Help with Purchase Decision Please

[Shadow81]

Hi

Before anyone says anything I know this is my decision to make and only I can do that - but thought as I was looking through the forums I would ask the question anyway.

Last year I bought a Phantom 4 for our club, Used it half a dozen times and got some good video, but it was so bulky to transport with the other kit we have, and the fear caused by reading the forums back then about disappearing drones meant we couldn't get the most out of it and we sold it. Didnt lose a great deal to be honest.

Now I am looking at the Mavic Pro to buy - much smaller, lighter and more portable.

Still a lot of money - so I have ordered, cancelled, ordered again etc etc

Looking for some inspiration here please chaps

Over to you .......

 

[Former Member]

Best to buy it from vendor who will let you return it after you have flown it if you decide you dont want to keep it. If you do decide to keep it and later change your mind, you can still get good money for a used one, probably 90% of your purchase price within 1-2 months after purchase.

One caveat. If you buy it and buy Refresh with it, you can return the drone to the place of purchase, cancel refresh and get a refund (if youre lucky with DJI and have infinite patience for them to give you your money back). If you keep it past the return date from where you bought it and sell it to someone other than where you bought it, you will have to raise your sales price to include the Refresh price, and that you might not get.

Best to settle down, think some more about it, then make your decision. Buyers remorse can be brutal, and costly.

 

[Shadow81]

Couple of questions:

Can you buy 'Refresh' (which I assume is the DJI insurance package) if you buy from anywhere other than DJI?

Which retailers sell a drone with a returns policy

You seem to be suggesting I don't buy a drone right now?

 

[JoostGT3]

Haven't owned a phantom myself, so can't comment on that, but have a friend who does. Every time I see the big foam box, I can't help but think "imagine lugging thát around!"... Bought a mavic a couple of weeks ago, and I have it in my bag I take with me to work for a number of times, often with the thought "If the wind dies down a bit, I'll leave work early and go for a bit of flying." Yielded me some awesome footage and flying experiences already, just because I was able to bring it with me.

Every time I showed it to collegues who knew I bought it, they say: "Is that little bag all?!?"... Seriously, with the phantom, portability is not an issue anymore.

 

[Former Member]

Can you buy 'Refresh' (which I assume is the DJI insurance package) if you buy from anywhere other than DJI?

Yes some retailers sell it as well as the Mavic. I bought a few from outside of DJI, but then it was a little bit of a chore to get the code, confirm with DJI, then activate it. Might be easier to buy Refesh from DJI, but cancelling it would be more difficult, as are many customer support things when dealing directly with DJI.

Which retailers sell a drone with a returns policy

Check out this list from Msinger. Amazon sellers sometimes have decent return policies even if the item has been opened, but please read the fine print about restocking fees, etc.:

Buy A DJI Mavic - Mavic Help

You seem to be suggesting I don't buy a drone right now?

Nothing personal, but if a friend told me that he "ordered, cancelled, ordered again etc etc" and a previous drone he "bought a Phantom 4 for our club, Used it half a dozen times... and we sold it" I would seriously wait until you get more information or have 100% decided to go with it, and you will stand by your decision. Again, if you buy it then hate your Mav, you can always sell it, but 140 out of 142 owners love theirs.

Check out this poll:

Poll: Are you happy with your Mavic?

 

[Echo5delta16]

My mavic is my first and only drone. I can't compare but what I can say is I am 1000% happy with mine. Just be sure you don't buy from some no name seller just to save 50-100 bucks.

 

[JHSlayer]

It's really your desicion... Only you can make it.

Now that we got that out of the way, why is it a question? Wondering what you want it to do. Meaning, photography, hobby? I got one because I wanted to get into the hobby and actually just wanted to fly. Haven't heard it here much, but that's why I picked the Mavic. It is easy to fly. For me, the Mavic has got me more interested in the hobby as a whole.

 

[Shadow81]

I would probably shoot some video - but after a while what are you supposed to do with all the footage? My main reason would be to fly it for fun - maybe snap the odd picture of someones house for them or some footage occasionally

 

[Former Member]

I would probably shoot some video - but after a while what are you supposed to do with all the footage? My main reason would be to fly it for fun - maybe snap the odd picture of someones house for them or some footage occasionally

Shooting footage is the easy part. Editing is the most time consuming part. You can shoot 1 hour of video just to glean 3 minutes of quality footage, then add transitions, titles, music.

 

[Shadow81]

What would you recommend as a good easy to use video editor?

 

[Advexure]

What would you recommend as a good easy to use video editor?

If you're running on a Mac, iMovie is definitely a good place to start, then as you progress Final Cut Pro is a great option, and then Adobe Premiere.

My mavic is my first and only drone. I can't compare but what I can say is I am 1000% happy with mine. Just be sure you don't buy from some no name seller just to save 50-100 bucks.

I will mention that the Mavic Pro has resulted in some of the best feedback we've seen from any drone over the years. It's simply something else. Such a solid machine.

DJI Care Refresh is a great option to add a bit of comfort in case you're afraid of a hiccup (it happens to the best of us). On forums like MP and many others, you do typically see a bit more of the negative and reports of issues that you hear more of the positive, so @Echo5delta16 props to you for sharing your positive feedback.

I'd say you really can't go wrong with the Mavic, and I will also mention that the Mavic currently has the lowest return rate for DOA so there's something to be said about that.