Jerry Woller has spent 30 years as a combat photographer for the Marines and currently serves as the lead photographer at Fort Campbell Army base on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. Woller’s position constantly keeps him on his toes, but when the photography staff was downgraded from four to two photographers, he was faced with an unexpected dilemma. Woller was left with excess gear—and a lot of it, some of which was barely used.

“Adorama is the first company I go to whenever I need something,” Woller says, noting that their timely response and competitive offerings keep them top of mind.

Photographers invest significant capital in their kits; to let specific pieces of gear collect dust when they have become technologically obsolete, broken, surpassed by newer models, or otherwise not useful is wasteful, especially when professionals must constantly invest in new equipment to stay relevant.

Adorama’s Trade-In Program offers a solution for photographers plagued with unwanted equipment. It allows them to exchange used or broken gear for straight cash or store credit. Photographers can also rent equipment before they choose to purchase it, which is valuable in an age where new photography trends are constantly emerging—and often just as quickly, disappearing.

Woller generally sends a box of equipment from Fort Campbell to the trade-in program every quarter. He also sells Adorama equipment that he personally finds at garage sales about once a month. He is constantly impressed by the ease of dealing with the company. While many trade-in companies make users pay for shipping, Woller says, “Adorama send me a packing slip—all I have to do is box it up and bring it to UPS.”

Brian Schlick, who manages the photography equipment on 39 cruise ships for brands including Princess Cruises, Holland America and PNO Australia, is also impressed by the quality of service he’s experienced with Adorama. He first began sending equipment in to the Trade-In program in 2014 after testing a bunch of similar programs by competitors. He found the team at Adorama to be incredibly helpful—but even more importantly, super fast in turning over products. “The whole process only takes about two weeks,” he says.

Schlick, who generally sends ten to fifteen pieces of equipment to Adorama a month, is constantly amazed by the array of products the company will accept for trade-in. “Even if it’s just vaguely related to photography, they’ll take it,” he says. “We send them computer stuff, cases and bags—they take all sorts of stuff from us.”

A selection of the gear Brian Schlick received from trading in his old gear through Adorama. Photo courtesy of Brian Schlick.

Woller and Schlick also appreciate that in the age of digital, Adorama still takes outdated or analog equipment. “They’ll trade old camera lenses for HD or 4K equipment,” Woller notes.

Schlick also finds that Adorama will trade in equipment that the brands themselves will no longer service. When he found out that Nikon was no longer servicing a certain lens he used to use—the old legacy 18-70mm—he reached out to Adorama. “Adorama still bought it, and found an alternative that they sent to us—the Nikon 18-55mm,” he explains. “Trade-In is just a super useful service.”

“It’s just amazing to throw everything in a box, and get a box of stuff back that you actually need,” he continued. “Without the Adorama Trade-In Program, we’d just end up disposing of so much gear.”

The simplicity and ease of use compels him, and others who use the program, to take the time to sort through gear, and send it to Adorama, even if it no longer seems valuable. In exchange, photographers get something invaluable: the ability to buy or rent new equipment whenever they’re ready to upgrade, even without excess capital in their budgets.

To learn more about the Adorama Trade-In Program, visit adorama.com/pages/usedQuote

—Sponsored by Adorama