[stillshot2]

Is anyone else a little bothered that one must wait at least a month or more if they want the new K-1? B&H is estimating the wait is until July before more are in stock. I mean, it's good that the K-1 seems to be selling better than anticipated, but if someone wanted one within days from a reputable vendor such as B&H or Adorama it sure doesn't look like that is possible at this time. Are there any legitimate vendors that have any in stock at this time that I am not aware of? Thanks

[BigMackCam]

There's stock available in the UK. It could be that Ricoh has slightly misjudged demand in specific countries - hardly unusual for any company with new product launches, and possibly strategic to test the waters first and then see where they need to fine tune their allocations of early production run stock...

[Quartermaster James]

Are you asking whether the wait would prompt someone wanting a K-1 to buy something else instead?

[HudsonShooter]

it might a little, but few are buying this item because their camera just broke and need a replacement.

[TaoMaas]

I think the unavailability of Pentax products in retail outlets...be they Wal Mart or "mom and pop" camera stores...is what's killing the brand. We're becoming the equivalent of an "inside joke". You have to be one of the cool kids to know about Pentax and their current offerings.

[BigMackCam]

I think the unavailability of Pentax products in retail outlets...be they Wal Mart or "mom and pop" camera stores...is what's killing the brand. We're becoming the equivalent of an "inside joke".

I was going to answer this with some form of rebuttal, but that would be utterly pointless...

[monochrome]

They're available in 2's and 3's in B&M camera stores across the country. You just have to find one.

I hear by jungle drums supply was allocated, and a large dealer (through no fault of its own or Pentax) accepted more pre-orders than it could fill; another large dealer or two actually received a few more units than their pre-order list; and lots of dealers with 4 pre-orders got 7, or 8 pre-orders got 12. Some dealers appear to be filling customer orders in a day or two from small shipment lots; others are filling backorders, but their backorder list continues to lengthen as they receive more new orders than stock to fill backorders.

I walked in a camera store unannounced May 6th and bought mine off the shelf.

All-in USA sales so far are . . . probably an hour or two of Nikon or Canon. If the production plan actually is the rumored 7000 units a month and they've been building them since March 1, 600 or 700 total units sold so far in the USA (300 a month allocated to USA) would be normal, I'd guess.

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Last edited by monochrome; 05-17-2016 at 06:06 PM.

[stevebrot]

General scarcity and initial nonavailability did not hurt K10D sales almost a decade ago. Demand remained high with frequent stock depletion for six months or so after launch. Only then did the price start to drift down.


Steve

[victormeldrew]

I don't think they are particularly unavailable anyway...but even if they were, a bit of unfulfilled demand is only ever good in any product launch - it makes it appear more desireable.

[bobmaxja]

In stock in Canada
Pentax K-1 DSLR Camera (Body Only) ** NEW - In Limited Stock! ** | Aden Camera Toronto Digital Camera Store


One thing , could be that B&H and Adorama place pre order that was too small.

Product is hot , that great news.

They can only produce per others thread about 7000 per month

[officiousbystander]

Could be all those pesky glowing reviews.

[lesmore49]

Well, in general , in Canada, it's much easier to pick up any model DSLR Canon or Nikon...or Sony.....than a Pentax.

That's been my experience in the past 3 years particularly. Yep, you can order them in and it takes 7-14 days shipping.

But what if I want it now. If I want a D 750 or a 5D3....I have a good chance of getting it now, in a major city.

I stuck with Pentax, because I've always had them for near on 50 years. But if I was a young guy, just getting into photography and Canon, Nikon, Pentax were just three camera brands to me...I'd more than likely get what was available...right now...in most camera shops.

I worked as a salesman back in the early '70's.

My mentor told me then....the universal code of the salesman. Here it is...drum roll ...please....

Ricoh-Pentax take note.

You can't sell from an empty wagon.

[jatrax]

Unavailability hurting sales

That is kinda self-evident isn't it? Nothing to sell, no sales................

But whether it will hurt the long term sales of the camera is a little harder to quantify. Rarity drives demand. If buyers think an item is hot and selling out they are more likely to buy or at least view the item favorably. It also means those waiting for the price drop might have a longer wait. If Ricoh can match supply very closely to demand then there is little reason to reduce the price.

On the other hand, someone in the market for a FF camera, right now, might pass on the k-1 and buy something else because of the wait. But really, how many people interested in the k-1 are going to buy something else? Not many I would think.

[normhead]

Is anyone else a little bothered that one must wait at least a month or more if they want the new K-1? B&H is estimating the wait is until July before more are in stock. I mean, it's good that the K-1 seems to be selling better than anticipated, but if someone wanted one within days from a reputable vendor such as B&H or Adorama it sure doesn't look like that is possible at this time. Are there any legitimate vendors that have any in stock at this time that I am not aware of? Thanks

Some people already have theirs. And both the K-3 and the 645z were the same when they launched. Henry's here in Canada had some in stock yesterday, but not today. You snooze you lose.

The only way to avoid this would have been to delay the launch and not ship out the couple of thousand they have already shipped. You'd still be waiting. Just waiting along with everyone else instead of waiting when so many already have theirs. Would that have been better?

Misery loves company.

[bobmaxja]

Seem a dealer in the USA have some from an another talking about availibility.