Originally posted by monochrome Let me rephrase. Damned shame that Pentax priced it wrong initially, then reduced the price to
Clearance levels.
Average price over the run was probably about the same.
If only those who bought it cheap and like it now had been encouraged to buy it early and liked it then - by a more reasonable price.
If Pentax had priced the K-01 body at $599 (maybe even as high as $699) then I would have bought one early last year. Since they kept the price as high as they could for so long I ignored the K-01 until the price dropped to clearance levels and I saw it advertised on multiple sites. Now I own TWO and I love this camera. No, it isn't perfect, but when it's sold at a lower price it's easier for you to forgive its flaws.
We can't rewrite history at this point, but I suspect that Pentax would have sold more K-01's at a higher price if the original MSRP was $599 or $699. Now they have to settle for $299. I just hope there is still "some" profit for Pentax at these clearance prices ... I certainly don't want Pentax to end up any worse financially.