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Price gouging by amazon?

monza

Active member
They do that all the time. They have Panasonic GF1s at $300 over list, and 20mm lenses that retail at $399 were at $599.
 

Amin

Active member
It isn't usually Amazon raising the prices but rather the 3rd parties who sell on Amazon, in this case Willoughby's.

I don't consider this to be price gouging, which IMO should be a term reserved for those who raise prices on scarce necessities such as food, water, or fuel.

With a non-essential product such as a new camera, it seems to me to be a very reasonable business tact to adjust prices upward according to demand.

OTOH, not raising prices according to demand is another good business move, because it encourages customer loyalty.

Both approaches make sense to me!
 

gogopix

Subscriber
yup
just market pricing
I remember days when people paid 25k to 50k to get a rare model of a mercedes early.

Drucker would love it!

(now, when they are overstocked-gotta go the other way! :D

and it does... there are far more deep discounts than 'premiums'

the price we pay for a free market

Victor
 

mwalker

Subscriber Member
But doesn't Leica want its dealers to abide by the set retail price set at the factory at $6,999?.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
I've generally found items sold by Amazon itself to be priced very competitively. For example, that Panasonic 20mm f1.7 lens. The first listing displayed on the Amazon site when you search for this lens is from a third party and is priced at $550, but on the right side of the web page is the item direct from Amazon, still priced at $399.....I ordered it last week and it arrived yesterday.

Gary
 
M

Mango

Guest
Anyone who buys bottled water is paying a "price gouge" price for something that can be had for nothing. Yet I don't see people ever complain about their imported bottled water.

On Amazon you have to be careful about buying from a non-Amazon seller. Quite often the same item is available at the "normal" price directly from Amazon.
 

weinschela

Subscriber Member
I do consider it price gouging. But someone reported over on LUF that they had gotten Willoghbys to lower the price to the MSRP -- but also ordered a lens. I for one would simply choose not to deal with them. I'd rather have a trustworthy retailer to whom I could return the camera if it wasn't working right out of the box. Good luck with doing that with one of these guys.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
I certainly wouldn't buy an M9 from them (Willoughby's) at that price, but I'm not that desperate to have one....maybe some people are, in which case they pay their money and get the camera.

In any case, I don't consider this to be price gouging by Amazon (as the thread title suggested)....arguably so by Willoughby's.

Willougby's..."Established in 1898".....if so and if this is their usual business practice/pricing strategy, I guess there are alot of fools easily parted with their money.

Gary
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
No point complaining about it. Just vote with YOUR wallet and take your business elsewhere. The price will adjust if nobody pays it. :sleep006:
 

monza

Active member
Price and availability are always tied together. I'll offer an M9 for $5000, but delivery won't be til sometime in the future. Anyone want to bite? :)
 
V

Vivek

Guest
By next year, the price of an M9 in US $ terms would be something like $9,000/-.

I think you are better off fixing the price in Euros, Yuans or Gold.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
OK, who wants to give me 5 ounces of gold for an M9 with future delivery? :)
Would you take that in bbls of black gold instead? :)

Gary
BP Alaska
I count the bbls produced from Prudhoe Bay, maybe I could lose a few between Alaska and wherever. :ROTFL:
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Willougby's..."Established in 1898"

Many many moons ago when I was going to the School of Visual Arts in NY, I bought from them for awhile and they where okay but they have certainly slipped off the charts into a zone that I would not even look at them to even buy toilet paper from. AVOID.

When in doubt on a shop check out reseller ratings. Book mark this site for future use but here is http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Willoughby_s
 

weinschela

Subscriber Member
Price and availability are always tied together. I'll offer an M9 for $5000, but delivery won't be til sometime in the future. Anyone want to bite? :)
I am reminded by this of a story. Many years ago when B&H were just starting to grow, they advertised a great price on a camera (let's say it was $100 for purposes of the story). I visited a local store and asked them to sell it to me at that price. The owner (who later became a good frienmd) said "Do they have it?" I said "no". He then said, "If I didn't have it I would also sell it to you for $100)".
 

Steve Fines

Member
Willougby's..."Established in 1898"

Many many moons ago when I was going to the School of Visual Arts in NY, I bought from them for awhile and they where okay but they have certainly slipped off the charts into a zone that I would not even look at them to even buy toilet paper from. AVOID.

When in doubt on a shop check out reseller ratings. Book mark this site for future use but here is http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Willoughby_s
It is interesting how the truth can be stretched.

Willoughby's was as big as B&H (relatively) 40-50 years ago.

However, they faltered and went bankrupt in 1993.

What happened is that their name was an asset purchased by another company in the bankruptcy proceedings. The name "Willoughby's" has, since 1993, been in the ownership of several other companies, several with "bait and scam" as their primary business model.

So, the "Willougby's...Established in 1898" is true. The problem is that this statement bears essentially no relation to the latest company that happens to have purchased the right to hang it over their door.

I wouldn't buy a camera from them. But their resellerratings history is odd - it seems to be about 75% very happy customers and 25% people who have been scammed. Maybe Tuesday is scam day, but the others are legit? Who knows.
 
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