[Ontarian50]

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When I get a brand new shirt (with he original tags still on it) from Value Village and it's MEC brand and $10 instead of 90, I'm pretty sure I'm getting deal. But, if you shop at "the Source" you have to get a 25% discount just to bring their prices down to what everyone else is charging. Although in this age of internet price comparisons, even they've had to drop their retail prices to be more in line with their competition. A friend just gave up his "Source" franchise. The internet has basically made small town electronic stores unprofitable. Not good for him, good for me.

Oh, don't get me started on The Source. As a teen, I lived and breathed through the Radio Shack catalogue. All the electronics, gadgets, and DIY parts and stuff were an endless source of fun. While they seldom had state of the art stuff, you could always count on them to have wire, solder, and all the switches, plugs, and connectors you needed to get your stereo hooked up, or that minor household repair you were tinkering with. A lot of fond memories are associated with Radio Shack.


As the market changed, and far fewer guys were tinkering with electrics and electronics, Radio Shack devolved into a place for gadgets in boxes, and, of course, cell phones. Now renamed The Source, there's a smattering of parts and wires on the shelves of my local store, but they never seem to have what I need any more. But, hey, if you need a new case for your cellphone, they've got you covered...

[robr7]

cynical thought ... maybe they're just taking advantage of there being no major third-party supplier of lenses to compete with, now that Tamron and Sigma have stopped support for the Pentax mount!

Oh I missed that, I would’ve jumped sooner on buying.

[clickclick]

Don't forget that in the U.S.Pentax Camera and Lens Deal Finder here:

Pentax Camera & Lens Deal Finder

you can see price trends. Very helpful to know if your "deal" is a deal and how often it has been discounted.

[aslyfox]

...is there any real reason for what seems like across the board price hikes back to MSRP? Doesn’t seem to me the price fluctuations really match any type of guessable supply or demand strains. Anything recent that might explain it?

that is just reality

sales end



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you can also go to the " user reviews " of individual lenses and find info on prices and trends

for example, here is the link for the Pentax HD PENTAX-DA 55-300mm f/4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE:

HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE Reviews - DA Zoom Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

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Last edited by aslyfox; 01-05-2019 at 04:09 PM.

[monochrome]

...is there any real reason for what seems like across the board price hikes back to MSRP? Doesn’t seem to me the price fluctuations really match any type of guessable supply or demand strains. Anything recent that might explain it?

We still do have a US Distributor - Ricoh Imaging Americas Corp, which is a separate company from Ricoh Imaging Co., Ltd. (Japan).. AFA US pricing is concerned, RIAC sets the prices, special deal pricing, and will order in an inventory of gear from Ricoh Imaging Co., Ltd. for the holiday sales season. They’ll set a temporary lower retail price, or a series of deal prices, in consultation with the major Dealers (Amazon, Adorama and B&H, plus a handful of B&M Dealers) for a specified time. They might even co-market with the Dealers (offer some marketing support money).

When the special marketing period ends hopefully the special inventory has been sold at the Dealers (that’s probably why we saw extended specials on certain lenses e.g. silver DA20-40 - to clear remaining stock), so that inventory has been reduced to transactional levels and prices return to MSRP.

There should be some sort of deals coincdent with CP+ perhaps passed through to all the Distributos from Japan HQ.

[mikesbike]

Lesson learned: strike when the iron is hot!

[robr7]

We still do have a US Distributor - Ricoh Imaging Americas Corp, which is a separate company from Ricoh Imaging Co., Ltd. (Japan).. AFA US pricing is concerned, RIAC sets the prices, special deal pricing, and will order in an inventory of gear from Ricoh Imaging Co., Ltd. for the holiday sales season. They’ll set a temporary lower retail price, or a series of deal prices, in consultation with the major Dealers (Amazon, Adorama and B&H, plus a handful of B&M Dealers) for a specified time. They might even co-market with the Dealers (offer some marketing support money).

When the special marketing period ends hopefully the special inventory has been sold at the Dealers (that’s probably why we saw extended specials on certain lenses e.g. silver DA20-40 - to clear remaining stock), so that inventory has been reduced to transactional levels and prices return to MSRP.

There should be some sort of deals coincdent with CP+ perhaps passed through to all the Distributos from Japan HQ.

This is excellent. Thank You.

[Ash]

Lower prices will eventually return. The key is to be patient, watch the prices and act when you're satisfied with the price you're paying. I just bought the DFA 24-70 for around $850 using this approach. Unfortunately, I missed the low of $800, but am very satisfied.

How’s this for a bargain (I didn’t bother posting it in the Price Watch for obvious reasons): Pentax D-FA 24-70 f/2.8 brand new for AU$9,000

Hey, with the exchange rate the way it is at the moment, may as well strike while the iron is hot!

[darylk]

How’s this for a bargain (I didn’t bother posting it in the Price Watch for obvious reasons): Pentax D-FA 24-70 f/2.8 brand new for AU$9,000

Hey, with the exchange rate the way it is at the moment, may as well strike while the iron is hot!

Are you guys "down under" or "upside down"? 🙃