Tag: DIY CCTV

DIY CCTV is it a threat to the industry?

I recently fielded a call from a very enthusiastic “customer” who was desperate to employ my skills to install an Access control and CCTV system for him. Was i excited by the prospect ? Well at first yes until that is the chap went on to explain that he had managed to buy all the kit he wanted to install off eBay and expected my “very best price” to put this kit on the wall. He had acquired cameras and what should have been a very expensive piece of recording equipment for peanuts. I had to admire the fact that he knew so much about the kit and what he should have paid for it.

cheap dvr

He sounded most disappointed though when i refused his custom .Why you may ask would i do this. Well firstly the investment involved to be able to buy and install CCTV equipment is huge. There is the vans on the roads, the engineers, wages the investment in IT equipment not to mention getting affiliation to a respected inspectorate! Profit is made by both mark up on the kit as well as labour provided and what about a service agreement?

Its my bet the kit is cheap because it is faulty, second hand or stolen. The minute i touch this kit who then gets the blame when it does not work? Iam thinking probably me! Worse still when i give my price is my new customer going to pay extra as i struggle to get his eBay acquired equipment to work .The answer is no. Most people who go DIY do so to save money. The very nature of this potential customer means that they are unlikely to want to pay for the right kit at the right price or take others advice. So would i turn this DIY CCTV business down? Definitely!

Ultimately who ever takes on this work will get their fingers burned and i doubt the customer will end up with a good job. The secret of a successful install is you must pay for what you get and then you can demand and expect value for money. So for all those eBayer’s out there if you want to do it yourself  then do the whole job cheap and don’t expect someone else to supply the labour and knowledge for you!

CCTV systems for home installation.

CCTV systems, sales grow on-line.

CCTV systems for domestic installations are becoming more and more popular as people realize the added security it can bring to your home. DIY CCTV solutions are now popping up everywhere and no more so than in the UK. Gone are the days when CCTV installations are done exclusively by security professionals. Now because of clever design and good information anyone can install cameras and digital video recorders. There are some great providers of CCTV systems on line and most will offer a 3-5 year guarantee on their equipment which has filled potential customers with plenty of confidence to buy security equipment and have a go at a DIY solution.

Electricians can profit.

Of course there will always be people who will struggle to run cables or indeed may not wish to ruin the aesthetics of their property and this is why wireless CCTV systems have also become a very popular alternative. Again the options are plentiful with online sales continuing to increase at a very healthy rate.

Adding to the demand for online security solutions are electricians who are starting to install all forms of CCTV systems and access control into both domestic and commercial premises. Often this will be an addition to an existing specification they have submitted for an electrical installation. The security aspect of the job is the icing on the cake for them.

5 year guarantees.

Once more what has made this possible and has levered business away from professional CCTV installers is the fact that on line distributors are happy to give lengthy guarantees on their equipment. Typically a couple of years ago 12months would have been all you could have expected from a supplier but now all the risk has been taken away from both the domestic customer and the electrical trade because they know that they can return the goods at no cost to themselves should a CCTV camera or DVR fail. With this in mind though it should be mentioned that reliability has been improved dramatically now and failure rates have plummeted.

It is then no surprise that on-line shops selling state of the art CCTV systems have done so well. A trend that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.