K-3 II Jump in Price

K-3 II Jump in Price · 05:27 PM

I've been saving my pennies waiting to pull the trigger on a K-3 II. Prices at both B&H and Adorama have been hovering around $727. I just happened to check both sites and B&H is up to $799 and Adorama is at $896. Yikes!

mee · 03-25-2016, 03:38 PM

Originally posted by MadMathMind

Someone has to write the software, no?

Sure. But you develop the software once, and use it for years and years. That versus paying someone years and years and maintaining a workspace for them.

Originally posted by MadMathMind

That happens on Amazon, although it's usually with price increases from what I've seen. There's scripts and such that adjust prices slightly based on competitors. Just as you don't want to sell for too much over your competitors, if they can get away with charging $20, you don't want to be selling it for $10 either.

So these scripts on Amazon raise prices by 5-10 cents a time. They keep competing with each other; if no one new comes in there at a lower price, the prices spiral out of control and you'll see OUTRAGEOUS prices for items. If the item is rare or discontinued or if the listing is simply unmaintained (there's over 5 entries for the FA43 on there now), which happens a lot if Amazon doesn't sell the item, then it's even more common. How do you think you find an FA43 for $2k+ on there? (Sometimes they use high prices as an 'out of stock' indicator as well, so this example may not be actually what happened here.)

Yep. I do a lot of amazon price watching for that very reason. They also lower prices too. I saw a backpack go down to 8 dollars. Wondering if I'd see the 5 dollar mark, I held off. Later it ballooned to 30... 40.. now over 50 dollars.

The interesting thing is putting an item in your shopping cart, but not checking out. Watch it over a few days. The price will usually decrease slowly. I've gotten good deals doing this alone.. and saving considerable money.

Biro · 03-25-2016, 04:20 PM

Originally posted by mee

The interesting thing is putting an item in your shopping cart, but not checking out. Watch it over a few days. The price will usually decrease slowly. I've gotten good deals doing this alone.. and saving considerable money.

And, conversely, I've noticed that if you keep checking back on a given item a number of times without putting it in your cart, the price will begin to rise.

Architecture · 03-25-2016, 05:10 PM

Originally posted by monochrome

That or it is MAP.

MAP?

If we're talking Manufactuers' Advertised Pricing, then I'd like to throw my hat in the ring and say that probably isn't the case. I've talked to more than one camera salesman about the lack of Ricoh/Pentax presence in B&M stores other than the Big Two in NYC. I also wondered why B&H and Adorama get away with selling lenses for $100 less than the MAP and at least one person indicated that unlike CaNikon, Ricoh doesn't enforce its MAP. What's more, I've heard the Ricoh rep for the middle of the country recently left the company, which in turn left my LCS twisting in the wind.

My guess is that because the Big Two buy in such volume and have such a market share, they probably are in the position to negotiate better pricing which is passed on to the consumer by having a significantly lower price than list. Either that, or they cut their margins where they can and make up for it in volume.

**colonel00** · 03-26-2016, 01:57 PM - **1 Like**

Someone mentioned a good point earlier that got me thinking. This is purely speculation but could it be possible that B&H "sees" that Adorama's price is full retail and out of stock so their price is adjusted accordingly knowing that they can sell at a higher price right now with limited competition? I mean, it only makes sense to bump your price up a bit to garner more profit when your other main competitor is not able to fulfill orders.

mee · 03-26-2016, 04:08 PM

Uh huh.

I wonder what prices will become this time next month with the K-1 launch?

**BigMackCam** · 03-26-2016, 04:30 PM

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already, but isn't the pricing meant to nudge people toward buying the K-1 instead? Current and future stocks of the K-3 / K-3II will undoubtedly sell, but right now Ricoh wants the best possible sales of the K-1, so I imagine it would work with official dealers to make the jump from K-3II to K-1 as manageable as possible, prompting greater sales of the latter? If I was Ricoh, that's what I'd do

bobmaxja · 03-26-2016, 05:25 PM

It's call free market and what Amazon call variable price base on market and circumstance.

mee · 03-27-2016, 06:42 AM

Originally posted by BigMackCam

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already, but isn't the pricing meant to nudge people toward buying the K-1 instead? Current and future stocks of the K-3 / K-3II will undoubtedly sell, but right now Ricoh wants the best possible sales of the K-1, so I imagine it would work with official dealers to make the jump from K-3II to K-1 as manageable as possible, prompting greater sales of the latter? If I was Ricoh, that's what I'd do

That's why I wonder. They could either go your route, keeping DX prices 'high' in an attempt to direct people to buy the FX body.

OR

They could use it as a means to grab more marketshare across the board by lowering prices of the DX bodies, in an attempt to get more people into the brand as a whole. That is, while the K-1 is shiny and on the front of people's minds.

**BigMackCam** · 03-27-2016, 06:49 AM

Originally posted by mee

That's why I wonder. They could either go your route, keeping DX prices 'high' in an attempt to direct people to buy the FX body.

OR

They could use it as a means to grab more marketshare across the board by lowering prices of the DX bodies, in an attempt to get more people into the brand as a whole. That is, while the K-1 is shiny and on the front of people's minds.

Indeed. My guess, for what it's worth, is that the K-3II won't be discounted much until the initial hump of K-1 sales is over with...

neokind · 03-28-2016, 09:41 AM

I had resolved to buy the k3ii at $727 also. Bet when I went to purchase it, the price had jumped. I called in to B&H and they let me know they couldn't honor the earlier price because it was a promotion through Pentax. I hope it comes back soon, but don't have high expectations.

**colonel00** · 03-28-2016, 10:08 AM

Perhaps the intent is to drive interest to the K-1 and I can understand that intent. However, for me personally, it hasn't driven me more towards the K-1 and it has cost them a sale right now and for an unknown future.

neokind · 03-28-2016, 03:25 PM

Originally posted by colonel00

Perhaps the intent is to drive interest to the K-1 and I can understand that intent. However, for me personally, it hasn't driven me more towards the K-1 and it has cost them a sale right now and for an unknown future.

I hear you. I chatted with a B&H rep and they can't match the earlier price due to their AD agreement with Pentax. I'd decided to try and find a used one before I checked amazon this morning and discovered a NIB K3 for sale for 5 bills. Bought it in a flash.

**BigMackCam** · 03-28-2016, 03:31 PM

Originally posted by neokind

I hear you. I chatted with a B&H rep and they can't match the earlier price due to their AD agreement with Pentax. I'd decided to try and find a used one before I checked amazon this morning and discovered a NIB K3 for sale for 5 bills. Bought it in a flash.

That's a nice deal. Congratulations

C_Jones · 03-30-2016, 12:17 PM

The K-3 II is listed as $769 on Amazon today.

The Squirrel Mafia · 03-31-2016, 08:55 AM

If you can wait until "Black Friday" later this year, you'll get a much better deal around then. There should still be plenty to K-3II cameras around then. Only 8 months to go.

I have noticed in the past that some of the best deals seem to happen around 2 to 3 weeks before Christmas. I'll probably get a K-3 if they are being blown out for dirt cheap or a K-3II if no K-3's are left around that time this year. I might even pick up a Q-S1 with the 02 & 06 lenses plus the 01 & 08 lenses for the wife to boot.

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03-25-2016, 03:38 PM	#16
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Originally posted by MadMathMind Someone has to write the software, no? Sure. But you develop the software once, and use it for years and years. That versus paying someone years and years and maintaining a workspace for them. Originally posted by MadMathMind That happens on Amazon, although it's usually with price increases from what I've seen. There's scripts and such that adjust prices slightly based on competitors. Just as you don't want to sell for too much over your competitors, if they can get away with charging $20, you don't want to be selling it for $10 either. So these scripts on Amazon raise prices by 5-10 cents a time. They keep competing with each other; if no one new comes in there at a lower price, the prices spiral out of control and you'll see OUTRAGEOUS prices for items. If the item is rare or discontinued or if the listing is simply unmaintained (there's over 5 entries for the FA43 on there now), which happens a lot if Amazon doesn't sell the item, then it's even more common. How do you think you find an FA43 for $2k+ on there? (Sometimes they use high prices as an 'out of stock' indicator as well, so this example may not be actually what happened here.) Yep. I do a lot of amazon price watching for that very reason. They also lower prices too. I saw a backpack go down to 8 dollars. Wondering if I'd see the 5 dollar mark, I held off. Later it ballooned to 30... 40.. now over 50 dollars. The interesting thing is putting an item in your shopping cart, but not checking out. Watch it over a few days. The price will usually decrease slowly. I've gotten good deals doing this alone.. and saving considerable money.

03-25-2016, 04:20 PM	#17
Biro Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,200	Originally posted by mee The interesting thing is putting an item in your shopping cart, but not checking out. Watch it over a few days. The price will usually decrease slowly. I've gotten good deals doing this alone.. and saving considerable money. And, conversely, I've noticed that if you keep checking back on a given item a number of times without putting it in your cart, the price will begin to rise.

03-25-2016, 05:10 PM	#18
Architecture Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Texas Posts: 147	Originally posted by monochrome That or it is MAP. MAP? If we're talking Manufactuers' Advertised Pricing, then I'd like to throw my hat in the ring and say that probably isn't the case. I've talked to more than one camera salesman about the lack of Ricoh/Pentax presence in B&M stores other than the Big Two in NYC. I also wondered why B&H and Adorama get away with selling lenses for $100 less than the MAP and at least one person indicated that unlike CaNikon, Ricoh doesn't enforce its MAP. What's more, I've heard the Ricoh rep for the middle of the country recently left the company, which in turn left my LCS twisting in the wind. My guess is that because the Big Two buy in such volume and have such a market share, they probably are in the position to negotiate better pricing which is passed on to the consumer by having a significantly lower price than list. Either that, or they cut their margins where they can and make up for it in volume.

03-26-2016, 01:57 PM - 1 Like	#19
colonel00 Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Shawnee, KS Posts: 483 Original Poster	Someone mentioned a good point earlier that got me thinking. This is purely speculation but could it be possible that B&H "sees" that Adorama's price is full retail and out of stock so their price is adjusted accordingly knowing that they can sell at a higher price right now with limited competition? I mean, it only makes sense to bump your price up a bit to garner more profit when your other main competitor is not able to fulfill orders.

03-26-2016, 04:08 PM	#20
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Uh huh. I wonder what prices will become this time next month with the K-1 launch?

03-26-2016, 04:30 PM	#21
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,670	I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already, but isn't the pricing meant to nudge people toward buying the K-1 instead? Current and future stocks of the K-3 / K-3II will undoubtedly sell, but right now Ricoh wants the best possible sales of the K-1, so I imagine it would work with official dealers to make the jump from K-3II to K-1 as manageable as possible, prompting greater sales of the latter? If I was Ricoh, that's what I'd do

03-26-2016, 05:25 PM	#22
bobmaxja Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Laval, Quebec Canada Posts: 2,171	It's call free market and what Amazon call variable price base on market and circumstance.

03-27-2016, 06:42 AM	#23
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Originally posted by BigMackCam I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already, but isn't the pricing meant to nudge people toward buying the K-1 instead? Current and future stocks of the K-3 / K-3II will undoubtedly sell, but right now Ricoh wants the best possible sales of the K-1, so I imagine it would work with official dealers to make the jump from K-3II to K-1 as manageable as possible, prompting greater sales of the latter? If I was Ricoh, that's what I'd do That's why I wonder. They could either go your route, keeping DX prices 'high' in an attempt to direct people to buy the FX body. OR They could use it as a means to grab more marketshare across the board by lowering prices of the DX bodies, in an attempt to get more people into the brand as a whole. That is, while the K-1 is shiny and on the front of people's minds.

03-27-2016, 06:49 AM	#24
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,670	Originally posted by mee That's why I wonder. They could either go your route, keeping DX prices 'high' in an attempt to direct people to buy the FX body. OR They could use it as a means to grab more marketshare across the board by lowering prices of the DX bodies, in an attempt to get more people into the brand as a whole. That is, while the K-1 is shiny and on the front of people's minds. Indeed. My guess, for what it's worth, is that the K-3II won't be discounted much until the initial hump of K-1 sales is over with...

03-28-2016, 09:41 AM	#25
neokind Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Sunny San Diego Posts: 336	I had resolved to buy the k3ii at $727 also. Bet when I went to purchase it, the price had jumped. I called in to B&H and they let me know they couldn't honor the earlier price because it was a promotion through Pentax. I hope it comes back soon, but don't have high expectations.

03-28-2016, 10:08 AM	#26
colonel00 Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Shawnee, KS Posts: 483 Original Poster	Perhaps the intent is to drive interest to the K-1 and I can understand that intent. However, for me personally, it hasn't driven me more towards the K-1 and it has cost them a sale right now and for an unknown future.

03-28-2016, 03:25 PM	#27
neokind Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Sunny San Diego Posts: 336	Originally posted by colonel00 Perhaps the intent is to drive interest to the K-1 and I can understand that intent. However, for me personally, it hasn't driven me more towards the K-1 and it has cost them a sale right now and for an unknown future. I hear you. I chatted with a B&H rep and they can't match the earlier price due to their AD agreement with Pentax. I'd decided to try and find a used one before I checked amazon this morning and discovered a NIB K3 for sale for 5 bills. Bought it in a flash.

03-28-2016, 03:31 PM	#28
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,670	Originally posted by neokind I hear you. I chatted with a B&H rep and they can't match the earlier price due to their AD agreement with Pentax. I'd decided to try and find a used one before I checked amazon this morning and discovered a NIB K3 for sale for 5 bills. Bought it in a flash. That's a nice deal. Congratulations

03-30-2016, 12:17 PM	#29
C_Jones Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: NY Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,084	The K-3 II is listed as $769 on Amazon today.

03-31-2016, 08:55 AM	#30
The Squirrel Mafia Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2015 Posts: 3,054	If you can wait until "Black Friday" later this year, you'll get a much better deal around then. There should still be plenty to K-3II cameras around then. Only 8 months to go. I have noticed in the past that some of the best deals seem to happen around 2 to 3 weeks before Christmas. I'll probably get a K-3 if they are being blown out for dirt cheap or a K-3II if no K-3's are left around that time this year. I might even pick up a Q-S1 with the 02 & 06 lenses plus the 01 & 08 lenses for the wife to boot.