Originally posted by 7samurai When they raised the prices, I raised my expectations.
Well, but understand that your expectations regarding existing lenses will only be met if they are about "
perceived value".
In
this interview with 'PhotoReporter', Ned Bunnell states:
- Online retailer prices for Pentax lenses were so low that we could not reasonable run rebate schemes without letting the lenses appear like cheap items.
- Dealers will have much higher margins when selling Pentax lenses.
- We made Pentax lenses more expensive to buy.
- The "small business man" model will return because you can now buy a DA* 50-135/2.8 for an insane $1600 at brick & mortar stores (theoretically).
- Cameras were never discounted as much as they could have been. Only lenses.
- I'm sticking my fingers into my ears, therefore I cannot hear online retailers complaining about the forced margins, and hence lower sales. I'm glad I got my Passover gift from Adorama before I screwed them over.
- Discounting "diminishes" the value of products. (PhotoReporter said this, but Ned did not contradict.)
Of course he does not use the above words but plays semantic games like "We didn't raise prices", but the messages are the same as above.
As far as I'm concerned insane dealer margins -- $750(!) or 88%(!) for a DA* 50-135 -- do not "increase" the value of a product. I should be getting into retail myself, really, with such margins. Although, no one in their right mind will buy the lens at this price, will they?
If they do, the buyer can fool themselves into believing that they bought something worth $1600 and that may indeed correspond to higher "
perceived value", but I find it perverted that Pentax USA wants to increase the "
perceived value" for lenses, and not the
real value.
Surely I'm overreacting and exaggerating but there is little I can stand less then being taken for a fool.
I can only hope that the insane price increases are a funny way to phase out these lenses, thus making space for new ones with a reasonable MSRP.