GoPro launches trade-up program for Hero5 line of action cameras

[Shawn Knight]

GoPro has launched a new program that it hopes will provide the incentive that current users need to trade in their existing action camera towards the purchase of a shiny new model.

As outlined on GoPro’s trade-up website, shoppers can choose to get a Hero5 Session for $50 off or a Hero5 Black for $100 off when they send in any GoPro. Said camera can be dented, dinged or totally destroyed, the company notes, and they’ll even cover shipping. Once GoPro receives your old camera, they’ll ship out the new replacement.

The price cuts bring the cost of the Hero5 Session and Hero5 Black down to $249.99 and $299.99, respectively.

The offer will certainly help GoPro move out excess inventory although whether or not it’s wise to buy the current generation action camera just a few months before a refresh is expected is something you’ll want to strongly consider.

GoPro has had a tough go of it as of late. Shortly after launching its Karma drone late last year, the company pulled it from the market following reports that some units were losing power during operation. Fortunately, GoPro was able to rectify the matter and got the drone back on the market earlier this year but the financial damage had already been done – no doubt contributing to its decision to cut 270 jobs in March.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/68904-gopro-launches-trade-up-program-hero5-line-action.html

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

$250 & $300 respectively? They don't kid around, do they? How do they sleep at night knowing full well that they're committing highway robbery?

 

[yRaz]

Bring back the $100 cameras that could be disposable if need be and you might have some market share back. At $300 a pop there is no way I'd put it in a case and hit it with a golf club. Am I the only remember all the cool videos that made GoPro popular because people would put them in ridiculous situations?

Yeah, GoPro has lost touch with their base and that's why they're failing. Bring those back or I'll just go buy one from the other manufactures that have started catering to that market.

 

[gusticles41]

I got excited when I read the headline, but was quickly disappointed. Give me some actual incentive to trade in my perfect condition 3+ Silver for a 5 upgrade, then we'll talk.

 

[Uncle Al]

$250 & $300 respectively? They don't kid around, do they? How do they sleep at night knowing full well that they're committing highway robbery?

They probably sleep with a gun under their pillow like the rest of us old people ...... LOL

 

[300Hitter]

I don't see the benefits of upgrading my gopro 3+ to the latest 5 and pay $300.

Current camera works perfectly fine so why upgrade.

 

[Kibaruk]

Bring back the $100 cameras that could be disposable if need be and you might have some market share back. At $300 a pop there is no way I'd put it in a case and hit it with a golf club. Am I the only remember all the cool videos that made GoPro popular because people would put them in ridiculous situations?

Yeah, GoPro has lost touch with their base and that's why they're failing. Bring those back or I'll just go buy one from the other manufactures that have started catering to that market.

My Prince, the thing is, with time comes more technology, and people now want 4k recording, with streaming, wifi and bluetooth enabled, small, light, with a long lasting battery, in a rugged enclosure that will actually survive more than a couple of drops (Stones, sand, water...), with video stabilization, that can capture all kind of details, with blur enhancement, at a bazillion FPS, slow motion...

And all of that... for $100.

Sure, you can get cheaper alternatives for the GoPro, and sure, they could work just fine for what you need, but -sadly- you will not get the same quality.

 

[mbrowne5061]

That is jus the thing, two different ways to look at it.

Professional video crews started using GoPros, and they demanded video quality be paramount. They're sponsored/funded, they can afford to replace these things. I mean, $300 for any piece of equipment to professional videographers is absolute pocket change compared to some of the hardware that they do buy. They're used to cameras that push into the 5 figures, and that is with the lens.

But this did alienate GoPro's original base: people who wanted a $100 camera they could hit with a golf club, as yRaz so eloquently put it.

GoPro's mistake wasn't that they released a $300 action camera, it was that they eliminated their $100 action camera. What they should have don, and should do, it release a $100-150 action camera, and then release a 'pro' model that sits between $400-500. The Session could probably be made to be around $150, with near-zero profit margin. The Hero could be re-branded "pro" and sold still very easily to pros and 'pro-sumers" alike at $500, with the addition of some better firmware allowing for more manual imaging controls.

 

[Kibaruk]

I enjoyed your point of view, I believe they should go after a less advanced camera someone can hit with a golf club, I would definitely purchase it. A 720p session at 30fps, single mic, the battery would even last longer... who knows.