Will D300 and D90 prices drop soon?

<p>In light of the current economic downturn, one would expect a price drop in most consumer electronic goods, such as DSLR's, in order to attract cautious consumers to make purchases during this period of financial uncertainty. However, on the contrary, I keep reading news about Nikon increasing their prices for their cameras while giants like Sony and Panasonic are cutting jobs and shutting plants down due to poor sales around the world. So, what's your sense of the upcoming trend for camera prices over the remainder of 2009? I was hoping that I could get a great deal on either the D300 or D90 sometime this year if Nikon is desperate enough to slash the prices of these bodies.</p>

<p>Nikon made a substantial price increase on Feb 1. Some lenses like the 200-400 f4 went up in price by 12% on B&H. I read that some lenses increased 15% in price. The reason for the price increase is that the dollar/yen exchange rate has changed about 25% in the last 6 months. <br>

Thom Hogan has written a lot on dpreview about the price increases but doesn't think the body prices will go up but no one outside of Nikon really knows.<br>

My personal guess is that prices will hold steady but any new cameras at PMA will be introduced at a higher price than they would have if the exchange rate didn't change so much.</p>

<p>Economics 101 - look up the term and meaning for 'inelastic demand'. You'll be amazed.</p>

<p>'An economic term used to describe the situation in which the supply and demand for a good are unaffected when the price of that good or service changes.'</p>

<p>Translation ... there are enough suckers who will buy this turkey at any price.<br>

It seems contrarian, but ruminate on this ... when sales decline, a company is 'taught' to keep prices up as they need to maximize profit over fewer sales. That's a very classic business model followed by many, if not most, manufacturers at least in the US.</p>

<p>JIm.</p>

<p>Right. What good does it do a manufacturer who is already losing some sales because people have less disposable income (or credit) to commit suicide by continuing to make and ship the same number of products, but at prices that make them lose money? I want Nikon to stay in business, not kill themselves. If you want Nikon (or Canon, etc) to still be here in a few months when the credit crunch has eased and things are heating back up, don't scold them for making sure that their sales actually generate income for them.<br /><br />It's one thing to liquidate stock (rebates are good for that), but it's another to set lower prices, only to have to double-raise them later to catch up with reality. These companies are very intelligently thinking of the future, and keeping a steady hand. It's better for them to make fewer items for a while, and keep their (currency-adjusted) prices steady than it is to flail around shipping out products that they have to subsidize in a market where few people are spending just now.</p>

<p>I saw a factory refurb D300 body at Adorama a couple of weeks for $1199, 90 day Nikon warranty. I wish I could afford even that, but c'est la vie. I bought refurbs in the past and have been very happy, no problems what-so-ever.</p>

<p>thom hogan addressed this on his site not too long ago. while nikon discounted the D3/D700 because of slack demand, the prices on D300 and D90 held pretty steady, because they were selling. this at least suggests that nikon does have some flexibility to discount those models if necessary. but my guess is they probably trimmed production to keep inventory at a managable level. so i wouldn't expect any price-cutting anytime soon, even though i don't expect camera bodies to go up in price as much as lenses. </p>

<p>I guess many people knew Nikon prices would jump up in February. I kow I did, so I bought my F6 three weeks ago. Am I glad I did! I paid CAN. $2,000 for it, or USD $1,630! Now, it's quoted at Can. $2,200, but B&H sells it (back-ordered) at USD $2,400, a whopping Can. $2,950! Something does not add up here.</p>

<p>I picked up my D90 from Adorama shortly in mid-December 2008 and it was cheaper then by about $60 than now. Possibly a big push for Christmas sales -- who knows.</p>

<p>I don't typically buy new, so I have the opposite mind-set -- I'm delighted (for ONCE) not to make a major purchase, only to see the price plummet a month later.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Wait a minute! Now, I've just seen a B&H side add right on this page: F6, USD $1,999. I clicked on the link, and it is still listed at USD 2,399 on the B&H site. Now, there is something wrong.</p>

<p>And now, 3 minutes later, the add has disappeared. WHAT is going on here?</p>

<p>Nikon's price increase seems more a manoeuvre to increase sales in the short time, if you really need to make price increase you don't trumpet it so much before (as Canon is doing in a more homeopatic way). I don't buy into the Yen Dollar or Euro increased delta against the Yen, if you look at it on a time scale of ten years you will see that currencies went back and forth a lot. I am more on the side of thinking that Nikon is making some weird marketing operation, maybe just to have a measure of how far they can get with their customer base (or suckers ). However this morning I went to a big photography store in Milan and they had plenty of Nikons (D300 and D700) on the shelfs while there was a waiting list for the Canon D50 and D5 mkII of at least a month. Fortunately I bought almost everything I will need in Nikon products for the next year (and maybe more) in the past two, then, maybe I will decide that it is not worth to be Nikon's a turkey :-D</p>

<p>Given how much the yen has risen against the US$, and in trun the US$ has risen over 20% over the Canadian $; i.e. the yen has gone way up against the Canadian $, you should expect Nikon prices to go up in Canada and in the US. That is exactly what is happening now.<br>

If the exchange rate changes in the opposite direction, you'll see lower prices or rebates. But the current exchange rate is hurting Nikon, Canon, etc. big time. You can't expect them to keep absorbing the difference.</p>

<p>Victor - you will see prices possibly drop in those segments where Nikon sells in large volumes and fights for market share. Consumer compacts and to a lesser extent perhaps there will be reasonably 'sharp' pricing on consumer grade SLR kits.</p>

<p>But Jim is spot on in talking about inelastic demand. Once we get up to the D300 type level consumer behaviour is not primarily driven by price. Same for specialised lenses. Nikon would therefore not be affecting demand much, if at all, by sacrificing margin on such items.</p>

<p>....the simple answer to the OP's Q is NO.<br>

...over the preceding 12 months the D300 price had already substantially reduced...from 1299 GBP (here in UK) to 900 GBP. The D90 is too new for any meaningful reductions....but then the exchange rate issues hit home big time....</p>

<p>....here in the UK, photo items have just increased this month by anywhere from 10% to a hefty 40% virtually overnight......ouch.</p>

<p>....so, buy used items if you can.</p>