[thosan]

I have one small little question, will the upcoming Pentax rebate be in US only or will it affect Europe aswell?

/Thomas

[Edvinas]

I have one small little question, will the upcoming Pentax rebate be in US only or will it affect Europe aswell?

Can you remember any Pentax rebate in Europe ever?

Of course those rebates will be for USA only

[thibs]

It becomes annoying BTW, Canon and Nikon both do rebates in Europe although those are not general rebates covering lots of different hardware.

I often see rebates to D40/D40X or 350D/400D sales.

[ZaphodB]

Yep... when one of the main selling points of Pentax (at the moment) is price and value for money, it's a shame when that's undermined by the competition by the competition effectively reducing their price via rebates. Come on Pentax, we're getting ripped off for camera gear over here anyway, please take pity on our wallets

[BeerCur]

When are these rebates, for the US, suppose to hit? What exactly will it cover, ie K10D, 50-200, etc..., and how much are they?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[bymy141]

Can you remember any Pentax rebate in Europe ever?

Of course those rebates will be for USA only

Unfortunatly Pentax seems to make most of their profit from the european market.
While their products are priced in euros equivalent to their prices in dollars (a $100 dollar item costs €100 in europe) they allready make 40% more profit here! The european market for DSLR's is booming, Pentax sales is far above their own targets, so why should they?

- Bert

[thibs]

Unfortunatly Pentax seems to make most of their profit from the european market.
While their products are priced in euros equivalent to their prices in dollars (a $100 dollar item costs €100 in europe) they allready make 40% more profit here! The european market for DSLR's is booming, Pentax sales is far above their own targets, so why should they?

- Bert

You forget about VAT which diesn't exist in USA. I know there are local taxes but I'd really surprised if those were 21% like VAT in Belgium.

Whole 21%, this is huge, you know. Those % are not earned by Pentax but by the state we live in.

[BeerCur]

When are these rebates, for the US, suppose to hit? What exactly will it cover, ie K10D, 50-200, etc..., and how much are they?

Inquiring minds want to know.

To answer my own question for the benefit of the board....
It's rumored the start date for the "new" rebates program will be Oct 18, 2007. As of right now the only item reported to be covered by the program is $100 off the K100D Super. Of course come Oct 18th, we will see what if anything is "rebated."

Rebate Program Page

[Confused]

Hi Thomas

Re your comment:

"Will the upcoming Pentax rebate be in US only or will it affect Europe as well ?"

If only I could answer your question with a positive YES ! Sadly you 'must be kidding', because I'm afraid there's virtually
NO CHANCE of it happening in the forseeable future. Or at least until 'hell-freezes-over', as I believe it does quite frequently during the winter months in many parts of your beautiful country !! Incidentally, I feel bound to mention that the exquisite memory of sailing serenely past the delightful archipelago of islands that eventually approach Stockholm on a perfect summer morning (whilst onboard a cruiseship touring the Baltic) is one of the most indelibly etched experiences of my life.
All that European customers can do is to collectively and continuously barrage both Hoya/Pentax's Japanese HQ and respective European divisions with E-mails or letters to do something about even-ing-out the playing field a little !
I don't personally hold out much hope, but if photographers don't try then clearly not much will change of it's own accord.
Historically speaking, retail consumers in western Europe have for many decades been doubly shafted by a combination of inflated Kr/€/£ vs $ US prices, allied with extortionate taxation of every imaginable variety ! If my memory serves me correctly, that's more-or-less what the Boston Tea-party was all about, so nothing much changes over the centuries !
Your only answer might be to emigrate to one of the states in America which has no general sales tax, such as New Hampshire !!! Then again the downsides involve uncontrollable gun-crime and living under the cretinous individual who currently heads their country......the choice is yours !!

Best regards
Richard

[thosan]

Well I won't need to emigrate to US just to buy from "over there", that I can do from my computer at home But, there is always a but, the warranties might be a little problematic if something goes wrong with the camera.
But it seems according to the other thread about the upcoming rebate, that it will only e available for those who lives in US, but the prices are so darn much lower there it's like a rebate anyway for us from euroland (even if we in sweden defy the euro currency )

[Kguru]

Deleeeeted.

[Edvinas]

Your only answer might be to emigrate to one of the states in America which has no general sales tax, such as New Hampshire !!! Then again the downsides involve uncontrollable gun-crime and living under the cretinous individual who currently heads their country......the choice is yours !!

No, it's not my choice at all. What make you think that USA will allow anyone to immigrate from Europe?

Well I won't need to emigrate to US just to buy from "over there", that I can do from my computer at home But, there is always a but, the warranties might be a little problematic if something goes wrong with the camera.
But it seems according to the other thread about the upcoming rebate, that it will only e available for those who lives in US, but the prices are so darn much lower there it's like a rebate anyway for us from euroland (even if we in sweden defy the euro currency )

First of all, when you buy from oversees you'll pay VAT upon receiving your purchase. Add cost of shipping and it isn't so attractive anymore...
adn yes, it really makes me angry when I see those low USA prices and they make me even more angry when they add a rebate on top of that! Damn, K10D kit for something like $650... Damn, K10D kit still costs $1150 here locally... that's a plain rip-off...

[Confused]

Hi again Edvinas

Re your sentiments:

"It really makes me angry when I see those low USA prices and they make me even more angry when they add a rebate on top of that! Damn, K10D kit for something like $650... Damn, K10D kit still costs $1150 here locally... that's a plain rip-off.."

Join the ever-swelling queue of complaining consumers like the rest of us. Damn and Blast indeed, with 'socks-on'......well that's the printable version anyhow ! Simple answer - spend your vacation in the USA, but risk the consequences of inapplicable warranties if something goes wrong.....
When I visit the States, it never fails to amaze me how cheap the cost of cars are when sold to US buyers. Odd how the price seems to magically DOUBLE (at least) by the time such an item reaches the poor suckers in the U.K. or mainland Europe. Even allowing for shipping costs and import duties, you can rest assured that some 'middle-man' or 'import-company' is clearly making a VERY FAT PROFIT before you finally get the opportunity of parting with your hard-earned cash !
The fact remains that due to the sheer scale of the US economy, Americans are simply too savvy to put up with that kind of nonsense. We tend to simply roll over and get financially 'shafted', like the long-suffering idiots we all so obviously are !!!
And don't even think of mentioning the unforgivable differential concerning gasoline prices between them and us.....ouch !
Ladies & Gentlemen, I shall now dismount from my soap-box and retire to much applause........

Best regards
Richard

Hi again Edvinas

Re your sentiments:

"It really makes me angry when I see those low USA prices and they make me even more angry when they add a rebate on top of that! Damn, K10D kit for something like $650... Damn, K10D kit still costs $1150 here locally... that's a plain rip-off.."

Join the ever-swelling queue of complaining consumers like the rest of us. Damn and Blast indeed, with 'socks-on'......well that's the printable version anyhow ! Simple answer - spend your vacation in the USA, but risk the consequences of inapplicable warranties if something goes wrong.....
When I visit the States, it never fails to amaze me how cheap the cost of cars are when sold to US buyers. Odd how the price seems to magically DOUBLE (at least) by the time such an item reaches the poor suckers in the U.K. or mainland Europe. Even allowing for shipping costs and import duties, you can rest assured that some 'middle-man' or 'import-company' is clearly making a VERY FAT PROFIT before you finally get the opportunity of parting with your hard-earned cash !
The fact remains that due to the sheer scale of the US economy, Americans are simply too savvy to put up with that kind of nonsense. We tend to simply roll over and get financially 'shafted', like the long-suffering idiots we all so obviously are !!!
And don't even think of mentioning the unforgivable differential concerning gasoline prices between them and us.....ouch !
Ladies & Gentlemen, I shall now dismount from my soap-box and retire to much applause........

Best regards
Richard

I guess that one of the main differences between both ways of living is that in Europe those things you mentioned are more expensive (at least in part) because of the taxes but in exchange you have other things like better social insurance. You can also go anywhere to get a tetanus vaccine shot and I bet that it doesnt cost more that 20 euros, now try to get one of those in the US for less than a couple of hundreds.

[Confused]

Hi Gruoso

When you say that.....

"you have other things like better social insurance"

Bearing in mind that this is primarily a photographic forum, I cannot resist briefly straightening-out your somewhat skewed misconceptions concerning the reality of our less-than-wonderful Health Service.
As things stand, our inept Government is currently pouring £Billions of hard-working tax-payers National Insurance contributions into a never-ending black-hole of a 'money-pit', with no improvement in sight. Don't even mention lengthy waiting-lists, simply in order to actually be admitted onto a ward in the first place ! Otherwise relatively healthy individuals are contracting potentially lethal infections whilst receiving care on the unhygenic wards. In fact literally thousands of patients have acquired 'MRSA' (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and if further evidence was needed, a dear friend of mine picked it up whilst recouperating in hospital from a life-threatening traffic accident. More seriously 'Clostridium Difficile' is spreading out of control and patients are DYING as a result !
If you reckon I am exaggerating in ANY WAY, just Google the subject and you will probably be VERY shocked ! This pathetic state-of-affairs resembles third-world countries and yet the politicians keep banging-on about the fact that the U.K. is currently the world's 4th richest nation ! This is a TERRIBLE INDICTMENT on our society and one of which I am utterly ashamed. Take my advice and don't get ill whilst visiting Britain. I was a patient myself a few years ago and what I saw with my very own eyes would SHOCK YOU TO THE CORE ! Click on the link below to see what I've been talking about....

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Kent | C.difficile bosses 'should quit'

Best regards
Richard