Dragonophile

I "believe" what I do because I have actual experience buying from an authorized camera dealer for below the MSRP and they gave me an accurate receipt. I have done this on several occasions. They certainly do not advertise this, but it is like any business - you can sell for less if you increase your volume. They have remained in business for many years. While I have never tried it, I have read about people negotiating with B&H. Finally, I live in a state with a 9% sales tax. B&H advertises they will pick up sales tax - so they are obviously selling to me at less profit margin than to someone in a state with no or lesser sales tax. In effect, they are discounting the price for me and people in sales tax states. But they advertise the same price for everyone.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Just post the receipt so we can initiate the appropriate corrective action.

Dragonophile

No. Why would I want to do that? Unless you are calling me a liar. In which case, "believe" what you want. FYI, I quit Canon long ago and now use Fuji & Sony, so if by "we" you mean you work for Canon, eh....

Dragonophile

As I mentioned, B&H in effect discounts prices for me by picking up sales tax. Are you going to take corrective action against them????? I can buy cheaper from them than local authorized dealer in my state.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

And I’m curious what you’re basing this on.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Which is exactly why cameras are price controlled. It’s not the camera manufacturers being greedy. They’re making the same amount no matter what the seller sells it for. The manufacturer is protecting the smaller dealers.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

They make that money back with financing charges.

fantom Loc: Colorado

When you say "manufacturer's cost" I believe you are speaking about the cost TO the retailer. That is not the manufacturer's cost. The price to the retailer is based on what the market will bear and NOT the cost to manufacture it. In other words the price is determined by how much the market will pay and that can be a real number or an educated estimate by the mfr.

It would appear that cameras are fair traded. (This gets complicated and does not necessarily have to occur between countries but can be totally within one country and there are numerous laws regulating the practice.)

Basically, this means that that the mfr regulates (establishes/sets) the price that the retailer can sell the item for. You may have noticed that the only time a retailer lowers the price for a fair traded XYZ camera model or lens is at the same time that the mfr also has put those items on sale. That is easily apparent this time of year with Black Friday sales.

So, I am assuming you are asking about the percentage differential between the price the retailer pays to the mfr and the price he charges to the retail customer. I do not have a background in retail sales or operations but have had occasion to observe them and I would estimate the markup between the price to the retailer and the price to the customer is between two and three hundred percent. I base this on what I have observed in certain sporting goods and electronics venues.

There are laws that mandate a mfr must sell a product at the same price to all of his customers, but that price can be modified by certain pre-approved circumstances. For example, your local camera store may pay $500 for a camera, which is theoretically the same base price B&H pays. But B&H also takes advantage of the bracket pricing offered by the mfr and pays less per unit.

As an over-simplified example, this means the larger the quantity you buy the more the item is discounted. B&H would also get numerous other price advantages like advertising adjustments, promotional events etc.

Therefore, the amount between the various retailers' costs and their selling prices could vary greatly. Hence, it is hard to give an exact number to the question you asked, but I think you can safely put the number between 200 and 300% much of the time. Of course this varies by industry, and circumstances, and I have no idea what the photo market does.

I have used B&H as an example, only to illustrate the point, because they are typically recognized as a leader in this industry. I am sure that everything they do regarding pricing is legal and ethical and above board. They are a leader in their industry because of their commendable business practices that include sales, customer service, return policies, advertising and general business practices etc. I wish all of American businesses were as ethical as B&H.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

You could drive yourself crazy worrying about what the manufacturing costs are and who’s making what profit. The only question is one you ask yourself, does the camera do what you need and are you willing to pay what they’re asking.

Dragonophile

Not if I pay it off immediately. But that is beside the point, which is they can sell it to me less than a local dealer. The fact some may pay finance charges is no different than my using a credit card at a local dealer.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Yes, as a one off you can pay it off immediately. Some do, but there will be enough that don’t that they’ll end up making that money back. And while it’s not that different than using a credit card at your local dealer, there’s a good chance that you’re getting a better rate with that credit card. And your local dealer doesn’t have a financial relationship with your credit card company.

Dragonophile

This is my last reply as I don't think this tangent is worth arguing over. I am not arguing that B&H has a bad business model. Of course they are very successful and probably recoup money from finance charges. They also do a heck of a great sales volume nationally and probably internationally. More power to them. I like B&H and Adorama and all the national sellers. I also like my local dealers. They probably just have different ways of being successful enough to stay in business. My ONLY point is that authorized dealers can discount if they don't ADVERTISE prices below MSRP. If a dealer wants to clear inventory - for whatever reason - and do it individually and privately, they can find ways...

ChristianHJensen

That's about the dumbest line I have hears today..................

ChristianHJensen

It is, though, sometimes hard to wrestle the newly purchased items out of the customers hand after they paid for it....................so you can sell it again

fantom Loc: Colorado

They can find ways, sure, but then the manufacturers stop selling them gear and they are eventually out of business. So, I don't think they will do very much price cutting, especially since their competitors will be sure the mfr's know what they are doing and will help put a rival out of biz.