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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-23-2012, 06:05 AM
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:eek: You forgot the winking emoticon ... some people here will take you literally, alas. The resulting posts will be mostly annoying. But hey, still better than another FF argument! :)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-21-2012, 09:18 AM
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Re: a) and c):
Sometimes you do have to raise prices first, unfortunately. If Pentax failure rate were to decline to, say, half the existing level, it might take a year or two (maybe more) before we'd look at each other and say, "Yikes, we don't see as many SDM (or whatever) failures as we used to." It can take a long time to change customer perception of this kind.
OTOH, I would have suggested to Pentax USA that they make warranty changes at the same time as the new pricing model. I cannot imagine that it's difficult to do so. Even something as simple as offering an optional extended warranty as they do on camera bodies. $20-$40 for two more years would get me to look at a couple of new lenses even at the new price.
Can anyone suggest why that's a hard thing to do?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-19-2012, 07:21 PM
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I live in a city of 200K - 250K. There are three Pentax shops here, all under one ownership. A locally-owned big box style store sells cameras but not Pentax. Yet.
Another city (perhaps 2-3 times the population) about 80 miles away has two shops on the Pentax Web site. I know there are other camera dealers but I don't know how many.
With luck, the existing Pentax dealers will swing attention to our brand and other shops will sign up, as well. But they'll have to be convinced that Pentax will maintain price support and increase dealer support, customers will buy to make it worth while, and they can count on these things for the long run.
I don't see how a strike by the core of Pentax owners will help this happen. But then I haven't worked retail for years .....
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-19-2012, 07:08 PM
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Points:
No, I will not take any such pledge. If I find a lens I want at a price that makes sense to me, I'll buy it. If the minimum Pentax price is too high for me, I won't buy. That is how I looked at it a month ago, too. Nothing has changed.
Higher prices for new products will allow sellers to raise prices for used gear, too. Simple market dynamics. Unless of course, no one buys. But see next point.
Purchasers moving from new to used gear bring an increased demand to the used marketplace and create yet more pressure for higher used prices. Those who limit themselves to used gear are helping sellers - but certainly not buyers.
It makes no sense to go on some sort of silly strike because I don't like the pricing model. What if the model remains but Pentax modifies pricing to the point that it works for me? Or if it works for you? Do you really want people to maintain this strike even though prices for some or all lenses become non-rapacious? Who determines which price is reasonable?
We're all of three weeks into a new pricing approach in America. Let's recall what's printed in large, friendly letters on the cover of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Don't Panic |
