Lens Prices Increase in UK

mecrox · 04-05-2012, 12:48 AM

FWIW, the price of several Pentax lenses has just increased in the UK according to the website of arguably the UK's leading Pentax dealer (SRS). The new prices are high: for example the 17-70mm f4, DA 21mm and DA 70mm now cost 509 gbp (which is about 809 usd). OTOH, the prices of some lenses has not changed, for example the DA* 50-135mm is 689 gbp (about 1095 usd) - though one suspects these too will increase in time. The price of the K-5 has gone up by about 100 gbp though the Q and K-01 remain unchanged so far and you can still buy the K-5 for considerably less on Amazon. It's difficult to know what Pentax are trying to do, because we've already had swingeging price increases here over the past three years. By way of contrast, for example, the new Nikon 85mm G series is 429 gbp (about 682 usd). The Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4 now looks a bargain at 339 gbp (about 539 usd), not least because the Pentax 17-70mm f4 just doesn't have the quality to justify its new price. The FA Limiteds have not increased in price, but they are a lot more than the DA ones anyway.

I guess Ricoh are going to need some pretty compelling new Pentax products if they hope to pull off moving Pentax into exclusive boutique territory in which their prices are not just similar to but often more than those of Canonikon and co. This country is in a dire state financially and so many folks are struggling to pay the bills. For example, I've read that another big Pentax dealer, Park Cameras, had failed to sell a single copy of the Pentax Q for several months until the price was recently reduced to reasonably sane levels. Now they've sold one or something.

Last edited by mecrox; 04-05-2012 at 01:43 AM.

parsons · 04-05-2012, 01:01 AM

Prices in the uk are all pretty high. Hense why I tended to buy on holidays to the states. Or on the used market. I got my 77 for £500 from US and 40 from eBay for 220.
If Pentax don't release a FF camera in the next three years then I will probably just get a reduced K-5 and stop buying things. I'm set for gear at the moment anyways

timh · 04-05-2012, 01:35 AM

Yes, Pentax was already too expensive here. I got my K-5 and the last couple of new lenses in Japan. Seriously, who needs another boutique camera brand? Just make products people want at prices they'll pay and advertise the damn things, Pentax!

Nass · 04-05-2012, 01:40 AM

I wonder if this is an opportunistic move by SRS, increasing their prices because competitor prices across the pond went up with this new US Pentax MRRP price policy. I know a fair few brits used to buy from North America before because of the extraordinary price difference; enough, actually, to make a return flight and lens purchase cheaper than buying in the UK.

parsons · 04-05-2012, 02:00 AM

Pentax will have to improve the outlook of the brand in the uk cos other wise they will lose out all together.
Having said that I know two people who recently bought into Pentax... Obviously they are swamped in people who bought the other two though

And it wouldn't surprise me Nass. I doubt it is part of a larger country wide scheme.

mecrox · 04-05-2012, 02:29 AM

Originally posted by Nass

I wonder if this is an opportunistic move by SRS, increasing their prices because competitor prices across the pond went up with this new US Pentax MRRP price policy. I know a fair few brits used to buy from North America before because of the extraordinary price difference; enough, actually, to make a return flight and lens purchase cheaper than buying in the UK.

You could be right, though as SRS sell a lot of Pentax products they tend to be at the front of the line for new stock consignments (or so I understand), so if Pentax have raised prices across the board then one would expect these to feed through to SRS first. FWIW, Park Cameras and Jacobs have also increased their price for the K-5 to the new higher one at SRS of 799 gbp. Anyway, the next few weeks will shake things down to a clearer picture.

Nass · 04-05-2012, 03:00 AM

If Pentax have increased prices to the resellers significantly then a price increase is perfectly understandable. In my business for example we work offf a monthly dollar "buy" pricelist, so we have to adjust our prices every month, nothing unusual about this at all. But the shifts tend to be minimal, never doubledigit.

There could also be a bit of competition watching going on. Ie dealer A raises his prices so dealer B and C follow suit because they monitor dealer A's prices and think they can get away with a higher price because dealer A, the best known dealer, has raised their price.

Last edited by Nass; 04-05-2012 at 03:06 AM.

Caat · 04-05-2012, 03:13 AM

This blows.

I was intending to buy the 60-250 from SRS on Saturday. Yesterday it was 995 now its 1189 - an increase that takes it beyond my budget.

I even have one reserved. I am annoyed they did not mention this to me.

mecrox · 04-05-2012, 03:20 AM

Originally posted by Caat

This blows.

I was intending to buy the 60-250 from SRS on Saturday. Yesterday it was 995 now its 1189 - an increase that takes it beyond my budget.

I even have one reserved. I am annoyed they did not mention this to me.

You could call SRS and ask them whether they will honour the price at which you reserved the lens. They seem to be known for good service and you do have a bit of a case, so they may say yes. If they say no, perhaps there are other retailers still offering it for less (Park, Jacobs, Amazon, etc.).

Caat · 04-05-2012, 03:24 AM

Originally posted by mecrox

You could call SRS and ask them whether they will honour the price at which you reserved the lens. They seem to be known for good service and you do have a bit of a case, so they may say yes. If they say no, perhaps there are other retailers still offering it for less (Park, Jacobs, Amazon, etc.).

Yes, I will have to do that. I would hope that they would. I've had excellent service from them before.

parsons · 04-05-2012, 03:35 AM

Originally posted by Caat

Yes, I will have to do that. I would hope that they would. I've had excellent service from them before.

it would look quite bad for them here if they didn't anyway!

Caat · 04-05-2012, 03:48 AM

Originally posted by parsons

it would look quite bad for them here if they didn't anyway!

It would indeed! I've emailed them. Fingers crossed.

Caat · 04-05-2012, 05:13 AM - **1 Like**

Phew! I got the last of the old stock. Relief.

timh · 04-05-2012, 05:18 AM

It's still cheap at Amazon, check this graph in a week to see what happens...
link

parsons · 04-05-2012, 05:22 AM

Originally posted by Caat

Phew! I got the last of the old stock. Relief.

saved yourself a bit then thats good! nice one reserving it then, you would have lost out if you hadn't!
oh right so are the price increases part of restocking? so it is more that pentax has increased the prices (in the UK) than the shops have adjusted to the price across the pond?

04-05-2012, 12:48 AM	#1
mecrox Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Oxford, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,375	Lens Prices Increase in UK FWIW, the price of several Pentax lenses has just increased in the UK according to the website of arguably the UK's leading Pentax dealer (SRS). The new prices are high: for example the 17-70mm f4, DA 21mm and DA 70mm now cost 509 gbp (which is about 809 usd). OTOH, the prices of some lenses has not changed, for example the DA* 50-135mm is 689 gbp (about 1095 usd) - though one suspects these too will increase in time. The price of the K-5 has gone up by about 100 gbp though the Q and K-01 remain unchanged so far and you can still buy the K-5 for considerably less on Amazon. It's difficult to know what Pentax are trying to do, because we've already had swingeging price increases here over the past three years. By way of contrast, for example, the new Nikon 85mm G series is 429 gbp (about 682 usd). The Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4 now looks a bargain at 339 gbp (about 539 usd), not least because the Pentax 17-70mm f4 just doesn't have the quality to justify its new price. The FA Limiteds have not increased in price, but they are a lot more than the DA ones anyway. I guess Ricoh are going to need some pretty compelling new Pentax products if they hope to pull off moving Pentax into exclusive boutique territory in which their prices are not just similar to but often more than those of Canonikon and co. This country is in a dire state financially and so many folks are struggling to pay the bills. For example, I've read that another big Pentax dealer, Park Cameras, had failed to sell a single copy of the Pentax Q for several months until the price was recently reduced to reasonably sane levels. Now they've sold one or something. Last edited by mecrox; 04-05-2012 at 01:43 AM.

04-05-2012, 02:00 AM	#5
parsons Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: ENGLAND Posts: 389	Pentax will have to improve the outlook of the brand in the uk cos other wise they will lose out all together. Having said that I know two people who recently bought into Pentax... Obviously they are swamped in people who bought the other two though And it wouldn't surprise me Nass. I doubt it is part of a larger country wide scheme. Last edited by parsons; 04-05-2012 at 02:13 AM.

04-05-2012, 02:29 AM	#6
mecrox Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Oxford, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,375 Original Poster	Originally posted by Nass I wonder if this is an opportunistic move by SRS, increasing their prices because competitor prices across the pond went up with this new US Pentax MRRP price policy. I know a fair few brits used to buy from North America before because of the extraordinary price difference; enough, actually, to make a return flight and lens purchase cheaper than buying in the UK. You could be right, though as SRS sell a lot of Pentax products they tend to be at the front of the line for new stock consignments (or so I understand), so if Pentax have raised prices across the board then one would expect these to feed through to SRS first. FWIW, Park Cameras and Jacobs have also increased their price for the K-5 to the new higher one at SRS of 799 gbp. Anyway, the next few weeks will shake things down to a clearer picture. Last edited by mecrox; 04-05-2012 at 02:51 AM.

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04-05-2012, 01:01 AM	#2
parsons Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: ENGLAND Posts: 389	Prices in the uk are all pretty high. Hense why I tended to buy on holidays to the states. Or on the used market. I got my 77 for £500 from US and 40 from eBay for 220. If Pentax don't release a FF camera in the next three years then I will probably just get a reduced K-5 and stop buying things. I'm set for gear at the moment anyways

04-05-2012, 01:35 AM	#3
timh Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Wales Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 445	Yes, Pentax was already too expensive here. I got my K-5 and the last couple of new lenses in Japan. Seriously, who needs another boutique camera brand? Just make products people want at prices they'll pay and advertise the damn things, Pentax!

04-05-2012, 01:40 AM	#4
Nass Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The British Isles Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,402	I wonder if this is an opportunistic move by SRS, increasing their prices because competitor prices across the pond went up with this new US Pentax MRRP price policy. I know a fair few brits used to buy from North America before because of the extraordinary price difference; enough, actually, to make a return flight and lens purchase cheaper than buying in the UK.

04-05-2012, 03:00 AM	#7
Nass Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The British Isles Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,402	If Pentax have increased prices to the resellers significantly then a price increase is perfectly understandable. In my business for example we work offf a monthly dollar "buy" pricelist, so we have to adjust our prices every month, nothing unusual about this at all. But the shifts tend to be minimal, never doubledigit. There could also be a bit of competition watching going on. Ie dealer A raises his prices so dealer B and C follow suit because they monitor dealer A's prices and think they can get away with a higher price because dealer A, the best known dealer, has raised their price. Last edited by Nass; 04-05-2012 at 03:06 AM.

04-05-2012, 03:13 AM	#8
Caat Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: United Kingdom Photos: Albums Posts: 927	This blows. I was intending to buy the 60-250 from SRS on Saturday. Yesterday it was 995 now its 1189 - an increase that takes it beyond my budget. I even have one reserved. I am annoyed they did not mention this to me.

04-05-2012, 03:20 AM	#9
mecrox Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Oxford, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,375 Original Poster	Originally posted by Caat This blows. I was intending to buy the 60-250 from SRS on Saturday. Yesterday it was 995 now its 1189 - an increase that takes it beyond my budget. I even have one reserved. I am annoyed they did not mention this to me. You could call SRS and ask them whether they will honour the price at which you reserved the lens. They seem to be known for good service and you do have a bit of a case, so they may say yes. If they say no, perhaps there are other retailers still offering it for less (Park, Jacobs, Amazon, etc.).

04-05-2012, 03:24 AM	#10
Caat Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: United Kingdom Photos: Albums Posts: 927	Originally posted by mecrox You could call SRS and ask them whether they will honour the price at which you reserved the lens. They seem to be known for good service and you do have a bit of a case, so they may say yes. If they say no, perhaps there are other retailers still offering it for less (Park, Jacobs, Amazon, etc.). Yes, I will have to do that. I would hope that they would. I've had excellent service from them before.

04-05-2012, 03:35 AM	#11
parsons Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: ENGLAND Posts: 389	Originally posted by Caat Yes, I will have to do that. I would hope that they would. I've had excellent service from them before. it would look quite bad for them here if they didn't anyway!

04-05-2012, 03:48 AM	#12
Caat Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: United Kingdom Photos: Albums Posts: 927	Originally posted by parsons it would look quite bad for them here if they didn't anyway! It would indeed! I've emailed them. Fingers crossed.

04-05-2012, 05:13 AM - 1 Like	#13
Caat Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: United Kingdom Photos: Albums Posts: 927	Phew! I got the last of the old stock. Relief.

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04-05-2012, 05:18 AM	#14
timh Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Wales Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 445	It's still cheap at Amazon, check this graph in a week to see what happens... link

04-05-2012, 05:22 AM	#15
parsons Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: ENGLAND Posts: 389	Originally posted by Caat Phew! I got the last of the old stock. Relief. saved yourself a bit then thats good! nice one reserving it then, you would have lost out if you hadn't! oh right so are the price increases part of restocking? so it is more that pentax has increased the prices (in the UK) than the shops have adjusted to the price across the pond?