Who has the best price for a FLIR i50 now?

I am looking to buy a new FLIR i50 within the next 2 weeks and was wondering who is offering the best deal right now. Any distributers want to contact me and offer me a deal that is better than the MSRP?

Good luck with that. I contacted a rep for a demo, he missed that appointment. Two weeks later I contacted him again and he finally gave me a demo. He only brought one model. After the demo I asked for a price and was told I would have it the next day. It now has been a couple of weeks again and no response.

Good price here

That is for a B Cam SD. I am looking for an “I” serios camera becuae I want the higher temperature range as well as a slightly higher resolution.

Thanks anyway, I have seen that offer posted before.

For Flir I/B 50’s & 60’s I got the 3 best prices from:

TEquipment; Jason at AC?? (on this web site); and Nick at HI Essentials

All within $100 of each other and below other vendors.

LOL…I have to remember this thread the next time somebody starts a thread complaining about “price shoppers”.

Why are we not seeking the most expensive camera that has the most features since we, of all people, know that you only get what you pay for?

Will the guy who buys the cheapest IR camera insist that he is worth the highest fee? I can’t wait for that one.

While others are helping a fellow member, you are mocking.
Tell us how much you paid for your tools?

Mocking? I don’t think so.

Explain to me why it is that the home inspector who comes in with the lowest priced inspection to get the job is pond scum…and the vendor who comes in with the lowest priced tool to get the sale is valued. Tell me the difference, John. Anybody.

At least James has stumbled on the real issue of “value”.

Beyond that he is trying to equate a competent professional with a piece of test equipment.

One is interchangeable, the other is not.

“Value” is the key word.

If what you “value” is the cheapest FLIR i50 and are looking for the person who will provide you with it, how different are you from the client who “values” the cheapest Texas SOP home inspection and the lowballer willing to provide it to them?

This would hold especially true in a state like Texas where the government has made uniform everything from the SOP to the report. This home inspection commodity…like the FLIR i50…should not differ much from one salesman to the next. Right?

Is the cheapest price what is “valued” or are there other features to owning these devices (calibration, warranty, service, etc…) that could possibly vary from one seller to the next?

Could the highest priced FLIR i50, depending upon these factors, actually be the better deal?

We do not agree James. You’re making an apples and oranges argument.

Of course you don’t.

Huh?

“Price shoppers” as applied to selecting a home inspector are looking for the lowest price for a service often without regard to real value because they don’t know what to expect or even have the right questions to ask to determine value.

That’s is an opportunity for the savvy HI taking the call.

“Price shopping” as applied to the purchase of Model: ABC IR imager from vendor X,Y, or Z is shopping for a commodity.

It is up to the vendor to provide any value added services that may convince the buyer to pay more.

I agree that in licensed staes the perception of the public may be that one inspector is as good as the next but we both know tha is not really true.

Maybe Scott is looking for a camera that has a $100 markup instead of a $1000 markup! both having equal value.

Just goes to show that no question is too simply to be controversial:p

Thermal Imaging threads are always so entertaining. :mrgreen:

I am thinking about buying in Philadelphia, any home inspector deals right now?? I am a penny pincher, any home inspectors want to contact me and offer me a deal that is better than the next?

There are better and more effective ways to look for a deal than that!!!

Yes they are!

There is a difference!
A BCAM is a BCAM regardless of who sells it!
A home inspector cannot be compared with another home inspector.

Purchase price is about being in the right place at the right time.
I purchased my first thermal camera $2000 less than the going price.
I purchased my second camera $7000 less than the going price. Both cameras were the last one on the shelf, and new models were coming in!
I was able to sell my first camera at a substantial savings to the new owner and still recoup my investment so that I could apply it to my second camera which I can also resell at a significant savings to the new buyer but still recoup my investment.

Yes, this is an apples and orange conversation.

You are exactly right.

The value of the inspector is his ability and willingness to discern
defects and report them with sound advise. This is the primary
value that the clients are looking for.

The value of a tool is related to the ability it has to get the job
done for a specific need. Most buy a hammer to drive a few
nails. Some will buy a more sophisticated and expensive nail
gun once the need for volume demands it and the profits will
justify the the expense of the higher priced tool.

When people hire the cheapest home inspector who does
four inspections a day, they discover later that they were
not really getting true value for they thought they were
going to get.

To do a more detailed inspection takes time and tools.
We in the trade know that, but the consumer does not
always understand that cheap is not always better. Many
times it is this very misunderstanding that may end up
costing the consumer thousands of dollars in the long run,
because of a superficial inspection at the cheapest cost.

We, as inspectors, tend to look down on those in our trade
who do poor work and thus cheapen all our reputations,
as well as drive down our wages in the market place.

Buying the right tool for the right job is not immoral It
is common sense. Promising to do a quality inspection
and then doing it as fast as you can because your
pricing plan demands that you survive on high volume
is immoral.

Buying the right tool for the right job saves money
and hurts no one. Selling big promises of high quality
inspections and then racing through it because your
price is so cheap, ends up hurting everyone.

Big difference. :mrgreen:

Everything can be seen clearly by looking at the word
“damage and intent”.

But the main point… WHY MOCK a fellow member
who is simply asking for advise on a tool? This is
not the right spirit… IMHO.

James, … what good does it do?

Your long winded prelude to your question has nothing to do with the topic at hand, John.

Like I said…I plan to link this thread to the next thread that someone brings up “price shoppers” and “lowballers”…and illustrate how consumers of IR cameras are looking to reward the IR technology lowballer with their business, as well.

That’s all.