Setting that p65 aside,scam or not, the fact that Calumet are prepared to sell the P45 for £3,600 says a lot about the market.
It says much more about Calumet than it does about the market. Because you can on occasion find a digital back for thousands less than a typical price from a dealer does not mean the market has moved to that price. It means a situation occurred - either intentionally or accidentally - where a unit was sold for a radical price. The circumstances of why are never clear. But think about it. There are quite a few P65+ owners on this forum. I wonder how many would be willing to sell their P65+ for $10K - $14K (with a camera lens). Probably not too many hands going up.
Generally, when you see a price dramatically lower than what you're accustomed to, the reason is desperate, needed cash flow or sudden change in circumstances. In the case of a dealer, it could be a situation where they purchased from a desperate seller at an even lower price, then turned it around for a quick, modest buck. Or, it has been a unit that has been in rental and has already paid for itself. Even so, a dealer generally would still adhere to a sale price that yielded a standard profit margin. But remember, cash flow is king, and sometimes, that rule may bend pricing from a dealer that sees a need to generate cash quickly.
I sold a used P45 unit earlier this year (with full support from Capture Integration) for $11,900. While the price may not have started there, it was an agreeable closure for both the customer buying from us and Capture Integration. We are very cognizant of cash flow as any successful business should be. But we have never found ourselves in a situation where we needed to sell a P45 (for example) for $5K - $6K. If customers refused to buy them at the price we sell them, then that would indicate the market pricing is too high. This is not the case, at least in our experience.
A customer of mine recently picked up a P45 used on eBay for $5,800. This unit was being sold by a leasing company. The leasing company had very little experience in this type of product. They listed it as a Buy It Now for $8,500, a very reasonable price. No offers. So, my customer contacted them and made them an offer. Sometimes with auctions, timing is an issue also, and a desired price is not achieved - just because fewer buyers happened to be in the market for that 5 day period. So then, they go lower to move it, thinking the price is too high.
We routinely sell P45+ units for $16K - $18K, depending on the condition. We rarely encounter objections to the price, as the clients who come to us typically do so for many of the reasons Doug mentions above - they want a partner and an advocate who has their back (pun intended) now and in the future. P45+ used models can commonly be found from end users/eBay for a bit less, and on occasion, as we're discussing here, at a crazy price that comes from circumstances that are not known (but are typically cash-flow linked).
So - bottom line, lots of reasons can be found for these low prices, but usually none of them are an indication of market pricing, but rather a reaction to a cash flow situation or something similar.
It does happen, and we're aware of it - in fact, as Doug said, we will also snap up a digital back that is legit and in good condition at a radical price, but we do very stern due diligence, both in terms of the seller and the product. We request serial numbers, investigate them for the history of the product, and cover ourselves with regard to the seller, who must be legitimate. And we're looking for reasons to not do the deal, because our spidey-sense is tingling. So, just be careful if you're tempted.
Steve Hendrix