It is true that you can find a wide variety of security cameras online and they should be less expensive than what your local installation company can offer. There are a number of reasons for this price difference. You will need to decide what is important to you and if the limitations are worth the potential savings.
Below is list of services that your ONLINE camera supplier will NOT provide. All these services come standard when purchasing through Watchdog Loss Prevention Inc. and many other local installation companies:

• Internet sales companies don’t spend hours doing complementary site visits and preparing well-thought out proposals with a variety of options designed for your budgetary needs.
• Internet companies don’t offer site-specific recommendations for camera types, lenses and positioning.
• Internet companies don’t install, so they don’t require well paid technicians, service vehicles or spare parts.
• If a camera or recorder quits under warranty, internet sales companies don’t come to your site and trouble shoot the equipment.  Internet sales companies certainly don’t install loaner equipment if your recorder or camera needs to be removed for repair.
• Internet companies don’t train you or your staff on how to use the system.
• Internet sales companies don’t ensure that you are using the latest firmware in fact the equipment they are selling is often out of date.
• Internet sales companies often are not even authorized sales representatives for the equipment they are selling.
• Internet companies don’t set up networking or work with your IT department to put the system on your phones or home computers.
• Internet companies will never give you the pros and cons of the equipment; in fact because they operate basically on selling cheap instead of right; they won’t point out facts like you are being better off with dual voltage cameras then 12 VDC cameras.  24 VAC power is more reliable and will carry over longer distances than 12 VDC power.

All the above value-added services are included when purchasing from a local company like Watchdog. The services are provided by highly-trained and experienced technicians that are paid well above the minimum wage offered to the order pickers at the online suppliers.

If you decide that you want to take the chance of saving some money and order your equipment online, you will still need to have the system installed. There may be less experienced installers that offer installation for a reduced rate but you need to make sure that they are legally allowed to install security cameras systems. In our jurisdiction, they must be licensed by the safety authority, hold a valid security worker’s license and have a business license in the city they are performing the work in.  And don’t forget the Workers Compensation or what ever is required in your area.  If a worker hurts themselves on your property and is not covered by compensation you can be held liable.
 
Often installing equipment purchased online can take longer because the technician will need to familiarize themselves with the setup and operation. If the equipment does not work out of the box, the tech may have to spend additional hours trying to get support which many times is non-existent or extremely limited especially if the installers are not authorized. Often an issue that an experienced company is familiar with and can solve in minutes can takes hours of time or is never solved by a company unfamiliar with the equipment. Unless your installation company is authorized by the manufacturer, they may not even be able to get tech support.   

With a properly trained and experienced company, setup will be faster and cost you less money. At Watchdog, we only install equipment that we know has good customer service and technical support from the manufacturer.  

The online security camera supplier carries virtually no-risk; if their product fails, you need to remove it and ship it back to them and they return it to the manufacturer. If the local company installs equipment that fails, they will return and repair or replace it. The local company deals with the manufacturer technical support or RMA department.

If you want to buy your security cameras online, you should consider hiring an experienced consultant to make recommendations and custom design you security camera system. Once you have your system designed and spec’d you can easily get multiple quotes on only the best suited equipment. This way you are comparing “apples to apples”. You may find that the spec’d equipment is still cheaper online, so you will have to decide if the extra service provided by the local company adds the value that is important to you.
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In our company we too can purchase cheaper from over seas manufacturers however we believe strongly that it is best to support local business.
 

One of the most common ways that people decide on a security camera system is by taking the lowest bid.  Unfortunately, the lowest bid is also often the worst value.  People often tell me that they are comparing apples to apples and when I see the actual comparison it is more like apples and crab-apples.  I once had a person tell me the other company had the same cameras I did, “They have domes too”.  The other company was quoting plastic 420-line resolution cameras with fixed lenses and we were quoting 700 line, wide dynamic range, armoured dome cameras with a vari-focal lenses and wide dynamic ranges.
Even when you have identical equipment you can end up with totally different systems.  If you give my wife and I the same ingredients, she will make something delicious, I would be doing well if the meal is edible.  On the other hand, I can design and install a better camera system than she can.
Unless the person doing the purchasing has specified the exact equipment including model numbers, the camera locations and how the system is to be wired, it is very difficult if not impossible to obtain an “apples to apples” quote.
A few years ago, we had provided an estimate for a system in a Vancouver low cost housing project.  The company that owned the building wanted us to do the installation however the funding agency insisted the installation go to the lowest bidder.  I was aware that the other estimate was $2750 lower than my bid however I was not willing to meet or beat the other bid because it would have been unprofitable. To the funder if the number of cameras was the same the bids were the same.
The other installer of course got the bid however they had not included everything I had and with change orders, their installation came out over $2000 higher than my bid.  Two years later the recorder died and the installation company was no longer answering their phones.  We were called in to replace the recorder and fix up the mess the other company had left.  Cheap cameras and poor wiring have since created expensive service calls that never should have been needed.  The lowest bid turned out at least 20% higher in the first three years than our initial bid.  To add insult to injury poor cameras and camera positions have greatly reduced the effectiveness of the system.
We recently came across an installation where the installing company had installed 16 cameras.  As well as using cheap 12 volt cameras they had saved themselves money by connecting 4 cameras to each of 4 power supplies.  Each of the power supplies was only adequate for one camera and of course the power supplies burned out.  The service call to install a proper multi channel power supply was more expensive than to do the job properly in the first place.
Too often the lowest bidder makes money by using cheaper cameras installing them in the easiest positions and cutting corners on wiring.
So how can you avoid these problems?

1. The first thing to do is ask lots of questions of the installation companies you are considering.

Tell them what you wish to achieve and ask them how they would meet your needs.
Do not tell them where you would put the cameras.  Ask them where they would put the cameras and why.  If they ask you where you want the cameras and do not have suggestions, it is unlikely that they know what the are doing.
   2. Ask them why they are recommending the equipment they are and what their experience with that equipment is. Do not accept “no name” brand equipment especially for the recorder.  Ask them who else services the equipment and if they tell you they are they are the only ones who can service it, you shouldn’t invest in the equipment.  We are called on a regular basis to service “no name” brand recorders.  Usually we are unsuccessful because there is no way to get tech support.  If you have a brand name recorder there is a good chance you can find service for it.
    3. If your cameras are at risk of theft or vandalism find out how the installation company would secure them.  If they tell you the cameras are vandal proof, tell them thanks but no thanks.  There is no such thing. 
        4. Find out where they have done similar installations and ask for references. 
      5. Find out how easy the equipment is to operate, especially how to save snapshots and video or print pictures.  Most recorders will no longer let you print images directly from the recorder.  The easiest recorder to use we have worked with is the i3 DVR. It is Canadian manufacturer and easy to use and service.  We have installed around 700 of these recorders in the last 18 years.  The recorder is a premium cost but worth it if quality and ease of use is important to you.
       6. If you need multiple quotes, perhaps the best way is to determine which installation company you have the most faith in and ask them to provide a detailed quote complete with detailed specifications and camera positioning.  In fairness to the company doing the work, pay them for this service on the condition that they take it off your final bill if they are awarded the contract. You can then request true “apple to apples” quote.
Make sure you get a detailed broken down quote so that you can reconcile the final invoice and you can question any major difference in individual costs.  It may be the higher bidder is including more in the proposal.
In closing beware of the lowest bid, chances are good it is not the best bid.