Offical word from Nikon on the damage by the earthquake and tsunami

[spree86]

just compare price of some lenses in amazon vs dd... there you will see the difference, theyre still cheap than dd!

when a grey market seller sells lenses higher than official channels i lose respect for them because that defeats the purpose of going to them for lower prices... still dont get it do you

I do agree that their prices loses attractiveness due to the increase but what has it got to do with respect? Are they cheating anyone? Like you say their prices are in black and white and no one is forcing you to buy from them.

 

[tehzeh]

I do agree that their prices loses attractiveness due to the increase but what has it got to do with respect? Are they cheating anyone? Like you say their prices are in black and white and no one is forcing you to buy from them.

I believe what he was trying to say was that local retailers are simply making use of this opportunity to exploit the consumers because there just isn't enough accurate and substantial information stating how the world supply is being affected by the closure of the plants in Japan. They only announced that they will be closing some plants and some overseas retailers raised their price. Ok so what? Does this mean that there is really a shortage?

I am saying that there isn't enough information and given Singaporeans' damn good ability to speculate (and faith in themselves too), they would of course rush down to the shops to grab all the Japanese made Nikons just because they think that prices will only be affected by supply factors, while in fact, they themselves, in the process of grabbing all these cameras, are pushing all the prices up, because the local retailers know that consumers can be exploited now.

Simple as that. Prices are not determined only by supply factors, but also by consumers.

 

[daredevil123]

just compare price of some lenses in amazon vs dd... there you will see the difference, theyre still cheap than dd!

when a grey market seller sells lenses higher than official channels i lose respect for them because that defeats the purpose of going to them for lower prices... still dont get it do you

You still don't get it. They sell higher than anyone else, so what? Is that ethically or morally wrong? No. Just means they sell higher.

When a grey market seller sells lenses higher than official channels, it defeats the purpose of going to them for lower prices. Yes. But if their prices are higher than official channels, does it make them morally or ethically wrong? The answer is NO. You, as the consumer, can avoid going there, and just buy from the next alternative seller. I think you are the one who is not "getting it".

They sell higher than Amazon, of course! why? because they buy from places where these companies are, USA, HK, Australia, then they parallel import into Singapore. They have to sell higher than Amazon or the likes, simply because they need to get it shipped into Singapore. Shipping is free is it? Remember, official channels only have one time shipping costs involved (from manufacturing location drop ship to SG). Parallel import accounts for two shipping costs (from manufacturing location to market of equipment. And from that market to SG market). The higher cost structure demands higher pricing to the consumer. Sometimes the difference in price can still cover that shipping costs and more, resulting in lower than official channel prices. Sometimes it is not so. Lets say if the same camera cost the same in SG and another country. If you parallel import from that country into SG, the final cost of goods sold will be much higher than local SG copies. That is the nature of the parallel import business. Sometimes you can sell lower than the local distributors, sometimes you cannot. You just list the price as is. If people still want to buy from you, you will still sell it.

Nevermind you get it or not, or whether you respect them or not. I don't think they bother, and neither do most of us here. Do not equate pricing to ethics or morals, if you do not have a basic understanding of the nature of the business.

 

[tangoinquestion]

hahaha im afraid you are the one who dont understand the nature of parallel imports

you only go to parallel importers if:
a) they sell a product which is not available locally or the version they sell is different/better than the local version
b) they sell it cheaper

thats all there is to it, can you tell me anymore reason why you would go to a parallel importer??

and i qualified it earlier, respect for their pricing. besides its only mine, not speaking for all. youre the one who made a big deal out of it

 

[daredevil123]

hahaha im afraid you are the one who dont understand the nature of parallel imports

you only go to parallel importers if:
a) they sell a product which is not available locally or the version they sell is different/better than the local version
b) they sell it cheaper

thats all there is to it, can you tell me anymore reason why you would go to a parallel importer??

and i qualified it earlier, respect for their pricing. besides its only mine, not speaking for all. youre the one who made a big deal out of it

Like I said for the 3rd time already, whether the price is good or not, whether you go to them or not, has nothing to do with morals or ethics. If you think someone pricing high is immoral or unethical, my condolences.

Why make a big deal out of it? because your first statement about "losing respect" gives a negative connotation to the character of the people who run the shop, which I strongly feel is terribly unfair to them. At least after a few exchanges, people here can read for themselves.

 

[tangoinquestion]

actually you overreacted because it was obvious from my first post that the loss of respect was linked to their pricing and nothing else. it was never insinuated that it was due to other reasons implied or not. then you tried to explain parallel imports which you obviously failed to grasp the meaning/purpose of

 

[crazyson]

actually you overreacted because it was obvious from my first post that the loss of respect was linked to their pricing and nothing else. it was never insinuated that it was due to other reasons implied or not. then you tried to explain parallel imports which you obviously failed to grasp the meaning/purpose of

hahahah this is really like hwz forums!! sigh...

 

[daredevil123]

those are just crazy prizes for the trinity lenses! more expensive than local warrantied ones, just like that my respect for that place plummeted

actually you overreacted because it was obvious from my first post that the loss of respect was linked to their pricing and nothing else. it was never insinuated that it was due to other reasons implied or not. then you tried to explain parallel imports which you obviously failed to grasp the meaning/purpose of

Thank you for stating my point, that "loss of respect based on pricing and nothing else" is exactly why I think it is so ridiculous. What a concept it is, basing respect and passing judgement on people based solely on pricing of stuff they sell in their business. You must not have much respect for HDB or condo developments nowadays, because prices are so high. And you must have no respect for the government either, since the COE now is so expensive. LOL. Maybe next time we should ask people how much they sell they products before we decide if we want to be friends with them.

Yes I know nothing about parallel imports. despite my many years in imports and exports between Singapore, USA and China... Ya, I know nothing. LOL.... and I cannot grasp the meaning. LOL. You know it all.

I don't think I have to say more. Every one here can read what you wrote. You can continue believing what you want. LOL. cheers...

 

[jeff7id]

2 months after the earthquake and tsunami disaster, anyone feel the impact yet ? Price is increasing ? Less of new stocks ?

And more people is looking stocks from 2nd hand market or even the grey set ?

 

[Cowseye]

Only if you buy grey sets. Local prices for lens that I checked on are normal and slowly dropping in price, with the exception of 35mm F/1.8G which has a product shortage recently.

 

[fmeeran]

actually you overreacted because it was obvious from my first post that the loss of respect was linked to their pricing and nothing else. it was never insinuated that it was due to other reasons implied or not. then you tried to explain parallel imports which you obviously failed to grasp the meaning/purpose of

Parallel importers have costs too. If their costs increase they do have to increase the price.
The price of lenses in amazon have all gone up. Just so you know. And you have to add shipping + GST + shop front costs for DD.
They have quite a bit of variability in their price, but I respect them for giving another option to buy from. If it turns out more expensive you look at other places.
I always compare the cost of singapore set, DD set and amazon set before deciding where to buy from and two of my lenses are from DD. They give you a one year shop warranty so it is not the same as an amazon set. I would prefer buying from DD to amazon if the prices were reasonably close.

If you buy without due deligence it is YOUR fault.

 

[daocon]

Dude, you mean: someone sells lens to you at "higher than expected price" = they are immoral?
How about, a consumer still decides to buy the lens at "higher than expected price" = the consumer is blind?

Just go out and research prices. No one needs your respect. Better lose respect for scam shops instead. Not people who are just purely doing business.