Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
09-17-2019, 01:28 AM - 3 Likes   #1
Pentaxian
gazonk's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Oslo area, Norway
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,746
Only one Pentax dealer left in Norway?

Pentax is disappearing from Scandinavian Photo (they still list K-70 and a lot of lenses, though) and has disappeared completely from Japan Photo (I bought a heavily rebated 28-105 from their clearance sale).

Is Fovi (which long time ago was “Pentax Norway”) going to be the only dealer left?

I’m getting worried that Ricoh doesn’t really seem to care to cultivate local markets.

09-17-2019, 03:43 AM   #2
Pentaxian




Join Date: Feb 2015
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 12,177
QuoteOriginally posted by gazonk Quote
I’m getting worried that Ricoh doesn’t really seem to care to cultivate local markets.
Yes, but you can read the positive posts on Pentaxforums (avoid to read your own post), and not be worried.

---------- Post added 17-09-19 at 12:54 ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by gazonk Quote
I bought a heavily rebated 28-105 from their clearance sale
Too many customers waiting for discounts are not good for Pentax. It would have been better to help Pentax cultivate your local area if you paid the full price , like other customers do with Sony.

Last edited by biz-engineer; 09-17-2019 at 03:57 AM.
09-17-2019, 04:13 AM - 4 Likes   #3
Digitiser of Film
Loyal Site Supporter
BigMackCam's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: North East of England
Posts: 20,574
QuoteOriginally posted by biz-engineer Quote
Too many customers waiting for discounts are not good for Pentax. It would have been better to help Pentax cultivate your local area if you paid the full price , like other customers do with Sony.
With respect, that's both unfair and inaccurate. I don't think anyone pays full retail price for equipment... We all have limited funds, and we do what we can to stretch them as far as possible, whether we're hobbyists (in which case photography is an indulgence) or professionals (in which case making a profit is tough enough) - and that's the same regardless of our chosen brands, Pentax, Sony and others...
09-17-2019, 04:30 AM   #4
Pentaxian
gazonk's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Oslo area, Norway
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,746
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by biz-engineer Quote
Too many customers waiting for discounts are not good for Pentax. It would have been better to help Pentax cultivate your local area if you paid the full price , like other customers do with Sony.
Are you serious? I didn’t wait for discounts, quite the opposite (Without the irresistible offer, I would have waited and then buy it as a kit lens with the K-1 mkII I’m saving up for instead).

09-17-2019, 04:33 AM - 1 Like   #5
Pentaxian




Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 325
Maybe Japan Photo as you know it is disappearing? They were caught and fined for fixing prices. I haven't been to a shop of theirs for years but on the Danish website they only sell prints, frames and accessories.


It is possible to buy Pentax in shops here, but pretty much only the high end these days - medium format and FF. I actually thought Norway had a better representation than Denmark.


I prefer to buy from SRS in London and haven't set foot in a camera shop in Denmark for a decade, so as per Biz's comment it is all my fault. But I have to send my stuff to Sweden for repairs anyway and I don't really know what service they could provide for me other than that?
09-17-2019, 04:39 AM   #6
Pentaxian




Join Date: Feb 2015
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 12,177
QuoteOriginally posted by gazonk Quote
Are you serious?
Yes and no. It's just that if everyone would only buy discounted or second hand Pentax equipment, the Pentax brand would obviously disappear.
09-17-2019, 04:40 AM   #7
Pentaxian
gazonk's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Oslo area, Norway
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,746
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by H. Sapiens Quote
Maybe Japan Photo as you know it is disappearing? They were caught and fined for fixing prices. I haven't been to a shop of theirs for years but on the Danish website they only sell prints, frames and accessories.
I don’t think so, they are heavily marketing Sony cameras these days and have a quite nice camera shop beneath their print shop close to my workplace.

QuoteQuote:
It is possible to buy Pentax in shops here, but pretty much only the high end these days - medium format and FF. I actually thought Norway had a better representation than Denmark.
Well, as long as Fovi survives, as Norwegian Pentax users we don’t really need more, they have all you can wish for (see Her finner du Nordens største Pentax-utvalg - Fovi AS - Pentax Pro Shop). I’m more concerned about the market presence and visibility.

---------- Post added 17th Sep 2019 at 12:42 ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by biz-engineer Quote
Yes and no. It's just that if everyone would only buy discounted or second hand Pentax equipment, the Pentax brand would obviously disappear.
Of course. But I don’t.

09-17-2019, 04:46 AM - 1 Like   #8
Master of the obvious
Loyal Site Supporter
savoche's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Lowlands of Norway
Posts: 18,309
Yes, I think we're down to Fovi only. Which is not good for anybody, not even Fovi, in the long run.

But I can well understand the retailers (especially those with with b&m stores). Local stock is expensive and margins are low. That forces them to cut down on makes and models and stick to what sells the most.

That said, I use what I have and won't worry over what might be until it actually becomes a problem.

Last edited by savoche; 09-17-2019 at 05:15 AM.
09-17-2019, 04:49 AM - 1 Like   #9
Master of the obvious
Loyal Site Supporter
savoche's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Lowlands of Norway
Posts: 18,309
QuoteOriginally posted by H. Sapiens Quote
I prefer to buy from SRS in London
That quickly becomes expensive from here (unless I should happen to be in London already, of course). And soon it might become more expensive for you too...
09-17-2019, 05:02 AM - 1 Like   #10
Pentaxian




Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 325
QuoteOriginally posted by savoche Quote
That quickly becomes expensive from here (unless I should happen to be in London already, of course). And soon it might become more expensive for you too...
Yes, I actually thought about just that when I wrote my reply. We'll have to see what happens ...


The last camera equipment I bought was actually while visiting Japan and there you can of course find everything Pentax.
09-17-2019, 05:10 AM - 2 Likes   #11
Digitiser of Film
Loyal Site Supporter
BigMackCam's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: North East of England
Posts: 20,574
QuoteOriginally posted by biz-engineer Quote
Yes and no. It's just that if everyone would only buy discounted or second hand Pentax equipment, the Pentax brand would obviously disappear.
I think that aspect is pretty much self-regulating and commercially understood.

Most of those with the deepest pockets will buy whatever new equipment they want and need at whatever time of year, regardless of discounts. Those with reasonable (but not unlimited) funds available might occasionally buy at full price, but will probably wait for at least some occasional price drops. Folks on a tighter budget will buy mainly when bigger discounts are offered, or occasionally used. And those on a very tight budget might buy only at heavy discounts, perhaps at close-out, and often used. A few, on the very tightest budgets, may only buy older used gear... But even they are helping the brand, since the seller of that equipment may well go on to buy newer or brand new equipment with the funds.

All of the brands know this, and their pricing - at release, throughout the lifetime of a product, and at various times of the year, via different sales channels and individual dealers - leverages those distinct customer buying practices.
09-17-2019, 06:26 AM - 1 Like   #12
Pentaxian




Join Date: Feb 2015
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 12,177
QuoteOriginally posted by BigMackCam Quote
All of the brands know this, and their pricing - at release, throughout the lifetime of a product, and at various times of the year, via different sales channels and individual dealers - leverages those distinct customer buying practices.
That topic regarding Pentax representation at B&M stores has been discussed many times. Even when I bought my first Pentax almost a decade ago, Pentax wasn't sold in every shop, back then only some shops sold Pentax cameras, I would say less than 50% of retailers carried Pentax in my country, more than 15 years ago. When I bought my first Pentax almost nobody bought a camera online. Over the years, I've seen the number of camera shops that sell Pentax being less and less, and I've also seen people buying online more and more, to a point that we now buy online with much apprehension. The first camera I bought it in a shop, the two models following I bought them to amazon, and I bought the K1 kit in a shop but only because they purchased back some of my old cameras / lenses (and he is selling online as well otherwise his camera shop would have died...). Again and the K1 II online again. In total, if it wasn't for selling my used equipment, I'd have bought more than 80% of my Pentax cameras and lenses online. Good for amazon, and very bad for the local retailers. And interestingly, now there are camera shops 100% online who do sell all Pentax models.

---------- Post added 17-09-19 at 15:38 ----------

Honestly, buying online is great for people spending a good part of their life at work:
1) I can read the reviews and spec of what I want to buy online
2) I can read comments/feedback from other customers who bought the same product to the same online retailer, that's very useful, I can do that at the B&M shop.
3) I use my work address for delivery of the camera or lens, so that if there is no one at home you don't have to go to the warehouse pickup the parcel
4) When I receive the parcel, I open it the same day, check than everything works, and if something doesn't work, I fill in the return form and given the parcel back to the post-man the next day (all this without moving)
5) Prices tend to be slightly cheaper online, and I can even compare prices of the same product in different countries within EU. I happened to have ordered a lens at amazon.fr because it was 100 euro cheaper than from amazon.de. Sometimes it is cheaper at amazon.it or amazon.es

And if I want to sell my used Pentax gear to buy something new, I can even do it online, because some camera shops also buy back used equipment from distance customer, such as SRS in the UK (actually I've bought my DFA150-450 to SRS).

Last edited by biz-engineer; 09-17-2019 at 06:41 AM.
09-17-2019, 06:39 AM - 2 Likes   #13
Pentaxian
normhead's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Near Algonquin Park
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 40,442
My D *ist was bought in a store. Along with my Sigma 70-300 and FA 50 1.7. Since then, my total purchases amount to one FA 35-80 used from Henry's in Ottawa. everything else has been bought on-line. Going to a store, I want to see options. I'm looking for a mid telephoto, I want to try out the DA* 60-250, DA*200, DA*300. I want o put them on the camera so I'm evaluating everything when I make my choice. Barring that experience I'll just shop on-line. The current "we can order it for you" store experience is not a service. I can order it on-line myself.

I don't know what those guys can do. I really don't expect a store to stock 3 lenses so I might buy one. Especially since I'm going home after to see if I can find a better price on-line. If we all did what we did 30 years ago, the situation would be the same as it was 30 years ago. But stores and companies have to change with the times.

After a customer has come in and taken a lens off the shelf to play with and gone home without purchasing it much now be sold as a demo at reduced price. It costs store money to do that. It's much more likely the average customer coming into a store is going to cost you more than you make from them with current practices.
09-17-2019, 06:44 AM   #14
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter




Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Boston
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 275
QuoteOriginally posted by biz-engineer Quote
And interestingly, now there are camera shops 100% online who do sell all Pentax models.
Which ones are you aware of? Optics Planet is the only one that comes to mind.
09-17-2019, 06:46 AM - 1 Like   #15
Pentaxian




Join Date: Feb 2015
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 12,177
QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
The current "we can order it for you" store experience is not a service. I can order it on-line myself.
Yes, that one makes me laugh here, because since the rise of online selling , the local multimedia retailers have realized that having the products for sale in the shop is costly, so they decided to sell online and have only maybe 30% of the products in store, but they tell me "we can order it for you".... So when I check if they have the product in store and they don't have it, I don't even bother ordering to them , I order where it is the cheapest and where I already have an online account and I have it delivered in front of my door. I don't know where that trend is going, but I think that most local shops (except fresh products like cheese , salads and tomatoes) will more or less die.

Now wait... that can be also hilarious: at work, a Chinese employe recently arrived ordered a washing machine online and got it delivered at work! I don't tell you how upset the guy responsible for company deliveries who had to take care of unloading the washing machine from the truck. This was followed by a message from the CEO to all employees that we shouldn't abuse our logistic department by ordering personal washing machines (or other things such as 20Kg of discounted rice) delivered at the company reception

Last edited by biz-engineer; 09-17-2019 at 06:54 AM.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
camera, cameras, city, customer, customers, day, days, dealer, equipment, half, k1, lens, lenses, million, norway, pentax, pentax dealer, pentax news, pentax rumors, photo, post, price, shame, shop, shops, store
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Is the dealer locator complete? Is amazon.com an authorized US dealer? kwb Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 0 01-02-2017 12:05 PM
Am I the only one who feels left out buying a pentax? Irfanintekhab Pentax DSLR Discussion 60 03-20-2016 06:08 AM
Only Pentax dealer in houston Stops Carrying Pentax W.j.christy General Photography 24 01-23-2016 06:55 PM
For Sale - Sold: Pentax system sell-off - "only one left" round SpecialK Sold Items 13 03-09-2015 09:41 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 12:06 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top