price time.....

[Vamshidhar Kuchikulla]

Hi guys....

Well it solved the bit problem. Now lets deal the price problem. I went to bhphotovideo.com . It shows the canon xl2 actual price is $5499.com , and their price is $4999.com

But we knew that canon xl2 is $4999.com. Well what kind of this pricing strategies.

any suggestions ...greatly appreciated. No Fireworks and blasts please

vamshi

[Barry Goyette]

List price is a very old term in this biz...and it goes back to the days when cameras we're often sold at up to 40% below their "list" price. Essentially the list price is a marketing tool...and no one....ok...almost no one...would ever pay list price for a camera. BHphoto is one of the few that I've ever seen who actually list the "list" price.

The 4,999 price is canon's "estimated selling price" according to the press release. This is often referred to as the street price. Canon also seems to indicate that this is the MSRP on the camera. What really matters is the MAP price (minimum advertised price). Canon does not allow its dealers to advertise a price below this...although its typical to see discounting below this. The xl1s is typically sold at about $500 below MSRP by reputable dealers...my guess is that you will see the xl2 discounted about the same amount.

Barry

[Vamshidhar Kuchikulla]

Well i appreciate your answer. What i mean to say if canon is not capable of controlling their products prices. what s the use of estimated price.
Ill give you an hint , suppose you go to a shop knowing that xl2 is $4999.00 , mean time if you enter into shop and you will know that xl2 is $5499.00 what will you do? its just a matter of question.

vamshi

[Jeff Donald]

Camera manufactures are prohibited from setting retail pricing for dealers. This is called price fixing and is illegal in the electronics business. The MAP Barry referred to is set by Canon. Dealers are allowed to sell below MAP, but are not allowed to advertise the below MAP prices. This is the reason for having to ask for a price to be emailed to you. The dealer can't advertise the below MAP costs. Some manufactures are more strict about MAP than others.

If the dealer does advertise a below MAP price the dealer may loose their co-op moneys. Co-op is a percentage of the dealer cost of the camera that is rebated back to the dealer by the manufacture. The rebate (usually in the 5% to 7% range is to cover the dealers costs of advertising the product. In the case of larger dealers like Ritz and B & H Photo co-op dollars can run well in to the millions of dollars. Thus, large dealers usually don't sell below MAP. The risk (millions of dollars) is too great.

[Barry Goyette]

Varnshi

Back in the wild west days of camera sales, it was not uncommon to see new, current cameras for sale at "unbelievably low prices".I remember how I felt when I found out the list price of my $400 contax was over $1000!

In reality, the manufacturers published list prices that had no relationship to what the camera would actually sell for. List prices were used by the dealer to show you what a "great" deal you were getting (and occasionally as a way to make a lot of money on a camera sale). Over time...as we all caught on to the gag...dealers stopped quoting the list price as it essentially became meaningless.

Today, the street prices, MSRP's, MAP's etc. are actually much closer to the camera's typical selling price...and to a certain degree, they help the manufacturer control how much the camera is going for.

Barry

[Vamshidhar Kuchikulla]

Well i greatly appreciate your answers. A straight question. At what price we should buy xl2? less than $4999 or more than $4999

[Barry Goyette]

I wouldn't pay more than $4,999, but initially you will probably pay near that price if you want one early. If you can wait awhile, the price will probably drop...I'd call a few dvinfo.net sponsors like zgc or zotz...they usually have pretty competetive pricing, and excellent service to boot.

Barry

[Vamshidhar Kuchikulla]

Well I am very very happy with your answers barry and jeff.. may be you are right barry., i should wait for some time. The thing is I sold my xl1s. I am managing with only one camera.
At any cost I have to buy the other camera.

Well thanks to everybody

vamshi

[Don Palomaki]

MSRP = Manufactureres Suggested Retail Price, often reflcts what the local ma and pa camera ship might ask, and some high-end retailers. In the days of so called "fair trade laws" the mfgrs (or importers in the case of many camera brands) could set a minimum selling price which dealers had to honor. Old timers can remember days when the Pentex brand was sold under the Honeywell nameplate, at high prices.

This is speculation: The XL2 appears to have the same MSRP as the XL1 and XL1s did when they were introduced. So expect its street price for a standard factory model to follow a similar pattern. After the XL2 becomes generally available until late Fall expect to pay on the order of $4500 and up from an authorized dealer. By spring 2005 the lowest street prices from authorized dealers should drift below $4000, perhaps as low as $3700. Cash vs. credit vs. purchase order buy method may effect the price somewhat. Cash often commands the lowest price.

[Marty Hudzik]

I can't find any authorized dealers selling it for under $4900.00 and most of them are asking the full $4999.00. I would seriously doubt that there is anyone selling them upon release or even in the first few months for less. Previous camera sales would dictate otherwise.....but this camera seems to be commanding a premium.

Even my DVX100 when it was new and I got it the day it was shipped was discounted $300 under MSRP.

Please...if you know of a reputable dealer that is selling for $4500.00 let me know!

Thanks!

[Chris Hurd]

Rest assured that at least until early next year, the XL2 will sell for the full $4999 from authorized dealers. Not only that, but they're only going to trickle into the country at first: in addition to selling at full price, they will be hard to get until later this fall or early winter. Enjoy,

[Jeff Donald]

The scarcity of the camera for the first few months will dictate the price in some markets. Why give it away when the market will accept a higher price? Dealers are more than happy make a few extra dollars when they can. I brought this up n another thread, but this is not uncommon in the automobile business. Some new cars, in some markets, will sell for thousands over MSRP. Why? Because of demand.

[Barry Goyette]

I'm not so sure about the full price thing...I think we'll have to watch it play out. Like Jeff said...supply and demand is what it is about, and if canon restricts the flow of these things...like it has done in the Pro Digital SLR market...then the price will remain high for the forseeable future.

I have placed a deposit on an xl2 through a large west coast dealer, certainly one of the most reputable in the business, and the price quoted was substantially less than MSRP. I have a 20 year relationship with the dealer, so I'm sure that has something to do with it...

Barry

[Don Palomaki]

The two keys to pricing are supply and demand.

We will see how they play out. I would think that the initial supply will be better than the early days of thef XL1 just because Canon now has 6+ years experience in producing MiniDV camcorders with the XL-series form factor, and the technologies are fairly mature.

Except perhaps for comodities, the prices of products not yet shipping are rarely discounted in any significant way by dealers.

[Jay Gladwell]

CDW is listing the XL2 for $3999.

Jay