Originally posted by barondla The reps are gone, thats for sure. Tried to place an order recently and was told it would have to be faxed or emailed to them. It was like 6 items. Couldn't be bothered with it over the phone.
This required more time to prepare "correctly". Not a fan of this change at all.
thanks
barondla
I am an end user and had to fax information somewhere in Raliegh, NC for an extended warranty. My guess this is for paper tracking more than anything else.
Reading from different statements from Pentax, is that they are restructuring their sales force. From what it sounds like Pentax's salesforce was P&L region based. Now it sounds like they are switching to a market based sales model. Teams of people who will work different market segments; Big Box retail, Online retail, distribution etc etc etc. The addition of Walmart is just the first of these sales initiatives from these teams. Target online already carries Sigma lenses for Pentax bodies so we may see Target carry some items in the future as well.
For me it would make sense to make a dual lens kit and sell at warehouse stores like Costco since their members usually have a bit of disposable income available and their mindset is that buying at that store means they are getting more value for their dollar. Go into a Costco and you will see a D60 + 18-55VR + 55-200VR for about $900. I would think that if you had a Pentax Bix Box Retail rep at a store selling a comparable kit (K10D or K100DS) for at least $700-$750 they would be able to sway a few people away from the Nikon kit. Get them in the store just before summer starts when families are looking to go on vacation and try to capture some sales from people looking to upgrade from their P&S.