Originally posted by RichardS It could be that the retailers are putting on a monster markup and that CRK is just protecting its market by reducing the temptation to buy overseas. Maybe.
Richard.
It definitely could. At the moment I suspect not. Going through the group buy thing for the k7 (we got over 20 people in on it) we did not get that much of a discount... it 'appears' that the retailers don't have the hugest margins or are good at hiding it. Who really knows.
Having said, Vanbar(.com.au) gave us the best deal and are trying to secure us stock from the first shipment, this is also very important. They have been excellent to deal with and appear to be friendly guys that know their stuff and appreciate that a customer can have a 'relationship' with a store not just transactions.
I wonder what the minimum sales required are to buy direct from CRK. EG, if all of us started a 'Aus Pentax Club' we would buy as much in one year as most retailers. Of course the Aus Pentax Club members get the real price. THis could be effective and it would also answer the question of what CRK charges...... imagine if Adorama/B&H were still cheaper.....hahahahaha
mike