Upgrade or not? What would you do?

1.51K	1.51K StevenHattan private msg quote post Address this user	plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 2
	I have reached out to Dan and I'll be putting on a LIVE seminar on what I've done to obtain a few clients here and there. Dan will bring out more information as it's available but my guess is in the next week or two. There are a lot of things to consider regarding your upgrade to Pro 2. At first I was much more close minded about the announcement but have educated myself and thought out a business strategy. Although at 4:25pm right now I have not made my decision 100%, it certainly looks like I'll be acquiring the new camera...BUT KEEPING MY CURRENT ONE and not trading it in. Business positioning is EVERYTHING and if a competitor purchases a new camera and I don't then I lose any positioning power I've created. Basically, my greatest influencing thought is, if I lose a SINGLE shoot because of the Pro 2 over any two week period then it was a bad financial decision. I'll do over well over 300 shoots this year and by being able to offer BOTH cameras, I should be able to EASILY gain market share to return my investment 10 to 1. Mind you, my decision didn't even touch on the better quality and supposed increase speed of the camera...purely market factors. My guess is no one is ecstatic about the cost/investment but I'm sure gaining market share and business will more than compensate. So, if you live outside of Chicago, it's probably best to consider it. :-)
	8 years ago	Post 2 • IP flag post

@tocha

How many scans have you done so far?

Let's say you paid $3,500 for the camera. 50x3 for monthly hosting. 100's in additional equipment if you already had an iPad. I guess at least $4000 or maybe as high as $5,000 in cost.

How much have you made back?

We will go with the high estimate and assume you have received half of your investment back. So you are at $2,500 from the break even point.

If you get the new camera, your break even goes up to $3,500. That isn't bad because that is what they are going for and what you originally paid.

Unfortunately, no one can make the decision for you. I personally don't think you are going to magically get more business because of the new camera. If you are busy now, then you will be busy with the new camera. If you are slow now, you could still be slow with new camera.

If you upgrade or not, I would suggest what @JonJ said above. I would buy a camera, drone or whatever other equipment you can add to have more than one service. If you offer only one, it is tough because people want to call one person to do the job.

166	166 tocha private msg quote post Address this user	plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 1
	I purchased my camera just three months ago. I have not yet made back the money for the Pro camera and am finding it a little tough to get things rolling. My salesperson at Matterport assured me the camera would be upgradable into the future because everything was done through firmware updates. He said nothing about a new camera coming out. Now it will cost me an additional $1000 to trade in my 3 month old camera and get the PRO2. What are the pros and cons to trading up and what suggestions are there to get some cash flow going to get ROI as quick as possible?
	8 years ago	Post 1 • IP flag post

91	91 Wanderfish360 private msg quote post Address this user	plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 1
	@tocha I had the same dilemma. I bought mine in February. Ultimately I pulled the trigger over the weekend and did the upgrade. Even though the ROI wasn't met for me either I felt like I needed to future proof my investment. It stings BUT I don't want to get shut out of the market because my closest competitors upgraded and can boast higher quality scans and still images, etc. The cons -- new camera scans take up way more storage on the iPad (5x). Though Matterport has boasted about some backup solution coming I haven't seen it yet. So if you are using a 32GB iPad that is something to consider.
	8 years ago	Post 3 • IP flag post

1.76K	1.76K JonJ private msg quote post Address this user	plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 5
	When I first started my business, I was strictly a Matterport only Service Provider. Since then I have added a slew of services including my most profitable offering, traditional real estate photography! So, before spending another $1000 on a camera that only provides a marginally better virtual tour experience, consider purchasing a DSLR and wide angle lens. With a little knowledge and practice, you will be able to turn out stunning images. Think about it, every listing NEEDS photos and now you can get your foot in the door to upsell your Matterport tours. If you are interested in learning more about how to shoot real estate photography and are near Charleston SC, I would be happy to spend a day or two with you to show you what I do. Just send me a PM. This is an open invitation to anyone interested Good luck! Jon
	8 years ago	Post 4 • IP flag post

166	166 tocha private msg quote post Address this user	plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 3
	@stevehattan - I look forward to your forthcoming information! @wanderfish360 - you make some good points but is it also just FOMO? (fear of missing out) @JonJ - I do have DSLR and great video equipment and using that in my marketing trying to reach out to as many industries as well as real estate. I may take you up on your offer when I am over that way. @Justinv - thank you for your thoughtful response and advice
	8 years ago	Post 6 • IP flag post

598	598 nat_vanveen private msg quote post Address this user	plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 4
	@tocha It is apparent from members in this forum that if you are an MSP servicing real estate and doing well, then it makes sense to upgrade and not hold off. But I don't see any urgency or massive benefit demonstrated by Matterport in upgrading if (1) you can't afford to upgrade now and (2)real estate is not your target market...
	8 years ago	Post 7 • IP flag post

1.04K	1.04K justinv private msg quote post Address this user	plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 2
	@tocha How many scans have you done so far? Let's say you paid $3,500 for the camera. 50x3 for monthly hosting. 100's in additional equipment if you already had an iPad. I guess at least $4000 or maybe as high as $5,000 in cost. How much have you made back? We will go with the high estimate and assume you have received half of your investment back. So you are at $2,500 from the break even point. If you get the new camera, your break even goes up to $3,500. That isn't bad because that is what they are going for and what you originally paid. Unfortunately, no one can make the decision for you. I personally don't think you are going to magically get more business because of the new camera. If you are busy now, then you will be busy with the new camera. If you are slow now, you could still be slow with new camera. If you upgrade or not, I would suggest what @JonJ said above. I would buy a camera, drone or whatever other equipment you can add to have more than one service. If you offer only one, it is tough because people want to call one person to do the job.
	8 years ago	Post 5 • IP flag post

91	91 Wanderfish360 private msg quote post Address this user	plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 2
	@tocha I offer a turn-key solution -- photos, videos, and matterport. It that one stop shop that has RE agents excited. Sure FOMO plays a part, but because of the increased resolution, the quality will be good enough to help supplement/possibly replace the interior photos shoots. This will reduce the time I spent shooting separately (hopefully) and allows me to upsell the matterport.
	8 years ago	Post 8 • IP flag post

166	166 tocha private msg quote post Address this user	plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 1
	@wanderfish360 - Of all the 15 or so RE shoots I have done I have not had anyone say that the photos were not good enough as they are coming from the Pro. None of those agents have printed them for anything either but for web they are happy with it. On another note how do you all go about getting your customers - do you meet at the brokers and do a presentation? Do you solicit agents individually? Do you do facebook ads?
	8 years ago	Post 9 • IP flag post

3.14K Regina, Saskatchewan Canada	3.14K Queen_City_3D private msg quote post Address this user	plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 1
	Quote: Originally Posted by StevenHattan Although at 4:25pm right now I have not made my decision 100%, it certainly looks like I'll be acquiring the new camera...BUT KEEPING MY CURRENT ONE and not trading it in. We've also ordered the new camera and plan to keep our existing as a back up and to scan 2 different properties at same time if required by hiring some help. Ideally we want to use the PRO2 as much as possible to give clients the better imagery when we're able, but in a pinch we still think the PRO1 will be okay. @tocha If you plan to continue down this path I'd say order the PRO2, and as you aren't currently doing enough to warrant having to cameras, get the trade-in while you can.
	8 years ago	Post 11 • IP flag post

Upgrade or not? What would you do?4842