UK Price Rises

<p>At some point I may move up to full fame from my D7100, but now. But I do keep an eye on prices. I noticed in this weeks Amateur Photography magazine, price on some Nikon kit had gone up considerably in price at some of the reputable online dealers here.. Scanning adverts from this and last weeks issues, I see the price of a D7200 has gone up from £799 to £869, a D610 has gone up from £999 to £1299, a D750 from £1389 to £1699 and a D5 from£5199 to £5499.<br>

Normally these sorts of price rises, 30% in the case of a D610, generates some noise on the web but I haven't come across anything. Anyone got any insight?</p>

<p>Most likely it is due to exchange-rate changes. From the US$ point of view, the British Pound has gone down quite a bit after the Brexit vote, from about 1 Pound for US$1.5 to $1.3.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, the Japanese yen has appreciated quite a bit also, from about 120 yen to 1 US$ earlier this year (February or so) to about 100 yens to the dollar. The compound effect of these two is very significant. I am sure if you check the exchange rate between the Pound and the yen, the change in the last 6 months is serious.</p>

<p>I happen to stop by London twice just two months ago, during my trip to southern Africa. The exchange rate difference between late June and July 11, just after the Brexit vote, was noticeable.</p>

As many regulars know, I had an extended holiday in the

US just after the vote, and it was pretty painful from an

exchange rate perspective. I predicted a price rise and

bought several items that I was prevaricating about (24-

70 Tamron, 24-120, etc.) before the retailers reflected

the pain - the effect on the exchange rate was pretty

precipitous. I'm just glad it wasn't worse. Of course, I

now have the items on my credit card instead, so I may

not really have saved...

 

There was an announcement that Nikon uk prices were

going to rise, fairly shortly after the vote (i didn't pay

attention because I'd already shopped). Other brands

may have risen less officially. I'm glad the retailers were

slow to raise their prices, but we can expect all imports

to be a bit steeper for a while. Interesting times.

<p>Ah, so this is what the Daily Mail meant by 'Brexit Bonus'! Average prices do indeed seem to be rising sharply, though in some cases it's still possible to get a decent deal from one or more shops - this site compares prices and tracks changes: http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/Nikon</p>

Yet another opportunity/excuse to rip off the British

consumer! We've long suffered prices well in

excess of those advertised in the US. And I'm old

enough to remember how prices were hiked on the

back of our currency decimalisation.

 

Strange how prices rise very quickly with the least provocation, but fall extremely slowly, if at all, when things go in the opposite direction.

 

Just looked at the graphs, and the rise in Yen value against the pound is around 20% over the last 3 months. A 30% rise in prices is totally unjustified.

<p>Brexit I am afraid, is the lame excuse being trotted out on anything post June 23rd that is negative, however, as Rodeo Joe said in an earlier thread, it is amazing how when financial markets fall to the benefit of the consumer the manufacturers tend to drag their heels in passing on any benefits, if at all, the price of petrol is a prime example of this, however on a more positive note another comparison website I use is this one <a href="http://pricespy.co.uk/product.php?p=2716164">http://pricespy.co.uk/product.php?p=2716164</a> and you can type in the product of interest at the top of the page to see what is on offer, I recently used it to pick up a D750, and was even offered a 6 months o% interest deal if I wanted it.</p>