Nikon Should Punish Dealers Who Sell Short Suppy Items on eBay

[JeffC223705]

Am I the only photographer who resents camera stores that sell the
D200 and 18-200 vr lens on eBay for significant mark ups over list
price? This will only cause resentment towards Nikon. Store X
orders D200 from Nikon and then wont sell them for MSRP to
customers who contack their store. I think Nikon should cut these
stores off from hot items.

Totally disagree with this. Supply and demand.

Sure there will be some people with lots of time and not much money that will be angry that the market price is higher. But if you no longer allow people to buy products for what the products are worth to them, then you would probably end up with an equal or greater number of people angry at Nikon because they simply can't get the gear they want when someone else buys it just to tinker around with it... someone who wants to take it on a trip to China for example. Pricing allows those who need it to pay a little extra to get it when they need it, while those who want a deal but don't really need it can wait a couple months until the prices come down. This seems perfectly reasonable and a good thing to me when Nikon themselves can't produce enough of an item to satisify everyone at rock bottom prices.

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Nikon D2x, Nikon Lenses 10.5, 12-24, 28-70 2.8, 70-200 VR, 85 1.4
Sigma 30 1.4
Tamron 28-75 2.8, Fuji S3, SB800, Quantum T4d, & More.

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Jeff

 

[ClassicMan]

TPA,

the amount of your postings on this thread is pure, absurd zealotry....don't take such matters to heart....or you'll end up with heart disease.

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"This country" is run by a dictator.

 

[erichlund]

Oh, baloney. Resellers, authorized or not, have a responsibility
to their ownership to create an ongoing profit of sufficient
quantity to keep said ownership satisfied. In the case of a
corporate store, such as Best Buy, the ownership is the
stockholders. In the case of Ma and Pa's Camera Shop, the
ownership is Ma and Pa.

And they are free to set their business practices accordingly.

Do they have internet on the moon??? You cannot be on the planet
Earth.

In your perfect theoretical world of Adam Smith economics, gasoline
companies without competition could pass wholesale prices onto the
customer at the pump, adoption agencies could charge $40,000 for
innocent children, and your most admired retailers could sell D200s
for $3,000 a pop to your gaggle of aristocratic no talents. I much
prefer it here on the moon, where anyone with a quick mouse can nab
a D200 for a paltry $1699 from those retailers ethically committed
to their customer base.

That would be true, if monopolies were unrestricted. There are now a number of various laws that restrain monopoly (to a limited degree) and prevent monopoly (sometimes). Competition is good.

Lately, the people most likely to have product are the deep

discounters (Best Buy and Circuit City).

Best Buy and Circuit City are NOT deep discounters. If anything,
they sell at manufacturers MAP prices more often than not. But
they've spent a lot of money marketing to convince you that they
are. I'm surprised it worked on a smart guy like you.

You are probably right. I haven't been in one in a long time. They sort of give me the willies.

It's not about

selling above MSRP. It's about meeting your customer's
expectations. If you establish an expectation of selling at or
below MSRP, then your customer will come to expect that, and to
keep your customer, you must meet their expectation. If you
establish a reputation for selling at or below market value, your
customers will expect that. Yada, yada, yada... If you establish
a reputation for selling at a high price point, but provide
valuable services that your customers respect and value, then you
have established yet another customer expectation.

This is actually formidable advice. And since as a retailer we fell
into
the latter category, I won't feel badly anymore for the fellow who
got to
enjoy his mini cam before anyone else. No doubt he went off filming
into the sunset
a happy fellow.

Cheerfully,

Big Iggy

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Cheers,
Eric