next "Nikon UK" price hike just 2 weeks away

<p>First may I apologize if this topic has been mentioned in the last few days, I have not browsed the site for a week or so.</p>

<p>In case you don't already know Nikon UK prices will go up again on 1st March, this I can assure you is a fact and not an educated guess, I have today seen the new official UK price list that has been emailed to UK dealers ( a very good friend of mine is one of those dealers ).<br>

The Pound continues its free fall, therefore all imported goods are coming under more and more pressure regarding pricing, FWIW I have just learned that Sigma UK prices have just gone up 40% ! take a look at the website ( www.sigma-imaging.co.uk ) , this of course is not ideal for the manufacturer, the official importer, the dealers or the customer but it is an inevitable consequence of our currency being on its arse ( ass ) and I can honestly say I can see it getting worse, if B.O.E. cuts interest rates again as the governor has suggested they may well do, and to as low as a quarter of one percent as was quoted then these latest increases will not be the last.</p>

<p>If you're looking to buy "new" I suggest doing it RIGHT NOW ( well to be honest, those who bought a few months ago will be the ones smiling most ) , if you've got nice condition S/H to sell I suggest waiting for a month ( unless of course the bailiffs are banging on your door, and I sincerely hope thats not the case ) because you will likely get considerably more for it once existing stock has cleared and most will be on the new price structure.</p>

<p>Anyway, here's a few of the "List" prices inc VAT as of March 1st ( The ones I can remember, and OK there will probably be some discounting off list but I don't imaging it will be a considerable amount ) , all prices are in GBP .......<br>

Nikon D3 ........... £ 3999.00</p>

<p>Nikon D3x ........... £ 5999.00</p>

<p>Nikon 12/24 F4 (DX ) ....... £ 999.00</p>

<p>Nikon 60mm F2.8 afs micro ....... £ 489.99</p>

<p>Nikon 200mm F2 VR ......... £ 3899.00</p>

<p>Nikon 400mm F2.8 VR ....... £ 8199.00</p>

<p>Nikon 500mm F4 VR ........ £ 7299.00</p>

<p>To those more interested in the "cheaper" lenses and bodies I apologize I didn't pay sufficient attention to them to remember, but be assured the rises are across the board, wether the percentages are the same on each line or not I am not sure but for example the 400mm F2.8 will have increased in price by TWO GRAND in two months.</p>

<p>By how much prices are rising in other parts of the world I cannot say, here in the UK it is becoming more and more apparent that our economy IS dangerously debt laiden, our currency is very weak ( down on the Yen about 40% ) and we are facing rising prices for quite some time yet, and once we do turn the corner, whenever that is, we should not expect a consumer boom as then it will be "pay-back time" ..... by that I mean all the tax hikes will kick in to pay back the money our government is having to borrow to currently keep the country afloat ..... and that burden is widely believed to likely last for a decade or even two! </p>

<p>Our PM once said he had ended the "boom and bust" culture of our economy ...... well IMO he's wrong on both counts ..... he didn't end boom ( although he didn't mean that to be fair ) we've had ten years of it while he's been in control of the public purse,but it was almost solely based on the overheated housing market ..... and now the country is going bust.</p>

<p>Apologies for the little off topic rant at the end, but these are indeed very worrying times</p>

<p>kind regards Simon</p>

<p>How true this is, is was looking at the new price increases today and was a bit taken aback at some of the new prices. And just to add to the list of prices I looked at<br>

50 f/1.8 £129<br>

70-200 f/2.8 VR £1899<br>

Again there reason was the the weak £/$ against the Yen.<br>

When will it ever stop !!.</p>

<p>I´m happy I did all my purchases months ago. I bought everything I needed (bodies, lenses, ...) while the €/$/£ was very good. Hope everybody was on time....<br>

Now I guess the same is going to happen to € priced nikon goods,....do anyone in the € zone know about such a trend ?</p>

<p>May I suggest that this market (Nikon new equipment) especially the upper end, is a small one globally by comparison to say...petroleum. In the US we were up to $5 a gallon last October. As a result of conserving gasoline, now we're under $2 because the population lowered their consumption of gasoline creating a surplus on the open market. The Oil companies lowered priced more than 60% as a result, to get consumption back up.<br>

If you're business will go under unless you have a particular camera body or lens, by all means go ahead and purchase. If it is not that urgent, hold off. Don't buy at the new higher prices. If Nikon and others see that they are losing revenue as a result of higher pricing, they will adjust the pricing to initiate more product sales. There is plenty of used equipment available as well.<br>

For most of us, even pros, we don't NEED new equipment, we w just want new toys. Just food for thought, but a reasonable strategy.</p>

<p>This sounds like 'clever' marketing by Grays.</p>

<p>D3x: RRP(now) £5,999, RRP(soon) £6,000.<br>

D90: RRP(now) £769, RRP(soon) £770</p>

<p>Sources:<br>

Current RRP: Park Cameras.<br>

New RRP: Grays</p>

<p>Best rush to beat the rises. There have been some fairly large rises in the last few weeks. The D300 has gone up about £100. Lens such as the 24mm PC-E have gone up about £100 i.e. ~10%.</p>

<p>Not a UK'r, but have recently purchased two somewhat expensive (for me) lenses "ahead' of recent price increases in the US. I had nice consumer glass, ie the 12-24, 16-85vr, 105vr, 70-300vr. (D90 body) And I had been thinking about improving glass (who doesn't right? :), but in all honestly was not looking to do it right away, esp with tax time around the corner. Then the news of price increases came around I thought if I was going to do it I better do it soon. So I picked up a 17-55 and 70-200vr, selling the 16-85 and 105 to partly finance. So the increase worked two ways, I sold lenses for pretty close to what I paid for them originally, and was able to find the lower prices on the new gear. </p>

<p>I suppose there are two schools of thought, either I saved quite a bit by jumping in ahead of the increases, or Nikon is brillant and the price increases caused fence-sitters like me to commit now instead of later. Who knows it may all be an inventory reducing ploy by Nikon and the prices may drop again in a few months. </p>

<p>I actually considered getting a D700 (my next major want) but decided to spend on glass now, and see what happens with the prices for the rest of the year. The rumored D700x will affect pricing as well I suspect.</p>

<p>they raised prices because they don't expect the currency to change in the next 12 months. A lot of talk in the Japanese newspapers.</p>

<p>I picked up a 70-200 yesterday. Mentioned the 14-24 which before Christmas could be bought for under a £1000.<br>

From 1st March - dealer tells me to look at £1400. And they are out of stock (or hoarding?)<br>

Seems to me if you have the money buy new lenses now. Lock them away for three months. Start up a web site and sell on.<br>

40% increase. Roughly double your money and some each year.<br>

Interestingly reading Nikons financial reports they project a decline of 3.5% in camera sales this year. would have thought more.</p>