[Blue]

Pentax has every right to ensure that vendors are not cheapening Pentax product by selling near cost just to push volume. Problem here is that this is quite a sudden change for us. Perhaps Pentax should have introduced this policy only with new products, then gradually applied it to existing product.

That said, Apple users have been used to this kind of MSRP death-grip pricing policy since the early years... all of us who have ever purchased anything Apple know full well not even WalMart is allowed to sell more than a few bucks below the Apple store price. You seldom hear Apple users cry about this hard fact. Yet we still buy iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macs, etc.

I haven't bought an Apple in years so that "death grip" was broken. I don't do MSRP on vehicles or anything else. I really doubt a case can be made that Adorama or BH were cheapening Pentax. There is a huge crowd that buys the iPods and such to be part of the in crowd. Pentax was kind of the opposite of that. Pentax was the "Dare to be Different" crowd.

[ElJamoquio]

All brands were cheap before 2007, apparently.

[luftfluss]

Pentax has every right to ensure that vendors are not cheapening Pentax product by selling near cost just to push volume. Problem here is that this is quite a sudden change for us. Perhaps Pentax should have introduced this policy only with new products, then gradually applied it to existing product.

That said, Apple users have been used to this kind of MSRP death-grip pricing policy since the early years... all of us who have ever purchased anything Apple know full well not even WalMart is allowed to sell more than a few bucks below the Apple store price. You seldom hear Apple users cry about this hard fact. Yet we still buy iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macs, etc.

Apple QC & support is, relative to it's industry, far better than Pentax's QC support, relative to it's industry. As has been mentioned numerous times in other threads (as well as this one), there would be far fewer complaints about the price increases if Pentax gave us a little more value in return.

Also, unlike Apple, Pentax does not have the RDF going for it.

[Katsura]

I haven't bought an Apple in years so that "death grip" was broken. I don't do MSRP on vehicles or anything else. I really doubt a case can be made that Adorama or BH were cheapening Pentax. There is a huge crowd that buys the iPods and such to be part of the in crowd. Pentax was kind of the opposite of that. Pentax was the "Dare to be Different" crowd.

Indeed, Apple users are iSheeps.

[Todd Adamson]

Indeed, Apple users are iSheeps.

Some are. And then some are power users who do a lot of coding, and like an OS that's command-line friendly, comes standard with a stack of server software, Ruby, etc. Or people who just want a relatively trouble-free way to integrate and back up a lot of stuff. Or who, for a variety of reasons, get along better with a Unix-based operating system than they do with Windows. There are actually a lot of different kinds of Apple users, and to paint with such a broad brush as you just did is short-sighted, thoughtless, and prejudiced. No different, really, than saying "Pentax cameras suck," or "brown people are bad."

[gtl]

Why all the Apple bashing? I am still a windows user but a iPhone and iPad user. They are fantastic and not priced ridiculously relative to its competitors. And nothing I have tried can match the iPad thus far.

[luftfluss]

Why all the Apple bashing? I am still a windows user but a iPhone and iPad user. They are fantastic and not priced ridiculously relative to its competitors. And nothing I have tried can match the iPad thus far.

Only one person "bashed" Apple.

[Anvh]

Apple QC & support is, relative to it's industry, far better than Pentax's QC support, relative to it's industry. As has been mentioned numerous times in other threads (as well as this one), there would be far fewer complaints about the price increases if Pentax gave us a little more value in return.

Also, unlike Apple, Pentax does not have the RDF going for it.

depends on the products, some are really well made but others.
You remember the death grip with the iPhone and that apple start blaming people that they don't hold it right?
Then with a malware problem last year, this from an interview with an Applecare worker.

"Our notice for Mac Defender is that we’re not supposed to help customers remove malware from their computer," the source explained. "The reason for the rule, they say, is that even though Mac Defender is easy to remove, we can’t set the expectation to customers that we will be able to remove all malware in the future. That’s what antivirus is for."

Despite the clear rules, the source said that "most" AppleCare workers still offer help in removing malware simply because the people on the other end of the line are desperate for help.

For fun google for terminal paste in combination with Apple, that seem to hunt them for quite a bit now...
And now that we are talking about terminal issues the ipad 1 often shuts down for getting too hot outside, i believe they released an update for that to up the limit and now with the ipad 3 the device gets uncomfortable warm to the touch, most are therefore using it with a sleeve.

Apple are a fine company, they are probably doing it better then most others on this point but they are surely not flawless and good willing what some are making them out to be.


btw why on earth is Apple in this thread???

[glanglois]

"Hey everybody, don't buy gas on May 15th, OK? KEEP SENDING THIS. Let's all try this, wonderful if it helps.

I'll do it! If running low, just get your gas the day before on May 14 or the day after on May 16. Every little bit helps.

In May 1997, there was a "gas out" conducted nationwide in protest of gas prices. The oil companies were brought to their knees and gasoline prices dropped 30 cents a gallon overnight! DO IT, IT WILL REALLY WORK!"

You forgot the winking emoticon ... some people here will take you literally, alas. The resulting posts will be mostly annoying. But hey, still better than another FF argument!

[Sandy Hancock]

No pledge for me.
Just ordered a DA*55 and DFA100 from DCW Australia. Quite a lot cheaper than the US online stores now

[eddie1960]

Pentax has every right to ensure that vendors are not cheapening Pentax product by selling near cost just to push volume. Problem here is that this is quite a sudden change for us. Perhaps Pentax should have introduced this policy only with new products, then gradually applied it to existing product.

That said, Apple users have been used to this kind of MSRP death-grip pricing policy since the early years... all of us who have ever purchased anything Apple know full well not even WalMart is allowed to sell more than a few bucks below the Apple store price. You seldom hear Apple users cry about this hard fact. Yet we still buy iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macs, etc.

One difference having been a MAC retailer....the dealer cost is so high you can't afford to discount below the apple store. the the difference in the apple store is they are taking that last 5-10% of the profit margin for Apple

In this case the dealers are the beneficiaries. Nikon and Canon are better examples they have very tight control on their pricing and there is really no difference between B&M and Web pricing and the best time to buy is rebate periods

[luftfluss]

depends on the products, some are really well made but others.
You remember the death grip with the iPhone and that apple start blaming people that they don't hold it right?
Then with a malware problem last year, this from an interview with an Applecare worker.

For fun google for terminal paste in combination with Apple, that seem to hunt them for quite a bit now...
And now that we are talking about terminal issues the ipad 1 often shuts down for getting too hot outside, i believe they released an update for that to up the limit and now with the ipad 3 the device gets uncomfortable warm to the touch, most are therefore using it with a sleeve.

Apple are a fine company, they are probably doing it better then most others on this point but they are surely not flawless and good willing what some are making them out to be.


btw why on earth is Apple in this thread???

That's why I said, "relative to it's industry".

I think Apple got brought up as an example of manufacturer-fixed prices.

[luftfluss]

Quite a lot cheaper than the US online stores now

Honestly, that's nothing to about. If Aus prices had dropped to below US prices, then you

[luftfluss]

All brands were cheap before 2007, apparently.

Yeah, then companies realized that the $$-Yen value was tanking (for the US) and lens prices "adjusted", and then the used lens market got really expensive, too.

Unfortunately for me, it was around this time that I bought Pentax, so I didn't have much of an opportunity to avail myself of some of the great deals.

[DaveHolmes]

It's not too bad... Only 9 or 10 lenses left on my 'want-list' now anyway...