It is not easy being a pentaxian in Russia.
Here you can easily buy any camera you want. Photography is a very popular hobby. The Russian market offers a wide range of all possible cameras: from CaNikon to Leica. There are thousands of shops etc. However, you will hardly find there Pentax cameras. There are only three shops (official Pentax dealers), including the official Ricoh shop, that offer Pentax. In addition, there is only one service center! It is situated in Saint Petersburg. Therefore, in case I have some problems with my camera – I have to go to Saint Petersburg from Moscow. Madness.
Okay, let’s imagine that to use Pentax cameras I would be ready to go through with it, because Pentax is a cool brand and it offers a high quality for less price. Hmm surely not here. Ricoh uses a very strange pricing policy in Russia. Let´s compare.
On Amazon Nikon D7200 (body) costs $1046. In Russia, you can buy it for $1014 – 1093.
Canon 80D: $1199 and $1218 respectively.
On Amazon Pentax K-3II (the direct competitor of 7200 and 80D) costs $845. Looks good! In Russia, in the official Ricoh shop - $1281(!!!!!). $400 more. At the same time, the price difference of K-70 is not so big: in Russia, you will have to overpay only $120. Nevertheless, it is still a significant figure. To purchase K-1 you have to overpay $700!
In this situation who would decide to buy Pentax for such a big sum of money when there is an opportunity to buy Nikon or Canon for the less price and have no problems with accessories? Taking all of the above into consideration about three shops and one service center. Nobody!
Ricoh, if you hear me
please, pay a bit more attention to the Russian market! I really don't want to change Pentax for something different
But you leave me no choice.