gorlin

Guys, I'm new on the forum, and if this subject is not appropriate here, I apologize in advance. Please forgive the newbie. I'm on a condo board and we had some issues lately so I started looking into the idea of putting a CCTV system in the lobby / back entrance. I don't have experience with CCTV systems per se, but I've wired my whole house in the past, good with computers etc.. I've gotten a few quotes and the prices that I'm being quoted on hardware, are just simply significantly more than what I can buy the hardware from on newegg etc. I would much rather have a dealer lay out what their labor is vs trying to pad the hardware costs. For example, I was quoted this: 1.00 NVR: NVR 4000PX HIKVISION 4 Channel NVR System / 1080P VIDEO / Built in POE / 2000GB HDD = $999 1.00 IP CAMERA: 1080-3MP-D 3MP Dome Camera / 2.8mm Lens / Vandal Dome / Night Vision = $349 I can get the hardware with exact specifications for at least 1/2 the price... Please tell me if I'm thinking about this wrong? Thanks in advance. Mike

Ok then. Thank you very much for the info. This is the quote that I got from the dealer that I think is being quite reasonable. They didn't include a dvr cabinet, but that's fine, I'll figure that out.. $900 bucks with LTS equipment. Does this sound fair / reasonable? Thank you in advance for your help. 01/21/2015 2TB Security Camera Hard Drive 1 119.95 01/21/2015 4CH H.264 30FPS 1080P DVR 1 299.95 01/21/2015 Installation of DVR 1 99.95 01/21/2015 4IR Vandal Proof 1080P 2.1Mega Pixel, Infra Red 120FT 2 169.95 01/21/2015 4 Port 10 AMP Power Supply 1 59.95 01/21/2015 Installation of Camera 2 99.95 01/21/2015 19 Inch HP Monitor 1 99.95 Total $1219 Discount 400 Final After Tax $895

Yeah, I'm fairly certain that newegg is not selling knock offs. LIsten, maybe that's just an accepted practice in CCTV industry, but I find it a deceptive practice to put the hardware costs comingled with a mark up and then add an installation fee on top of that. I would be perfectly fine if the hardware costs were true and there was a higher installation fee. Based on my experience so far, I'm tempted to hire my handyman/electrician to run the wire and just connect everything myself. I did get one competitive quote but it's using LTS equipment. I looked at reviews and the equipment seems to be of poor quality. Can anyone confirm that my thinking is right? Thanks guys! Mike

What I'm saying is, as someone who is not in the business of making money on this stuff and who is an end consumer, why would I care if my distributor is "authorized"? I mean. this is a glorified DVR.. and if I can purchase it for 1/2 the price.. and it breaks.. well, I can buy another one and still come out ahead.. By the way, I have no problem with the dealer charging for installation obviously, but I feel that if a dealer "marks up" the price of the hardware by a factor of 2, and then further charges for installation.. then the invoice is extremely disingenuous. How am I wrong?