> From: steve harley <[email protected]> >> http://nedbunnell.posterous.com/lens-prices-and-our-channel-strategy-in-the-u >> > > full of unsupported claims about "benefits" > > quaint and romantic as the idea is (or isn't, when it's Walmart), a physical > retail store is just a lousy proposition if it has to cost a few hundred > dollars to have a chance to handle a product for a few minutes before buying > it; when will someone realize this and invent something better? for that kind > of margin they could send me a loaner lens for a week for free, and swap it > for > a brand new one if i liked it > > so Pentax forces consumers to pay more (another way to say it since Bunnell > claims prices haven't increased) ? that is not going to grow the tiny number > of > really good camera stores; i think this is more about getting into some giant > chain in order to generate sales to less knowledgeable buyers; the clerks at > whatever chain this turns out to be will be underpaid non-experts who will > spout crap when questioned > > any true "benefit" to enthusiasts and pros will be elusive; this is about > marketing, not serving the customer; Bunnell is just doing spin control
I agree. I don't find there to be a benefit, tangible or intangible, to purchasing in a local camera store. Certainly not worth a 20% or higher price differential. Of course that differential could be going away according to the strategy. Would I like to see the camera stores stick around? Yes. Do I believe my supporting them by paying my hard earned cash is going to make the difference? No, it's such a small percentage of the market, and like them my income and cash flow are important. We had a local guitar store in business for decades, Old Boise Guitar. I did purchase quite a bit of my son's instruments and gear there, hoping that they could keep going. The thing is, there they really did provide a service. Being able to touch and play the instrument, as well as being very knowledgeable. They went out of business two years ago. Now there's only Guitar Center and the junky music stores. The difference also is that a musical instrument is potentially a life time purchase. A DSLR is really 2 - 3 years at best. Since most camera buyers do not go to the dedicated camera stores to make purchases, getting them into big box's, warehouse clubs, Target's, Walmart's would seem a logical course of action. I don't see how the relationship with the smaller camera stores mentioned in the blog will make much of a difference. In fact I bet a significant portion of their sales, if not a majority, is actually done online vs. walk-in. I personally think Pentax is fighting a losing battle and the best they can really hope for is to maintain the status quo. The only thing they can do that makes sense is to sell more cameras and lenses. To do that, the product should be where the consumer is most likely going to be, in the major chains right next to the Nikon's and Canon's. If they don't do that, everything else mentioned in the blog is pointless. At the same time, raising prices is not likely to generate more sales. Tom C. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
