What would you charge for a 1994 ETC Impression console?

[matcreyn]

I've got a new Ion for my department, so our 20-year-old Impression is unnecessary. However, another department on campus wants to buy it from us. I want to give them a fair price (50% of market value), but would like to know, what do you think would be a fair market price for this console. It works just fine, no problems, just old.

 

[Focus]

$15

 

[matcreyn]

Seriously? We bought it for $12,000 originally. And it still works just as well as the day we bought it. Granted, it may not be worth a lot, but I thought at least a couple grand.

 

[Focus]

I have no idea, and probably most of the people on this forum have no Idea what it is worth. Try using Google, Solaris, used lighting.com, ebay, etc to find current prices.

 

[JD]

Unlike followspots and even some stage instruments, there is no real value to a 20 year old control board due to reliability issues and feature obsolescence. What is different in this case is you are really talking about a cross-budget sale within the same organization, so no real cash changes hands. First, I would look to see if an equipment trade can be made. (Is there something in their department they are not using but you could use?) If not, then it is up to the administrators in those departments to come up with a number that they can put in the ledger and officially change the inventory status between the departments.

EDIT- I feel your pain, having single handedley funded the computer revolution in the late 80's to early 90's with much the same resale potential !

 

[Focus]

Quite frankly, the impression is a pretty old and limited console, I could not find one used in a brief search. I would guess a fair price would be similar to any comparable 2 scene/sub-master board with limited cue stack ability.

 

[MNicolai]

A couple grand goes a long way today toward getting you a decent, new lighting console with a full warranty. You'd be amazed the kinds of shows I've seen run off of a $2000 SmartFade.

Went to a concert a couple weekends ago where the opening act had their lights run off of a SmartFade ML, and the headliner was on a Hog 4.

At this stage in the game, I'd say that the console is worth more as an artifact in a personal collection or a museum than being sold to someone who actually intends to use it regularly. If you can't get any money for it, you may be best to just hold onto it and keep it as a backup if your Ion fails at an inopportune moment. You could also potentially arrange an equipment trade with the other department, or gift it to them, but in exchange for a favor or two you can cash in on further down the road.

 

[techieman33]

$15 is kind of low, but it's really not worth a whole lot. Personally I wouldn't even think about buying a console that old. At that age it's just a matter of time before it starts having problems and costs a ton of money to repair, if you can even find the parts. Another problem is that you can buy a pc based solution that is way more powerful for under $100 if you already have a computer.

 

[Focus]

$15 was basically to make a point that the console is obsolete; is someone else could use it, just give it to them. Pay it forward or something.

 

[Footer]

There are hundreds of used express consoles out there where people are asking for 2k-5k. They are still sitting there because no one will pay that.

I would not pay more then 500 bucks for it.... and that is because it has a working DMX output. Even then, that is steep.

If it makes you feel any better I have a used Midas Heritage 1k that I am wanting to get 6k for... when it was new just 11 years ago it was a 65,000 dollar console. So, there ya go.

 

[Amiers]

If it stays within the company make a fair trade. I am sure they have something you want or they can acquire for you easier then you could for your dept. Unless your budget is that low that you need the side cash.

 

[Les]

I would say that $250-500 would be a reasonable price point. I know that's way lower than you anticipated. I honestly like the idea of saving it for "a rainy day". New consoles surely aren't invincible, and you never know when you'll find yourself in such a situation where you need something, anything, that will control lights in order to keep you from having to cancel a show right before curtain. I've seen that happen with a school that was running a 5-year-old Express with Emphasis which crashed at a very bad time...

...Or for that situation when you have a group using the space, and you don't want them touching the Ion; or the likely event that they don't know how to use it.

 

[Chris Chapman]

There are hundreds of used express consoles out there where people are asking for 2k-5k. They are still sitting there because no one will pay that.

So what WOULD you pay for an Express?

 

[Focus]

A couple hundred, maybe. You can get PC based software and a usb to dmx dongle for about the same, but with more power.

 

[MNicolai]

A couple hundred, maybe. You can get PC based software and a usb to dmx dongle for about the same, but with more power.

I'd agree at a couple hundred. If I would buy an Express today, it would be to keep it on a shelf somewhere until an emergency where the primary console died and we needed any way at all to get some lights on.

That or for something small that only needs some simple controls -- but even then the console takes up an enormous amount of desk space if all you need it to do is to turn on 20 lights.

 

[Focus]

Its been my experience that when a public entity such as a school has some gear that is no longer in use it goes to "surplus" where it is redistributed or sold, but actually it just sits on a pallet in the rain behind the maintenance building, an is eventually thrown in the dumpster. Find someone who can really use it (highschool, community theater, etc), give it to them, claim you have never met and the item never existed, and they should never thank you in any way. Plus no one will ever ask what happened to you 20 year old whatever-it-is.

 

[Footer]

So what WOULD you pay for an Express?

500 bucks... but only for a 125 or 250. The other ones are not worth the truck space.

 

[gafftaper]

A couple hundred, maybe. You can get PC based software and a usb to dmx dongle for about the same, but with more power.

I totally agree. A $150 usb/dmx dongle and a free download of Chamsys Magic Q software on an old laptop can do far more than your $12,000 console.

Its been my experience that when a public entity such as a school has some gear that is no longer in use it goes to "surplus" where it is redistributed or sold, but actually it just sits on a pallet in the rain behind the maintenance building, an is eventually thrown in the dumpster. Find someone who can really use it (highschool, community theater, etc), give it to them, claim you have never met and the item never existed, and they should never thank you in any way. Plus no one will ever ask what happened to you 20 year old whatever-it-is.

That would be a HUGE mistake around here. The state college I used to work at had a team of people go through the entire campus every summer to find and scan EVERY inventory control tag. I had to open up the back of my audio rack so that they could scan the inventory tags on every piece of gear in the rack. Giving away inventory controlled state property can be a career ending move with fines and/or jail time here. It's a great idea, but be sure you clear anything like this with your administration first before you do anything with state property.

 

[Les]

I totally agree. A $150 usb/dmx dongle and a free download of Chamsys Magic Q software on an old laptop can do far more than your $12,000 console.

I have a hard time trusting my show on any laptop, let alone an old laptop!

But Gafftaper is right, especially when it comes to allocation of equipment. While Focus' observation is unfortunately true in many areas (plus, it made me laugh), some districts are more savvy than others so do check. A school district in my area uses a company called Rene Bates Auctioneers. They usually sell stuff cheap, cheap, cheap (but you have to put down a deposit to bid). Perhaps if it does have to go to auction, you can see about fast tracking the process and pointing any groups in need to the appropriate listing.

 

[gafftaper]

I have a hard time trusting my show on any laptop, let alone an old laptop!

So Les, which do you trust more:

Chamsys MagicQ software, an Enttec Dongle, on an old Dual Core 1000 mhz laptop with a well maintained clean install of Windows XP (it's not connected to the internet and no other software is on this laptop, just MagicQ).

OR

The ETC Impression that's been used and abused by unknown numbers of high school students for 20 years.

Ouch that's a hard call. By the way what I had in mind when I originally posted was not a laptop quite that old, but more one like the used quad core I picked up this summer for $300. However I use Magic Q on an old clean Windows XP machine all the time and it's never hiccuped once.