Lensrentals News and Alerts

Introducing LensRentals Keeper

Published October 2, 2014

Saying goodbye can be the hardest part of any rental. With our new Keeper program, you can try it, then buy it!

Just rent an eligible item, and then we’ll give you a starting purchase price based on the age of the copy we send you. We’ll even give you a credit for a portion of the rental fees. Even better, you can handle the entire transaction with just a few clicks on our website (although we’d be more than happy to handle it over the phone if you are just dying to talk to one of our friendly customer service agents).

What equipment is eligible?

Almost all of our equipment is eligible. If it is impossible for us to get a quick replacement for a particular piece of gear, either because it is backordered or because our suppliers are slow to get us new copies, it may not be offered for sale. If you see a piece of equipment not offered for sale, just send us an email. In many cases, we just haven’t gotten around to updating the product to be eligible for sale.

If a product is eligible, it will have a badge underneath the rent button on its page.

If you click the Get Estimate button, we’ll display a range of possible prices, to give you an expectation of what your copy might cost before you rent it. The final price you are offered will be dependent on the age of the copy you receive, but should fall inside the quote range, in most cases.

How do I receive a quote for my rental?

Just log-in to our site, and pull up your current rental. Each eligible item will have a Buy Now button.

You’ll then receive your exact quote. You can approve the quote and we’ll bill your credit card on file, or you can decline the offer. Once you approve the offer, we’ll bill the card on file and send you a receipt. As always, if you’d rather talk to one of our friendly customer service agents and have them give you a quote and process the purchase, just give us a call!

How is the purchase price calculated?

It’s pretty simple actually. We take into account the retail price of the product, the price we can sell it for at the end of its run with us, and the current age of the copy you have in your possession. If the copy you have is on its very first rental, the price is going to be pretty close to the retail price, because, hey, it’s brand new! Likewise, if the copy you have is near the end of its rental life, it is going to be pretty close to the pricing you’d see at LensAuthority on our used gear.

That price is way too high! What’s up with that?

If you see a price that looks too high, it’s probably a mistake on our part. We’ve spent a lot of time developing formulas to give you real time price quotes, but we aren’t perfect. Retail prices are always fluctuating. We may have not updated our price to reflect a recent price change. Our formula might just be stupid in some way.

If you see a crazy price, please send an email to support@lensrentals.com – We’ll check on that price for you and adjust it if necessary.

What percentage of my rental fees do I get credited?

We’ll give you back 100% of the rental fees for up to a 7 day rental as a credit towards purchase. If your rental was longer than 7 days, we’ll give you the 7 day rental price as a credit, and 30% of the remaining rental fees you paid, as well.

No credit is given for amounts paid for the Lenscap and Lenscap+ protection plans.

Lastly, we want to be clear this is a try-and-buy program; it’s not a rent-to-own program in the traditional sense. The price, after any credit for rental fees, will never dip much below 50% of the retail price of the equipment, so please don’t expect to extend a rental over and over again until the item is completely paid-off.

Can I apply the rental fees from past rentals or from one product to another?

No. You will only receive a credit for the rental fees paid for the particular copy that is being quoted, on this particular rental. If you rent 3 copies of an identical lens on one rental, you cannot use the rental fees paid for all 3 copies towards the purchase of a single copy. Likewise, if you have rented the same lens on 3 different rentals, you will only receive a credit for the fees paid on your current rental.

What is the return policy?

We’ll allow a return within the first 14 days, and we’ll issue a refund less the rental fees that would have been charged for the period you had the equipment.

What if I want an extended warranty or a retail box?

We can sell an extended warranty from CPSfor a fee, and in many cases, we can also send you a retail box if you’ll cover the shipping costs. Just email us after your purchase if you’d like to do either of those, and we’ll take care of it.

 

Author: Lensrentals

Articles written by the entire editorial and technical staff at LensRentals.com. These articles are for when there is more than one author for the entire post, and are written as a community effort.

Posted in Lensrentals News and Alerts
  • Steve

    Extend it to rent to own, and you’ll get a lot more of my money. As for for how it would make money, if I rent a lens that’s already used, and pay full retail for It (or a little more) then they will make more money than selling it used. If I rent it for a month or two and change my mind, then they get it back and keep all the money I paid in rental fees so far.

  • Amanda

    Makes sense and I like the idea but, so far, the two lenses I’d be interested in purchasing after renting sell brand new for the same or less than the max buy it now price.

  • Marc Hunter

    Awesome program!!!

  • Chet Meyerson

    The program certainly worked. Read about it today, canceled my order at another lens rental firm, entered it here and will receive it all Friday. I do intend on purchasing these lenses and if the price is right (and since my rental feel is credited), this make me change. A great program.

  • sounds great

  • Nice concept !
    Great job !

  • You should go for rent to own

  • BugBait

    Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Rock on, and enjoy your continued prosperity.

  • How does a rent to own program make any sense for LensRentals?? Or make any sense for YOU!? If you rent a 70-200 for $85 for each 7 day period, and they’d sell the lens to you for say $1,800, you would have to rent it about 21 times to spend $1,800…..oh wait, you also spent over $500 in shipping combined, for those 21 rentals…..so you really paid $2,300 for an $1,800 lens….you may as well have just bought it on a credit card, and paid the interest.

    But also, if LensRentals just said “rent 21 times and it’s yours!”, they would make ZERO money on you as a customer! Their money is made in RENTALS…..not rent it 21 times and give it away FOR FREE…..seriously?? Now, they can’t rent the lens to anyone else, b/c you kept it, and they never made any money on those 21 rentals….

    Rent to own doesn’t make sense for THEM, OR for you!

  • What kind of warranty, if any, comes with these purchases? There’s a 14-day return and optional extended warranty, but does the balance of the manufacturer’s warranty transfer?

  • This is outstanding, great service improvement.

  • Larry

    What’s the point of a rent-to-own program? Ideally you would save the money for a purchase, but you could also borrow the money from a low interest credit card or other lender and use it to buy the lens through this Keeper program. Paying huge interest fees so you can have the item in hand a bit earlier seems financially crazy.

  • Jens

    Really great and most welcome imitative. Too bad that Lensrental do not have an office in Sweden so that I can use it.

  • D. Garlans

    Rent to own would be cool, but I suspect that the fees they would have to charge to cover them having to buy the lenses in the first place, cover the possible liabilities or risk, and cover the added staff they need to track an entirely new wing of the business, would make it a far worse deal and a whole lot less fun for everyone.

    Plus, rent to own has a pretty shady reputation. This new option just means that we can get professional level quality control for free, effectively. That’s awesome.

  • As someone who has rented multiple times and will continue to rent in the future, I would love a rent to own program. I brought it up probably a year ago to them and was told they don’t have something. And seeing this post is definitely very exciting!

    I would love to see rent to own though. And yes it’s a different beast so they should put some restrictions on who can participate in the program. Like people who have been customers for sometime, or rented a certain amount of gear, etc. .

  • jp

    What will happen to the pelican case the camera was shipped in?

  • This is a great addition to your current rent/purchase options! I have been a loyal customer for the past two years and appreciate everything you do to provide all of us with options and access to the best equipment for our craft.

  • Carol Teater

    I would be a bit surprised if Roger wants to get in the financing business?

  • Web

    kove love love this.

  • Matt

    I’m with the others on rent to own. I understand it’s a different beast but I would definitely like the opportunity to be a part of any pilot program 😉 you guys are the best in the business.

  • Randy

    What a fantastic idea. You can rent an item that’s notoriously “variable” (Samyang, Rokinon, Sigma) and assuming you get a good one, you can grab it. You get a pre-tested product for less than an untested one.

  • Scott Glime

    This is a great idea. I love the rent to own idea. If you can pull it off, there would be a huge market for it. I’d be willing to pay a few hundred more for a lens if I could spread the payments out.

  • Any chances that one day you extend your business in Europe? 🙂

  • Kevin Peeples

    I agree with the rent to own program idea.

  • Christina

    I agree with Jorge! I’m only a hobbyist but I rent from time to time for portraits and such. I would LOVE rent to own on some of these lenses. I only have a 50 mm for my D700 but am not happy with it. Yet, I also don’t have $1800 up front for a new or used lens. I love renting but rent to own could be a great addition!

  • Bryant

    I concur with Jorge. That would be a wonderful option!

  • What a wonderful idea! Rent to own would also be a nice option. I’ve always enjoyed working with you guys, and you have given me reason to keep coming to you when I need something.

  • Carol Teater

    This is pretty awesome! I have often thought how good it would be to buy a new lens, and have it sent to you guys for testing/adjustment, for a fee, but that is of course not a part of your business. That is the allure of buying a used lens from you, knowing that it will be well-aligned and in good working order (and that is the allure of renting from you, also, knowing that you are going to get a ‘good copy’). I always just worried about how much life the end-of-rental lenses had in them, if maybe the motors or electronics were somewhat worn out. Now looks like you can rent a newish lens, and then buy it if you like (I guess that is assuming that the things you want are available for sale).

    This also feeds into what I have told my spouse soooo many times: “Man, I wish I could just keep this…”

  • Jorge Martinez

    Guys, I love your equipment and had been a loyal customer. Why not offer a rent to own program? Lots of us might not have the cash up front to pay for what we want, however, a rent to own program might make it easier for us. Other than than, love you guys! I’ve tried other places, but you guys are top notch!

  • Rob

    Love it. Keep it going!

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