Another factor an owner should consider, is that the camera cost is what, about a 1/3rd of the cost for a fully installed system? The owner will spend twice again on head end equipment, software, licenses, training, cable, installation and commissioning. This whole investment is highly reliant on the performance of the camera. A degraded camera performance (poor image quality, high failure rate, poor product support) will jeopardize the entire investment. The decision maker should ask themselves if an overall savings of 10 to 15 percent, even 20 percent, is worth acquiring a system that can become a longtime headache. Especially if the total cost of ownership is higher with the cheaper camera from the higher service costs due to the shortened warranty and higher failure rates. It should not be too hard for a sales rep to build a case that higher quality on the initial sale, can be the most cost effective solution.

A missed criminal activity due to a camera outage, will make the sweet music of the low price turn sour, when he or she has to explain to the boss why their expensive system didn’t catch the bad guy!