GX7+lens price drops

I noticed that the GX7 with lens bundle just dropped in price on amazon.co.uk (not the body-only GX7 though). The additional cost (compared to body-only) to get the 14-42mm is now £80, and for the 20mm it's £140 (just down from £200). In both cases it's around 55% off the price of the boxed lens. I was almost going to get the 14-42mm II as an upgrade (and more fitting silver colour) to my old 14-42mm I version, however I can't now refuse the half price 20mm (same price as the old split kit 14mm F2.5!) even if it's not too good for me... even just selling it straight would be a good option leading to a substantial profit...

Apart from broadcasting the impending loss on my credit card and possibly triggering such loss on someone else's card as well, a legitimate question came to my mind: why are the bundled kit lenses so much cheaper? What's overcharged, the body-only cameras or the boxed lenses?

Mario G wrote:

I noticed that the GX7 with lens bundle just dropped in price on amazon.co.uk (not the body-only GX7 though). The additional cost (compared to body-only) to get the 14-42mm is now £80, and for the 20mm it's £140 (just down from £200). In both cases it's around 55% off the price of the boxed lens. I was almost going to get the 14-42mm II as an upgrade (and more fitting silver colour) to my old 14-42mm I version, however I can't now refuse the half price 20mm (same price as the old split kit 14mm F2.5!) even if it's not too good for me... even just selling it straight would be a good option leading to a substantial profit...

Apart from broadcasting the impending loss on my credit card and possibly triggering such loss on someone else's card as well, a legitimate question came to my mind: why are the bundled kit lenses so much cheaper? What's overcharged, the body-only cameras or the boxed lenses?

The bundled 14-42mm II has a plastic mount. If you buy one outright, the mount is metal.

I got a de-kitted 14-42mm II during the summer through Amazon. It has a plastic mount.

Why the 20mm is so much cheaper? Maybe bundling everything in one box is cheaper? Who knows.

The kit lens is severely marked up as a stand alone and must be that way just to catch the occasional buyers that break or lose their original version.

When I look at the 20mm and 14mm, it is easy to conclude that the 2X difference in street price is markup. Both lens and camera have good margins, and they are willing to forgo the lens markup if it sells the camera better. Meanwhile the camera price is unmarred by discounts.

In the USA, sometimes I have seen price drops where the body alone costs more than with the kit.