keith_bogut Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>Is it just me, or has the price of Canon products jumped recently? I have a wish list of equipment on Amazon and just noticed huge increases in the price of Canon gear. Anyone else seeing this at other stores? I was stunned at first, and then realized it's probably the market reaction to the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster. With rolling blackouts throughout the country and factories unable to produce, this could just be the first wave in a price tsunami that could last a long time. That's what I love about capitalism. There's no amount of human misery that's too great to try to make a buck on.</p> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="534"> <colgroup span="1"><col span="1" width="390"></col><col span="2" width="72"></col></colgroup> <tbody> <tr height="21"> <td width="390" height="21"> </td> <td width="72">12/1/10</td> <td width="72">3/31/11</td> </tr> <tr height="21"> <td height="21">Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM Lens</td> <td align="right">2,070</td> <td align="right">2,499</td> </tr> <tr height="21"> <td height="21">Canon EOS 7D (Body Only)</td> <td align="right">1,600</td> <td align="right">2,099</td> </tr> <tr height="21"> <td height="21">EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens </td> <td align="right">990</td> <td align="right">1,179</td> </tr> <tr height="21"> <td height="21">Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash </td> <td align="right">415</td> <td align="right">479</td> </tr> <tr height="21"> <td height="21">EF 50mm f1.4 USM Lens</td> <td align="right">359</td> <td align="right">499</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eoinmurphy Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>Another reason could be the cost of the yen, which has increased in cost one and a half times what it was a few years ago, versus the dollar.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverhaas Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>I think it is as simple as supply and demand - the demand for the equipment is there - the supply is limited for the time being. </p> <p>I'm guessing that it will eventually hit a point where people simply stop buying - but we aren't there yet. </p> <p>Dave</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigd Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>Prices respond to changes in supply and demand. If the demand for Canon products is unchanged but the supply is temporarily reduced because of the disaster in Japan, prices will go up. Part of this has to do with the fact that Canon USA and its distributors are dependent on Japan for the products they sell. They have salaries to pay and business forecasts that need to be satisfied to keep Wall Street happy (unfortunately, keeping Wall Street happy is very important for publicly-held companies -- bad things can happen to your business if big mutual funds and influential analysts start thinking you aren't doing well). It isn't just a matter of looking for excuses to screw more money out of consumers, and to think so is rather ignorant and paranoid.</p> <p>Prices for foreign items also tend to follow fluctuations in currency valuation, as Eoin notes.</p> <p>And there are other factors. At one point a couple of years ago, the price of the 5D Mark II mysteriously jumped briefly. The body went from about $2500 to $2800 or more for no reason I could see. After a while, it dropped back down. Presumably there was some reason for this, but I don't know what it was.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>As I've said before, it's not the strength of the yen, it's the weakness of the dollar.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobatkins Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>Yup. I wrote about this last week - <a href="http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/japan_2011.html">http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/japan_2011.html</a></p> <p>It's really not the general idustry (or Amazon) making money off the misery of others, it's just a capitalism thing (well, some would argue that they are the same...). Supply and demand. Same demand, less supply - higher prices. Just like oil.</p> <p>In fact prices had been rising slowly before the earthquake and tsunami in Japan due to normal economic factors. The Yen is getting stronger (why, I don't know) and inflation always pushes prices up in the long run.</p> <p>BTW I'm not at all sure about your prices. They may represent the extremes of the more scummy 3rd party Amazon sellers. To get a more realistic look at price trends you need to average the price at Adorama, B&H and Amazon themselves (not 3rd party sellers on Amazon). You list a 7D body as having gone from $1600 to $2099 between December and today. In fact it sells for $1699 at Amazon (not 3rd party Amazon sellers), Adorama and B&H - or at least it would if they had one in stock (which they don't). Responsible stores hold their prices. The more scummy stores do inflate their prices to the point where they can sell the few they have left to people with more money than sense. Adorama have the kit with the 28-135 IS lens in stock for only $1899, so you'd have to be a complete idiot to pay $2099 for the body from someone else!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_s Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>Can't be attributed to exchange rates-- over that interval, the Yen/USD exchange rate changed by about 1%.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_van_eynde Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>Exchange rate?</p> <p>Maybe the learned from Apple?<br />New mac book pro cost 1.199 USD, and here in Belgium it is 1.199 EUR (same official apple store site)><br />But if you take the exchange rate from USD to EUR it should have been 844 EUR.<br> :(</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmueller Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p><em>"Same demand, less supply - higher prices. Just like oil."</em></p> <p>That is a really bad example. Actual supply in oil remains virtually unchanged over extended periods of time. What fluctuates wildly is the <em>perceived</em> supply<em> - </em>and with it the prices. In other words, if you can convince the public that supply is short, there is almost limitless scope for making more money. Same as Wall Street. It isn't actual events that make the market go up and down, but the perception of those events by a small group of people.<em><br /></em></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverhaas Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>Oil also has the disadvantage (for those of us that have to buy gas) of being traded in a speculative market - by people that make a ton of money by buying low and selling high. </p> <p>Dave</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_e Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>With some of my 104k in electronics stock, I also speculate (indirectly) on cameras.<br> Maybe it's time to sell some of my unused old cameras.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eoinmurphy Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>The yen is getting stronger (although this has reversed in the last few days, just a little) because the US is so deeply in debt that some people who kept their money in $ are selling them and buying other currencies. There are a large number of very wealthy people who speculate in foreign currency. The action is much larger than the stock market. Those people are less inclined to bet on the $ because the US is so messed up financially. The US government does not understand that they are impoverished debtors. Other people do. That is why the dollar is sinking.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobatkins Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>Who's to say people aren't speculating on Cameras? If there's a perceived shortage people will buy now, lower the supply and drive up the prices!</p> <p>The point is supply and demand. If the supply is low or people think the supply is low, they will be willing to pay higher prices. Oil prices are indeed also driven by politics and other economic factors that don't affect cameras.</p> <p>In the case of cameras and lenses, the perceived supply problems are real, at least in the short term. I suspect that the regular shipments of cameras to the US have been interupted even if manufacturing hasn't. Boats and planes with shipments on-board were probably delayed due to infrastructure issues. Hard to say if it will be a short term or longer term effect. I suspect probably short term (month or two). The plants making and asembling Canon digital cameras were not directly affected. The lens plant was, though it wasn't badly damaged. I haven't heard if they are back in production or not right now. The printer manufacturing operation was also somewhat disrupted.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lampung Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>who knows a cheap supplier in <a href="http://www.lampungphoto.com">Lampung</a> Indonesia? In the small town where I live is very difficult to find a quality lens for canon</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funtak Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>If this is a way to help people of Japan so be it..</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_v. Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <blockquote> <p>OP wrote: "With rolling blackouts throughout the country and factories unable to produce, this could just be the first wave in a price tsunami that could last a long time. There's no amount of human misery that's too great to try to make a buck on."</p> </blockquote> <p>Please help me understand how the second sentence is a logical extension of the first sentence. Is Canon overcharging homeless tsunami victims -- or anyone else -- for basic necessities that are in short supply after the earthquake and tsunami?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuno_saldanha Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p>Indeed, it's a fact already pointed in some other places, posts and foruns. Of course we all understand the logics of Capitalism, but that doesn't makes it right. And I also dont think it's Canon's fault, since they didn't changed the MSRP lately. On the other end, I see prices rising like a Tsunami since last week! And that's some reselers fault, not Canon's. I understand that prices might raise if there's a stock shortage, but, selling exactly the same camera that you bough for 10, for 50 it's unethical. In fact, I just bought a Canon 5D MKII last friday by 1700€ How lucky I was! The same camera raised to 2200€ last Monday, and yesterday to 2400€! The price that I had to pay last week for a bundle with the 24-105 L IS!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielleetaylor Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 <p><em>Of course we all understand the logics of Capitalism, but that doesn't makes it right.</em></p> <p>You don't understand the logic if you think it's wrong.</p> <p>Price communicates scarcity and helps prevent frivolous use or waste. If the tsunami disrupted production of cameras then cameras will go up in price. That helps insure that between the hobbyist who can get by one more year on a 30D and the professional who has to have a replacement 5D mkII tomorrow to keep his business open and his family fed, the professional gets the camera. The hobbyist can grumble all he wants about how unfair capitalism is, but the truly tragic thing would have been if the price were held constant and the hobbyist who didn't really need the camera got the last one.</p> <p>It's especially tragic and unethical when markets are not allowed to work in times of scarcity and people face shortages of things like food while arm chair experts criticize the ethics of price responses to scarcity. And be clear on the point that the choice is often between the higher prices or some people not having the product in question at all, even if it means their lives.</p> <p><strong>Prices do not exist to hurt you or rip you off or make your life miserable. They exist to communicate critical information to you and make sure you heed it for the good of everyone.</strong></p> <p>Here's some suggested reading material:</p> <p>http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Economics-4th-Ed-Economy/dp/0465022529/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301619701&sr=8-1</p> <p>http://www.amazon.com/Economic-Facts-Fallacies-Thomas-Sowell/dp/0465022030/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1301619701&sr=8-3</p> <p>http://www.amazon.com/Knowledge-Decisions-Thomas-Sowell/dp/0465037380/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301619845&sr=8-1</p> <p>I would list some college econ texts but those are harder for most people than Sowell's easy to follow explanations and historical examples.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_bolton2 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 <p>I don't understand why the word "capitalism" was even injected into this conversation. If you think new camera equipment prices are too high, don't buy any new camera equipment. If enough people are like minded, prices (adjusted for inflation) will eventually fall. If at some future point in time the manufacturer can't make enough/any money on the equipment, then they will stop manufacturing it. That's the way free markets work, and the way it should be. If you think an alternative system like communism would be better, then you're clueless. Ask any Soviet immigrant.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_reynolds10 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 <p>The United States is broke. And it's getting even more broke. Half the federal budget, is spent on the military - and yet another war has been started in Libya. It has to borrow huge amounts of money and the world doesn't have enough or is unwilling to lend to the insolvent albatross. So it has to lend money to itself - printing money. Because the supply of dollars is going up dramatically the value is going down. Because the value is declining relative to other currencies the cost of imports (in this case cameras) is going up.<br> <a href="http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$USD:$XJY&p=W&b=5&g=0&id=p04349390002">http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$USD:$XJY&p=W&b=5&g=0&id=p04349390002</a></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
options Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 <p>My 2 cents in the matter.<br> I agree the prices have gone up a bit.<br> But looking at your 12/1/10 prices, you didn't mention that Canon ran a rebate on certain things, that rebate expired in 1/8/11. Thus making it look as if the price change was double than it really was.<br> Here's the rebate for the 70-200 2.8L II<br> <strong>REBATES AVAILABLE FOR CA7020028LIQ</strong> </p> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="226" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="3" height="6"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/whitespace.gif" alt="" width="1" height="6" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="9" height="2"> <img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebates_01.gif" alt="" width="5" height="5" /> </td> <td width="210" height="2" background="/images/rebates_top.gif"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/shim.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td> <td width="11" height="2"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebates_03.gif" alt="" width="5" height="5" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="8" height="32" background="/images/rebates_left.gif"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebates_left.gif" alt="" width="8" height="3" /></td> <td width="210" height="32" valign="top"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebatepdfhead.gif" alt="Rebate" vspace="2" width="57" height="10" /><br /><a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/null" target="_self"></a><br />Instant Rebate $200.00<br /><br />Expires: Jan 8, 2011</td> <td width="8" height="32" background="/images/rebates_right.gif"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebates_right.gif" alt="" width="8" height="3" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="9"> <img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebates_07.gif" alt="" width="5" height="5" /> </td> <td width="210" background="/images/rebates_bot.gif"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/shim.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td> <td width="11"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebates_09.gif" alt="" width="5" height="5" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/whitespace.gif" alt="" width="1" height="5" /></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><a href="javascript:self.close()"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/x.gif" border="0" alt="" hspace="5" width="12" height="11" />Close Window</a><br> Here's the rebate for the 16-35 2.8L II:</p> <table border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="287" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="279" align="center"> <p><strong>REBATES AVAILABLE FOR CA163528LEF2</strong> </p> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="226" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="3" height="6"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/whitespace.gif" alt="" width="1" height="6" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="9" height="2"> <img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebates_01.gif" alt="" width="5" height="5" /> </td> <td width="210" height="2" background="/images/rebates_top.gif"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/shim.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td> <td width="11" height="2"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebates_03.gif" alt="" width="5" height="5" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="8" height="32" background="/images/rebates_left.gif"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebates_left.gif" alt="" width="8" height="3" /></td> <td width="210" height="32" valign="top"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebatepdfhead.gif" alt="Rebate" vspace="2" width="57" height="10" /><br /><a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/null" target="_self"></a><br />Instant Rebate $100.00<br /><br />Expires: Jan 8, 2011</td> <td width="8" height="32" background="/images/rebates_right.gif"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebates_right.gif" alt="" width="8" height="3" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="9"> <img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebates_07.gif" alt="" width="5" height="5" /> </td> <td width="210" background="/images/rebates_bot.gif"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/shim.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td> <td width="11"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/rebates_09.gif" alt="" width="5" height="5" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/whitespace.gif" alt="" width="1" height="5" /></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><a href="javascript:self.close()"><img src="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/x.gif" border="0" alt="" hspace="5" width="12" height="11" />Close Window</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="500" align="center">Please be sure to read the manufacturer's terms and conditions carefully before claiming your rebate.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>My wife got me the 580EXII for Christmas and I remember her getting a rebate as well.</p> <p>But in the end..... the prices did come up, just not as dramatically as your numbers show.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sunley Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 <p>Camera price increases should be the least of your worries.</p> <p>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704050204576218710838251784.html</p> <p> </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobatkins Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 <p>Not a big deal if you don't want a new car.</p> <p>We only worry about what affects us in the short term!</p> <p>BTW the new trick with rebates is to raise the price just as you launch the rebate, so you can have and advertise a rebate program, get the original price you would have without the program (and a lot of buyers won't even realize that) and then when the rebate ends the prices go up - but you can blame it on the end of the rebate program. It's just Win, Win, Win for the manufacturers, not much of a win for the consumer though.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Keefer Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 <p>Toyota has raised the price of their cars by around $470. I guess Canon figures they should raise there prices the same. Of course the percentage isn't the same, just the amounts roughly. Maybe it is just the "Get it while you can" mind set.</p> Cheers, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sunley Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 <p>I should have elaborated a little on the layoffs side of the no parts situation, much more important to a lot of people. Especially the ripple effect. :(<br> .</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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