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Olympus (and other make) lens pricing

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MichaelInGC

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I was looking around for a used Olympus 60mm Macro and checked Adorama and BHPhotoVideo (as those are the places I am used to ordering from), but found none at either place. I then checked KEH (after posting a question about how reputable they are) and found the lens I was looking for a bit over $300. That seemed quite reasonable for a $500 lens and I was about to order one when I decided to check Amazon.

I was not looking to buy a new 60mm Macro lens from Amazon, but I was a bit curious about how much their marketplace vendors might be charging for a used 60mm Macro when I noticed that Amazon was selling the new lens for $400. I checked on the Olympus website to see if the macro lens was on sale, but it was not.

I have looked on Amazon from time to time for new lenses, if only to see the reviews, and Amazon and every other major retailer has been selling new Olympus lenses for the full price so I was astonished to see them put this macro lens, when new, on sale.

Given that Olympus (and Panasonic, and Canon and Nikon ...) lenses always seem to be selling for full list price at major retailers like Amazon, does anyone know what the"rules" are concerning selling new lenses? Why would Amazon be charging full price for all other new Olympus lenses, but selling this one at a 20% discount? It is just a bit of a puzzle for me and I am kind of curious about this. A $400 price for a new lens makes $300 for a used one a bit less enticing.

It used to be illegal for retailers in the US to conspire to set prices and I remember a US Supreme Court ruling when I was very young stating that setting prices was "restraint of trade" and illegal. That seems to have somehow changed as things like new lenses sell everywhere for within pennies of each other, so a $100 discount on a $500 lens seems really unusual.
 
You will find Olympus lenses on sale fairly often, at various places, for example -

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www.43rumors.com

That was from a month ago...

HTH,

-Jerry
 
I would look closely at who the seller is, if it is not amazon themselves. The quality of their marketplace vendors varies quite a bit, with some being quite shady.

As the old sayings go...

- if the price seems too good to be true...

- let the buyer beware.
 
MichaelInGC said:
Given that Olympus (and Panasonic, and Canon and Nikon ...) lenses always seem to be selling for full list price at major retailers like Amazon, does anyone know what the"rules" are concerning selling new lenses?
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For new gear, usually there's an MSRP, i.e. the company telling retailers "we suggest you sell it for $X." Retailers are buying from distributors, so when they reduce prices, they're cutting their own margins.

B&H, Adorama and other stores are closed for a Jewish holiday, so they aren't selling anything to anyone. This also means they can't respond when a big competitor reduces its price.

And there's "international" (gray market) offerings, 3rd parties selling through Amazon, and so forth.

I'd say just find a few good retailers, do some basic price comparisons, make sure you're buying what you think you're buying, and don't sweat it.
 
My first thought SAS Grey market otherwise known as international seller. Prices are frequently a bit lower and the product carries an international warranty. However, the cost ti ship it overseas in the event of an issue quickly eats up the savings.
 
MichaelInGC said:
It used to be illegal for retailers in the US to conspire to set prices and I remember a US Supreme Court ruling when I was very young stating that setting prices was "restraint of trade" and illegal. That seems to have somehow changed as things like new lenses sell everywhere for within pennies of each other, so a $100 discount on a $500 lens seems really unusual.
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Sony won't allow any variation to MSRP across vendors, which I think is a load of B$. If a vendor wants to have a lower price, then better for competition and consumers is how I feel.

I got my 60mm from Amazon a while ago for $20.00 more than the current price. Great lens with factory warranty. Too bad you couldn't get the deal as posted by Jerry, but I wouldn't hesitate buying with the current price from Amazon (sold and shipped by Amazon) unless you think buying used and applying some of the savings for a lens hood is something to consider.
 
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Also Amazon has an Amazon certified refurbished program called Amazon Renewed -- all Prime eligible (30 day return) as far as I can tell, plus there's a minimum 90 day warranty policy -- and in my experience price can be dramatically less for a like new lens.

I recently picked up an Olympus Certified Refurb zoom for 55% off list -- it appeared brand new, came in factory original box, may have been kit splitting source, and they ran out quickly.
 
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MichaelInGC said:
It used to be illegal for retailers in the US to conspire to set prices and I remember a US Supreme Court ruling when I was very young stating that setting prices was "restraint of trade" and illegal. That seems to have somehow changed as things like new lenses sell everywhere for within pennies of each other, so a $100 discount on a $500 lens seems really unusual.
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What you are referring to is called "Price Fixing". As long as companies or vendors are not working together to fix prices, there are no issues. They are actually competing with each other for your business, there are no issues. The prices are "fixed" by supply and demand of the market place.
 
JerryGNYC said:
You will find Olympus lenses on sale fairly often, at various places, for example -
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Yes, but the point is that this lens is not on sale, at least based on the price at Olympus. It is the only new Olympus lens that I have seen for sale at the various major websites that is not selling at the full list price (MSRP), and I was puzzled as to why.

This is not some Market Place vendor. This item is sold by and shipped from Amazon itself, so the fact that it is selling at a 20% discount when no other new Olympus lens is, seems puzzling and curious.

It no longer seems important since it is now back up to its normal price. I guess it was one of Amazon's very short sale prices.
 
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GodSpeaks said:
I would look closely at who the seller is, if it is not amazon themselves. The quality of their marketplace vendors varies quite a bit, with some being quite shady.
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It is sold by and shipped from Amazon itself. Not some Market Place vendor.
 
shinndigg said:
My first thought SAS Grey market otherwise known as international seller. Prices are frequently a bit lower and the product carries an international warranty. However, the cost ti ship it overseas in the event of an issue quickly eats up the savings.
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Amazon always marks international versions clearly and this is not one of those.
 
MichaelInGC said:
shinndigg said:
My first thought SAS Grey market otherwise known as international seller. Prices are frequently a bit lower and the product carries an international warranty. However, the cost ti ship it overseas in the event of an issue quickly eats up the savings.
Click to expand...
Amazon always marks international versions clearly and this is not one of those.
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Some third party sellers on Amazon do not list the fact that they are offering grey market gear. :-(
 
MichaelInGC said:
I was looking around for a used Olympus 60mm Macro and checked Adorama and BHPhotoVideo (as those are the places I am used to ordering from), but found none at either place. I then checked KEH (after posting a question about how reputable they are) and found the lens I was looking for a bit over $300. That seemed quite reasonable for a $500 lens and I was about to order one when I decided to check Amazon.
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Have you signed up for the alerts on the 20% off flash sales at the Olympus Outlet Store. The 60mm macro has appeared there in the past at really reduced prices. The lenses old there have been inspected and tested by Olympus and have a 90 day warranty and a 30 day return policy.

 
RSSrsvp said:
Some third party sellers on Amazon do not list the fact that they are offering grey market gear. :-(
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I can believe easily believe that and I am generally very cautious when I order from a Market Place vendor. However this item was marked as sold by and shipped from Amazon itself, so it was not a Market Place item.
 
RSSrsvp said:
Have you signed up for the alerts on the 20% off flash sales at the Olympus Outlet Store. The 60mm macro has appeared there in the past at really reduced prices. The lenses old there have been inspected and tested by Olympus and have a 90 day warranty and a 30 day return policy.

http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/outlet
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I have now. Thank you for the link.
 
MichaelInGC said:
RSSrsvp said:
Have you signed up for the alerts on the 20% off flash sales at the Olympus Outlet Store. The 60mm macro has appeared there in the past at really reduced prices. The lenses old there have been inspected and tested by Olympus and have a 90 day warranty and a 30 day return policy.

http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/outlet
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I have now. Thank you for the link.
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There are some fabulous bargains to be had during the 20% off flash sales. Case in point, the black body Pen-F that is currently appearing at $699 is only $559!

Loading…

www.getolympus.com
 
MichaelInGC said:
[...]

I have looked on Amazon from time to time for new lenses, if only to see the reviews, and Amazon and every other major retailer has been selling new Olympus lenses for the full price so I was astonished to see them put this macro lens, when new, on sale.
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Nothing astonishing about it. I'm just looking at price history and it was discounted to $400 on a regular basis and with increasing frequency and now you stumbled upon the very first time it dipped to $350. Hope you took advantage of this bargain price when you saw that, coz it's back to normal now.

Same goes for the 30mm macro.

Same for 25mm.

Same for 17mm.

I would keep checking if I'd care, but it's pretty clear by now that your observation (in bold above) is just plain wrong. You can check for yourself on keepa.com. It's actually a very nice service, with tracking and price alerts. But I must warn you, it can trigger massive G.A.S once you start seeing all the stuff you'd like on sale on regular basis. :-)
 
MichaelInGC said:
shinndigg said:
My first thought SAS Grey market otherwise known as international seller. Prices are frequently a bit lower and the product carries an international warranty. However, the cost ti ship it overseas in the event of an issue quickly eats up the savings.
Click to expand...
Amazon always marks international versions clearly and this is not one of those.
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I saw your other posts regarding this being fulfilled by Amazon... Sounds like a great deal
 
Maybe they just had to many of them and decided to unload a few cheap to get there stock down a bit?
 
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