[edumad]

Hi everyone!
Very first post here...

I'm starting to save up to buy a DSLR.
I'm thinking of either the K10D or K20D.
I'd like to hear predictions on the price of K20D by November this year. I´ve got a friend going to the states by then, and I´m thinking of asking him to buy me one.

[Entropy]

Yeah, I bought my K10 through Amazon last summer where it was listed for quite a good price, then I got a phone call from a dude with a New york accent that demanded that I buy a couple of lenses to go with it, and when I refused he then switched me to another guy who explained that I had bought a grey market model with no warranty (even though it wasn't advertized as such) and if I didn't pay more, the one I would get probably wouldn't work, etc.

I have a special fondness for dudes with Brooklyn accents.....

That must've been through an Amazon affiliate and not directly through Amazon. (Look for the "Ships from and Sold By" text in the upper right of the product page).

For a while (including early last summer) the K10D was available directly from Amazon, not any more (probably because it is discontinued and camera stores are clearing stock?). The K20D is available direct from Amazon currently.

[WendyB]

Gee Wendy, you have me confused. Since there are no retailers offering the K20D kit yet I think we are all referring to body only pricing. B & H has the new kit lens listed at $199 but not available yet. If I understand you right you are saying the K20D plus this lens will not go below $1,159. Hmm, That means the body only will drop to $960, right? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

$960 by the end of the year is getting very close to what Gruoso predicted. It's also getting to the price a lot of us poor folk will seriously consider it.

Regards,

Ken

Shaking my head,

Most if not all "reputable" dealers have not dropped below the threshold. Of course in long run when FF 6:45 in the morning arrives this fall. Yes the price will drop profoundly. But not in the near future.

As for the low ball retailers ask yourself a few questions in the mirror before you commit to buy.

#1 Are they going to ask you to purchase unnecessary extras? In most cases yes.
#2 Are they charging outrageous shipping and handling charges? In most cases yes.
#3 Is the customer service up to standard? In most cases no.
#4 Will the seller stand behind the product if you have a problem? In most cases no.
#5 Is the seller affiliated with Pentax? In most cases no.
#6 Will Pentax honor the warranty from a product purchased from the seller? In most cases no.

#7 Are you really up for the aggravation if a problem arises? Yes I guess you are but you saved 50 dollars and will spend 300 more in time and effort reconciling the problem.

There is an old saying, Penny wise and pound foolish.

My original post stated the "kit price" if you look at the right retailers you can find the kits. FYI the "kit" contains a whole lot more than the body box and they sell for nearly the same price as the body box.

Enough said on my part, I have to return to the grown up work I have to do.

Best regards,

Wendy

[thibs]

Most if not all "reputable" dealers have not dropped below the threshold. Of course in long run when FF 6:45 in the morning arrives this fall. Yes the price will drop profoundly. But not in the near future.

Wendy

Holy s**t, you're kidding, right?

[regken]

Shaking my head,

Most if not all "reputable" dealers have not dropped below the threshold. Of course in long run when FF 6:45 in the morning arrives this fall. Yes the price will drop profoundly. But not in the near future.

As for the low ball retailers ask yourself a few questions in the mirror before you commit to buy.

#1 Are they going to ask you to purchase unnecessary extras? In most cases yes.
#2 Are they charging outrageous shipping and handling charges? In most cases yes.
#3 Is the customer service up to standard? In most cases no.
#4 Will the seller stand behind the product if you have a problem? In most cases no.
#5 Is the seller affiliated with Pentax? In most cases no.
#6 Will Pentax honor the warranty from a product purchased from the seller? In most cases no.

#7 Are you really up for the aggravation if a problem arises? Yes I guess you are but you saved 50 dollars and will spend 300 more in time and effort reconciling the problem.

There is an old saying, Penny wise and pound foolish.

My original post stated the "kit price" if you look at the right retailers you can find the kits. FYI the "kit" contains a whole lot more than the body box and they sell for nearly the same price as the body box.

Enough said on my part, I have to return to the grown up work I have to do.

Best regards,

Wendy

Willoughby's $1,105.00 + $14.95 shipping
Amazon $1,134.99 Free shipping
Beach Camera $1,169.99 Free shipping
Buydig $1,169.99 Free shipping
Cameta camera $1,168.95 +$12.95 Shipping

These are all well respected Authorized Pentax distributors. They all sell the "Kit", not just the body. None of them call you back to sell you extra items. Pentax will honor the warranty from any of these authorized distributors. I'm sure I missed a few.

Buying from any of these people will give the purchaser excellent service, as good as you would get from any merchant. I find your post misleading, uninformed, and condescending. To many of us a savings of $179 is a big deal. Since it has taken less than 60 days for this big a savings to appear, it stands to reason we will see further price erosion within the next 60 days.

Regards,
Ken

[codiac2600]

The price is falling from these guys cause they don't sell Pentax cameras like most other dealers.

I've had no trouble selling them at 1299 and neither has any other "real" dealer.

Not too mention the dollar is worthless and the price has to drop because of the economic scare going on.

Watching these prices on Amazon is stupid IMO because it's just a camera and if you aren't willing to spend the money its worth then why eve buy the camera? It's definitely worth 1299 so I'm not seeing this fascination in stores who suck dropping prices...

[panoguy]

Most if not all "reputable" dealers have not dropped below the threshold. Of course in long run when FF 6:45 in the morning arrives this fall.

Holy s**t, you're kidding, right?

Of course she's either kidding or, more likely, blowing smoke based on wishful thinking and the posts of others.

Search these forums; Wendy is a well-known "insider-who-is-really-on-the-outside" trying to be vague in hopes she will somehow appear better informed. Kind of like a "math expert" who says "well, 2x2= another number that might just be more than 2, but I can't really say because I'm important and I have grown up things to do."

Good for some light entertainment, in any case...

[panoguy]

Buying from any of these people will give the purchaser excellent service, as good as you would get from any merchant.

I think I'd agree that Amazon and Cameta would meet that standard, but the others in the list (especially Beach) are pretty much like used-car dealers - your experience will depend greatly on how much you are spending overall and who you talk to. (I called Beach asking about a K10D backorder notification last year and got a "have you looked at the Canon 40D?")

Further to Chris's post, brick-and-mortar is the way to go if you have one locally and can spare the extra 15%. If you got a lemon or have problems, it saves on shipping and telephone frustration, and for many folks (including pros) knowing your local Pentax sales guy can get you better information up-front both about what to buy and *when* to buy.

[deejjjaaaa]

I think I'd agree that Amazon and Cameta would meet that standard, but the others in the list (especially Beach) are pretty much like used-car dealers - your experience will depend greatly on how much you are spending overall and who you talk to. (I called Beach asking about a K10D last year and got a "have you looked at the Canon 40D?")

the whole point is to buy w/o talking... if you want to talk - talk here, buy there... why do you need to call them asking about K10D at all ?

[deejjjaaaa]

I've had no trouble selling them at 1299 and neither has any other "real" dealer.

the likes of "Broadway Photo" apparently have no issues to sell 'em for twice the price

PS: nothing personal.

[mattdm]

the whole point is to buy w/o talking... if you want to talk - talk here, buy there... why do you need to call them asking about K10D at all ?

Note that Beach and Buydig are the exact same company. I've had no problem buying from them in the past, though.

[deejjjaaaa]

Note that Beach and Buydig are the exact same company. I've had no problem buying from them in the past, though.

I know because I did buy from all of them (all mentioned above by regken) toо...

my point is - you buy commodity products
there... if you want advise you come here and ask.

[panoguy]

the whole point is to buy w/o talking... if you want to talk - talk here, buy there... why do you need to call them asking about K10D at all ?

I've edited the above post since I didn't make it clear *why* I had to call Beach. I really tried to "buy without talking," and I'd probably still be waiting today if I hadn't called and essentially re-ordered my camera. I got it in the end, but the lesson was learned, and I'm hoping to spare someone else the headaches.

[misiek3d]

S**t!

Here it is still € 995 = $ 1,550!, including taxes.



- Bert

In Poland it's 1730$ including VAT! Weeeee are the champions!

Michal

[Cedar]

still dropping. . .

went from 1177 -> 1173 -> 1157 -> 1153

Hope it's okay to 'cross post' this one more time. :-)

Maybe for the K3000D(?), K300D, K30D, and K3D (?) we should create a single price thread for each model and sticky it. :-)

FWIW: Amazon "Gold Box" offers from today:

Pentax K20D (Body Only)
Special Gold Box Price: $1078.24 Free Shipping

Pentax K200D with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
Special Gold Box Price: $672.48 Free Shipping