Canadian Prices up already! Holy crap!

KungPOW · 04-04-2009, 07:50 AM

Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here.

The more I think about this, the less I believe it has anything to do with exchange rate fluctuations.

I think Pentax is repositioning their products.

I expect once all sources of lower cost lenses are gone, then the prices in the US will jump.

Then we will see the 20% price difference between the Canadian and the American prices.

ABCWinter · 04-04-2009, 08:54 AM

It is actually more expensive to make those lenses because the material and labour expenses went up. Plus our dollar went down in value. Ok I understand the dollar point of view but if the material and labour went up to, why is our neighbours not seeing a price hike in the cost of these lenses too ?

I still think we are super gouged regardless.

Samsungian · 04-04-2009, 08:59 AM

I totally agree, USA is in for a price Spike on Pentax glass too.

That will make the price disparity disappear.

Buy Now or Cry later, as I said 16 days ago:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/529390-post11.html

Bottomline, You want a lens brand new, then its time to buy it now. I noticed B&H is due for their annual 8 day hiatus beginning April 7th. Shop now as the Holiday is approaching.

A couple years ago when there was a Local Pentax rep he mentioned that Pentax wanted to enhance their image along the lines of Leica. I replied "higher price?" and he agreed. At the time I thought he was crazy, but nearly doubling price on some lenses would get them closer to leica prices. Well 1/2 way there.

I'll even take my own advise and carefully consider all pentax lenses before its too late. I'm happy with all my old glass, FA and older designs. So I'll make certain I'm set & satisfied before the lens price spike in USA market occurs.

Its sad to watch your money seriously devalued right before your eyes

;^(

Originally posted by KungPOW

The more I think about this, the less I believe it has anything to do with exchange rate fluctuations.

I think Pentax is repositioning their products.

I expect once all sources of lower cost lenses are gone, then the prices in the US will jump.

Then we will see the 20% price difference between the Canadian and the American prices.

vinzer · 04-04-2009, 10:16 AM

Originally posted by Samsungian

I totally agree, USA is in for a price Spike on Pentax glass too.

That will make the price disparity disappear.

Buy Now or Cry later, as I said 16 days ago:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/529390-post11.html

Bottomline, You want a lens brand new, then its time to buy it now. I noticed B&H is due for their annual 8 day hiatus beginning April 7th. Shop now as the Holiday is approaching.

A couple years ago when there was a Local Pentax rep he mentioned that Pentax wanted to enhance their image along the lines of Leica. I replied "higher price?" and he agreed. At the time I thought he was crazy, but nearly doubling price on some lenses would get them closer to leica prices. Well 1/2 way there.

I'll even take my own advise and carefully consider all pentax lenses before its too late. I'm happy with all my old glass, FA and older designs. So I'll make certain I'm set & satisfied before the lens price spike in USA market occurs.

Its sad to watch your money seriously devalued right before your eyes

;^(

They want to go Leica even knowing the bankruptcy Leica has faced time and time again? That's weird. The K-m will be out of place in such a move. I consider only the K-m since the K200D and K20D are ripe for replacement and we have no idea what Pentax wants to do with their next line of DSLRs.

Samsungian · 04-04-2009, 12:01 PM

Maybe they need double profits with Hoya's hand in the cash register now?

This confirmation was back during the year or so prior to buyout courtship between Pentax and Hoya with Samsung standing ready for the purchase. Back when my Samsung GX-1S was an IDENTICAL CLONE OF Pentax DS2. Back then I had both a local Pentax Rep and a Samsung Rep to chat with and I'd talk to them twice a year during Demodays. Back when the samsung rep was certain Samsung would buy Pentax Corp. Way back when the samsung rep confirmed for me (hush-hush) that Samsung executed construction of pentax logo'd dslrs to pentax design specs and inturn pentax manufactured Schnieder Kreucznach logo'd clone glass for Samsung.

Now pentax sells no dslr imaging products locally and neither does samsung inspite of what the Pentax USA website says. I supposely have a dozen place to buy pentax at but no one carrys it inperson. You gotta go shop on websites they suggest to pay full retail from. Back then I had three proshops to shop at ,then two, then one, now None.

I guess Hoya & Pentax expect giddy pentax and samsung fans to convince new buyers of camera equiptment or disgruntled canon and nikon owners to buy pentax & samsung concept versus handling and touching cameras and lenses locally at two local BestBuy's: A national chain that carrys everything including appliances. I still buy my every 4th year or so computer from BestBuy and I may buy a new refridgerator from them. Its 19 years old now, I suspect it will die soon?

Km - K2000 in Black & White & Camo dslrs makes (((NO))) sense to me. Pentax decides to be outdoor niche & weathersealed system seller and then release a stripped down non weathersealed camera inleiu of the Full Frame or APS-H K-Mount it was rumoured to be for prior year. Pentax certainly convinced Benjikan Full frame was about to issue. Remember his thread he started here stating full frame was about to launch? Hoya - Pentax is Like having two heads running one body.

Them fancying themselves a Leica priced player will likely doom them. But that story/ confirmation is what I got was first hand and two years ago so it seems to be fleshing out now as fact. These Pentax lens price spikes are far more complicated than a simple currency trade. Chart the Yen again the Dollar, Loonie, Euro for past three years. Heck add VietNam Money for Pentax ,Thailand Bhats for Nikon, China Yuans for Canon low end lens line up and maybe component parts productions. Nothing should be doubling in price. At least no equiptment has doubled in price from Canon and Nikon (Yet)

Originally posted by vinzer

They want to go Leica even knowing the bankruptcy Leica has faced time and time again? That's weird. The K-m will be out of place in such a move. I consider only the K-m since the K200D and K20D are ripe for replacement and we have no idea what Pentax wants to do with their next line of DSLRs.

enoxatnep · 04-04-2009, 04:45 PM

Originally posted by vinzer

They want to go Leica even knowing the bankruptcy Leica has faced time and time again? That's weird. The K-m will be out of place in such a move. I consider only the K-m since the K200D and K20D are ripe for replacement and we have no idea what Pentax wants to do with their next line of DSLRs.

It's funny (but in a profoundly sad way) how Pentax was probably making some headway with wooing people away from C/N with their lower price point, esp. with the K200D and K-m, but now that's been eliminated with these absurd price increases in lenses. These people paid entry-level prices for their camera body but now they're expected to pay pro-level lens prices? That'll go over well!

Honestly, who in their right mind in a camera store staring at Canon, Nikon, and Pentax would choose Pentax any more? In a situation like that, without a hugely compelling reason like better price, the person would likely go with what's been marketed way better.

Pentax Canada just gave people even more reason to stick with other brands. Way to go. Kiss your dreams of a bigger market share in Canada good-bye. Before April, I never batted an eye at Sigma or Tamron lenses for my K20D. These are now my first choice above any higher-priced Pentax lens.

farfisa · 04-08-2009, 05:52 AM

Well, for those who missed the "deadline," I notice that Henry's has some stuff for sale at "less than old" prices (for them, anyway) on their eBay store.

Henry's eBay store

Buy it now auctions for new items (some are auctions with no bids--bids remove the BIN):
FA77 for $527.75 US
FA50 for $227.75 US
DA40 for $237.75 US
FA31 for $737.75 US

...and there are some decent used ones as well.
Puzzling though--they probably could have put the 77's up for auction and made more. Must be some reason they have to get rid of old stock (even though the 77 is a special order item in their stores).

ajuett · 04-08-2009, 08:45 AM

Pentax flashes are up too. According to Broadway Camera...

AF360FGZ was $269 now $419

AF540FGZ was $399 now $619

So the 360 is More than the 540 used to be. !Ridiculous!

-

RBellavance · 04-08-2009, 03:51 PM

I have to agree that this is indeed getting ridiculous. One of the Pentax system's strengths/advantages/appeals was its high performance/price ratio. This is now non-existent in Canada.

Consider that the AF540 is now costlier than the Nikon SB-900, but is not even half the flash the latter is.

I understand Pentax/Hoya need to raise prices to keep making a profit (every camera company has been doing it), but the extent to which Pentax has raised them almost looks suicidal.

I'm not thinking of switching systems, but if I had to start from scratch today, I'm not sure I'd end up with Pentax anymore

equinox · 04-08-2009, 04:27 PM

However, have to thank Pentax for allowing me to explore other products from other brands. I would like a wide angle lens, and I have researched the Panasonic LX3 which is very appealing. Thanks Pentax!!! And much cheaper than the 12-24mm Pentax lens.

Peter Zack · 04-08-2009, 05:02 PM

Originally posted by ajuett

Pentax flashes are up too. According to Broadway Camera...

AF360FGZ was $269 now $419

AF540FGZ was $399 now $619

So the 360 is More than the 540 used to be. !Ridiculous!

-

Those prices make perfect sense.

The price at B&H for an AF540FGZ is $339.95 USD. So factor in the $0.80 CAD dollar and you get $424.94 CAD. Opps I guess my math is off somewhere.....

ajuett · 04-08-2009, 05:25 PM

Originally posted by Peter Zack

Those prices make perfect sense.

The price at B&H for an AF540FGZ is $339.95 USD. So factor in the $0.80 CAD dollar and you get $424.94 CAD. Opps I guess my math is off somewhere.....

Your math is fine Peter

Introducing the new Pen-Tax...

AF 360FGZ

217.321 USD =
269.00 CAD + Pen-Tax ($150) = $419.00

AF 540FGZ

322.438 USD =
399.00 CAD + Pen-Tax ($220) = $619.00

-

**ManuH** · 04-08-2009, 06:12 PM

Originally posted by RBellavance

I'm not thinking of switching systems, but if I had to start from scratch today, I'm not sure I'd end up with Pentax anymore

At least not in Canada. Let's hope it's just temporary or else we can say goodbye to Pentax Canada. Strangely, for almost 2 years Canada had the best Pentax prices on a lot of accessories and lenses due to Prodigital. Now Canada is becoming the worse place for buying Pentax gear. I don't understand. The exchange rate cannot explain everything.

Alfisti · 04-08-2009, 07:01 PM

If anyone wants a Flash I have a 360 to let go at $165US and ya all know you can trust me 'cos ya know where I live!

frogger · 04-08-2009, 08:12 PM

The flash prices are embarassing

04-04-2009, 08:59 AM	#168
Samsungian Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Colorado USA Posts: 1,337	You stumbled upon: The Missing Link I totally agree, USA is in for a price Spike on Pentax glass too. That will make the price disparity disappear. Buy Now or Cry later, as I said 16 days ago: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/529390-post11.html Bottomline, You want a lens brand new, then its time to buy it now. I noticed B&H is due for their annual 8 day hiatus beginning April 7th. Shop now as the Holiday is approaching. A couple years ago when there was a Local Pentax rep he mentioned that Pentax wanted to enhance their image along the lines of Leica. I replied "higher price?" and he agreed. At the time I thought he was crazy, but nearly doubling price on some lenses would get them closer to leica prices. Well 1/2 way there. I'll even take my own advise and carefully consider all pentax lenses before its too late. I'm happy with all my old glass, FA and older designs. So I'll make certain I'm set & satisfied before the lens price spike in USA market occurs. Its sad to watch your money seriously devalued right before your eyes ;^( Originally posted by KungPOW The more I think about this, the less I believe it has anything to do with exchange rate fluctuations. I think Pentax is repositioning their products. I expect once all sources of lower cost lenses are gone, then the prices in the US will jump. Then we will see the 20% price difference between the Canadian and the American prices.

04-04-2009, 12:01 PM	#170
Samsungian Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Colorado USA Posts: 1,337	Agreed, but Pentax is a two headed company now Maybe they need double profits with Hoya's hand in the cash register now? This confirmation was back during the year or so prior to buyout courtship between Pentax and Hoya with Samsung standing ready for the purchase. Back when my Samsung GX-1S was an IDENTICAL CLONE OF Pentax DS2. Back then I had both a local Pentax Rep and a Samsung Rep to chat with and I'd talk to them twice a year during Demodays. Back when the samsung rep was certain Samsung would buy Pentax Corp. Way back when the samsung rep confirmed for me (hush-hush) that Samsung executed construction of pentax logo'd dslrs to pentax design specs and inturn pentax manufactured Schnieder Kreucznach logo'd clone glass for Samsung. Now pentax sells no dslr imaging products locally and neither does samsung inspite of what the Pentax USA website says. I supposely have a dozen place to buy pentax at but no one carrys it inperson. You gotta go shop on websites they suggest to pay full retail from. Back then I had three proshops to shop at ,then two, then one, now None. I guess Hoya & Pentax expect giddy pentax and samsung fans to convince new buyers of camera equiptment or disgruntled canon and nikon owners to buy pentax & samsung concept versus handling and touching cameras and lenses locally at two local BestBuy's: A national chain that carrys everything including appliances. I still buy my every 4th year or so computer from BestBuy and I may buy a new refridgerator from them. Its 19 years old now, I suspect it will die soon? Km - K2000 in Black & White & Camo dslrs makes (((NO))) sense to me. Pentax decides to be outdoor niche & weathersealed system seller and then release a stripped down non weathersealed camera inleiu of the Full Frame or APS-H K-Mount it was rumoured to be for prior year. Pentax certainly convinced Benjikan Full frame was about to issue. Remember his thread he started here stating full frame was about to launch? Hoya - Pentax is Like having two heads running one body. Them fancying themselves a Leica priced player will likely doom them. But that story/ confirmation is what I got was first hand and two years ago so it seems to be fleshing out now as fact. These Pentax lens price spikes are far more complicated than a simple currency trade. Chart the Yen again the Dollar, Loonie, Euro for past three years. Heck add VietNam Money for Pentax ,Thailand Bhats for Nikon, China Yuans for Canon low end lens line up and maybe component parts productions. Nothing should be doubling in price. At least no equiptment has doubled in price from Canon and Nikon (Yet) Originally posted by vinzer They want to go Leica even knowing the bankruptcy Leica has faced time and time again? That's weird. The K-m will be out of place in such a move. I consider only the K-m since the K200D and K20D are ripe for replacement and we have no idea what Pentax wants to do with their next line of DSLRs. Last edited by Samsungian; 04-04-2009 at 12:13 PM. Reason: componet was missspelled, hopefully its correct now

04-08-2009, 08:45 AM	#173
ajuett Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 1,100	Pentax flashes are up too. According to Broadway Camera... AF360FGZ was $269 now $419 AF540FGZ was $399 now $619 So the 360 is More than the 540 used to be. !Ridiculous! - Last edited by ajuett; 04-08-2009 at 09:05 AM.

04-08-2009, 04:27 PM	#175
equinox Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 159	Pentax Products are GREAT! However, have to thank Pentax for allowing me to explore other products from other brands. I would like a wide angle lens, and I have researched the Panasonic LX3 which is very appealing. Thanks Pentax!!! And much cheaper than the 12-24mm Pentax lens.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
K7 Canadian prices ... anybody ?	jpzk	Pentax DSLR Discussion	14	12-02-2009 03:38 PM
Going through my old crap....	bluebronco	General Talk	4	10-27-2009 08:00 PM
How do we acquire so much crap?	pingflood	General Talk	31	04-16-2009 01:59 PM
Canadian $ at par with US $- Why aren't retail prices at par?	J.Scott	General Talk	13	10-21-2008 09:30 AM
Another "Holy crap the FA77 is freakin' AWESOME" thread	Finn	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	19	03-02-2008 12:47 AM

04-04-2009, 07:50 AM	#166
KungPOW Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Vancouver, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,699	Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here. The more I think about this, the less I believe it has anything to do with exchange rate fluctuations. I think Pentax is repositioning their products. I expect once all sources of lower cost lenses are gone, then the prices in the US will jump. Then we will see the 20% price difference between the Canadian and the American prices.

04-04-2009, 08:54 AM	#167
ABCWinter Inactive Account Join Date: Nov 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 46	It is actually more expensive to make those lenses because the material and labour expenses went up. Plus our dollar went down in value. Ok I understand the dollar point of view but if the material and labour went up to, why is our neighbours not seeing a price hike in the cost of these lenses too ? I still think we are super gouged regardless.

04-04-2009, 10:16 AM	#169
vinzer Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Philippines Posts: 1,399	Originally posted by Samsungian I totally agree, USA is in for a price Spike on Pentax glass too. That will make the price disparity disappear. Buy Now or Cry later, as I said 16 days ago: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/529390-post11.html Bottomline, You want a lens brand new, then its time to buy it now. I noticed B&H is due for their annual 8 day hiatus beginning April 7th. Shop now as the Holiday is approaching. A couple years ago when there was a Local Pentax rep he mentioned that Pentax wanted to enhance their image along the lines of Leica. I replied "higher price?" and he agreed. At the time I thought he was crazy, but nearly doubling price on some lenses would get them closer to leica prices. Well 1/2 way there. I'll even take my own advise and carefully consider all pentax lenses before its too late. I'm happy with all my old glass, FA and older designs. So I'll make certain I'm set & satisfied before the lens price spike in USA market occurs. Its sad to watch your money seriously devalued right before your eyes ;^( They want to go Leica even knowing the bankruptcy Leica has faced time and time again? That's weird. The K-m will be out of place in such a move. I consider only the K-m since the K200D and K20D are ripe for replacement and we have no idea what Pentax wants to do with their next line of DSLRs.

04-04-2009, 04:45 PM	#171
enoxatnep Closed Account Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The edge of nowhere, Alberta, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 467	Originally posted by vinzer They want to go Leica even knowing the bankruptcy Leica has faced time and time again? That's weird. The K-m will be out of place in such a move. I consider only the K-m since the K200D and K20D are ripe for replacement and we have no idea what Pentax wants to do with their next line of DSLRs. It's funny (but in a profoundly sad way) how Pentax was probably making some headway with wooing people away from C/N with their lower price point, esp. with the K200D and K-m, but now that's been eliminated with these absurd price increases in lenses. These people paid entry-level prices for their camera body but now they're expected to pay pro-level lens prices? That'll go over well! Honestly, who in their right mind in a camera store staring at Canon, Nikon, and Pentax would choose Pentax any more? In a situation like that, without a hugely compelling reason like better price, the person would likely go with what's been marketed way better. Pentax Canada just gave people even more reason to stick with other brands. Way to go. Kiss your dreams of a bigger market share in Canada good-bye. Before April, I never batted an eye at Sigma or Tamron lenses for my K20D. These are now my first choice above any higher-priced Pentax lens.

04-08-2009, 05:52 AM	#172
farfisa Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Toronto, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,274 Original Poster	Well, for those who missed the "deadline," I notice that Henry's has some stuff for sale at "less than old" prices (for them, anyway) on their eBay store. Henry's eBay store Buy it now auctions for new items (some are auctions with no bids--bids remove the BIN): FA77 for $527.75 US FA50 for $227.75 US DA40 for $237.75 US FA31 for $737.75 US ...and there are some decent used ones as well. Puzzling though--they probably could have put the 77's up for auction and made more. Must be some reason they have to get rid of old stock (even though the 77 is a special order item in their stores).

04-08-2009, 03:51 PM	#174
RBellavance Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Near Montréal, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,716	I have to agree that this is indeed getting ridiculous. One of the Pentax system's strengths/advantages/appeals was its high performance/price ratio. This is now non-existent in Canada. Consider that the AF540 is now costlier than the Nikon SB-900, but is not even half the flash the latter is. I understand Pentax/Hoya need to raise prices to keep making a profit (every camera company has been doing it), but the extent to which Pentax has raised them almost looks suicidal. I'm not thinking of switching systems, but if I had to start from scratch today, I'm not sure I'd end up with Pentax anymore

04-08-2009, 05:02 PM	#176
Peter Zack Pentaxian Moderator Emeritus Join Date: May 2007 Location: Edmonton Alberta, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 10,643	Originally posted by ajuett Pentax flashes are up too. According to Broadway Camera... AF360FGZ was $269 now $419 AF540FGZ was $399 now $619 So the 360 is More than the 540 used to be. !Ridiculous! - Those prices make perfect sense. The price at B&H for an AF540FGZ is $339.95 USD. So factor in the $0.80 CAD dollar and you get $424.94 CAD. Opps I guess my math is off somewhere.....

04-08-2009, 05:25 PM	#177
ajuett Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 1,100	Originally posted by Peter Zack Those prices make perfect sense. The price at B&H for an AF540FGZ is $339.95 USD. So factor in the $0.80 CAD dollar and you get $424.94 CAD. Opps I guess my math is off somewhere..... Your math is fine Peter Introducing the new Pen-Tax... AF 360FGZ 217.321 USD = 269.00 CAD + Pen-Tax ($150) = $419.00 AF 540FGZ 322.438 USD = 399.00 CAD + Pen-Tax ($220) = $619.00 -

04-08-2009, 06:12 PM	#178
ManuH Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Montreal Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,249	Originally posted by RBellavance I'm not thinking of switching systems, but if I had to start from scratch today, I'm not sure I'd end up with Pentax anymore At least not in Canada. Let's hope it's just temporary or else we can say goodbye to Pentax Canada. Strangely, for almost 2 years Canada had the best Pentax prices on a lot of accessories and lenses due to Prodigital. Now Canada is becoming the worse place for buying Pentax gear. I don't understand. The exchange rate cannot explain everything.

04-08-2009, 07:01 PM	#179
Alfisti Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toronto (for now) Posts: 1,748	If anyone wants a Flash I have a 360 to let go at $165US and ya all know you can trust me 'cos ya know where I live!

04-08-2009, 08:12 PM	#180
frogger Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toronto, ON, CA Posts: 162	The flash prices are embarassing