concerns about liability, just don't want the hassle (even if you paid them for their time at something like their hourly repair rate), or what?

 

Why do you want the appraisal? For insurance purposes, to establish how much $$/gear each person is contributing to the effort? Is the idea that you want a third party to give number that will stand up to scrutiny from insurers? 

 

Anyway, perhaps try an out-of-town reseller/rental house? I'm thinking someone like Trew who's big enough to perhaps have enough staff to have the bandwidth to take on the project for the right fee. Or maybe your insurance broker can recommend someone? 

 

Sorry I don't have much to offer...

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This is a pretty crazy topic.

 

I think anyone who has been in the business for a while knows the resale value of the gear they have. Just agree to a number on each piece of gear, and move on. I did it when I needed to have a value for my gear. But there are many values. The value as a package. The value as a package for immediate sale. The value of a package for a less urgent sale. The same for each individual item.

 

The problem in your case will be that one of you might have a couple of 211s that are worth $800 total, and another of you might have an SRC that's worth let's say $2800. They do the same thing. If you show up with 211s and turn in good tracks, or your partner shows up with an SRC and turns in good tracks, your rental will be the same. So really those pieces of gear have the same "value" in terms of your business.

 

The best way to handle this, in my opinion, is to split proceeds 3 ways and share the gear your have already (assuming you all have a pretty comprehensive package). New gear acquisitions can be purchased by the company as required to improve the business.

 

Good luck.

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  • 1 month later...
On 3/20/2018 at 10:33 AM, jonmoore said:

The goal here is finding an objective 3rd party to appraise gear based off a list that has purchase dates and current cosmetic condition, to value a the equipment portion of a company's value (as well as accurate insurance reasons). Self appraisal isn't necessarily objective. 

 

Would another sound mixer qualify as an objective 3rd party?

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  • 1 month later...
On 3/20/2018 at 10:39 PM, RPSharman said:

This is a pretty crazy topic.

 

I think anyone who has been in the business for a while knows the resale value of the gear they have. Just agree to a number on each piece of gear, and move on. I did it when I needed to have a value for my gear. But there are many values. The value as a package. The value as a package for immediate sale. The value of a package for a less urgent sale. The same for each individual item.

 

The problem in your case will be that one of you might have a couple of 211s that are worth $800 total, and another of you might have an SRC that's worth let's say $2800. They do the same thing. If you show up with 211s and turn in good tracks, or your partner shows up with an SRC and turns in good tracks, your rental will be the same. So really those pieces of gear have the same "value" in terms of your business.

 

The best way to handle this, in my opinion, is to split proceeds 3 ways and share the gear your have already (assuming you all have a pretty comprehensive package). New gear acquisitions can be purchased by the company as required to improve the business.

 

Good luck.

Thanks for the input. How you've described it is pretty accurate- it comes down to wanting a well assessed price on a used piece of gear. 

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