Looks to me like Olympus has blinked on the $2000 US price on the E-M1 II. As most of you must know, this camera is available on Olympus Refurbished for $1699 US - a 15% price reduction. (Here is the link: OM-D E-M1 Mark II Digital Camera, 20MP, 4k, Wi-Fi | Olympus.) I think the GH5 may make the original price unsupportable if more and more people are intrigued by its superior video. I noticed that this camera was available early afternoon yesterday and then sold out quickly. Later, it became available again and is still available today about 24 hours later. I see B&H and Adorama still list it $1999. If they lower its price to the "refurbished" then I can buy it without the $127 tax I pay on the Olympus site. I put refurbished in quotes because I've yet to see any of the lenses or cameras I've purchased - about ten in all - look other than brand spanking new. I've been dialed into Olympus since 2013 and I see no pipeline for used gear going into a true refurbished program - no buy back, no trade-in program, except for the deals giving credits for cameras brought to a store, but these cameras can be any brand. What do you people think?
@barry13 , can we get this thread moved to the appropriate forum? It does not belong in the Showcase - Native Lens Sample Images forum. As for you question about Olympus "blinking" on the price, the answer is no. The prices on the refurbished sites are always lower than those of the MSRP for new product. It's happened with cameras, and it's happened with lenses. The price is still $2k, and Olympus certainly didn't have any issue selling cameras at that price (nor did Panasonic with the GH5).
I agree with @ijm5012 nothing unusual with this at all. It just means they have received some cameras back for whatever reason and now have some available as refurbished.
I'm looking at this moment on how to move my post to a different thread. I don't see a method. Please advise.
More than 24 hours after the E-M1 II was listed at 15% off, its availability continues. This is not a few returned items. I just went out on GetOlympus and filled out an order for 10 cameras. I did not have the guts to press the final purchase button, but the site had no problem with 10 (it did with an order of 100.) In general, "hot" "refurbished" items go rather fast. Many people want this camera but are not willing to pay full retail. Fifteen percent is nothing to sneeze at and that discount amount triggered my Pen-F purchase. Of course, some are holding out for $1500 or even less. The best retail price I'd expect to ever see would be 20% off - $1600.
I miss the Olympus refurbished store. It used to exist in Canada, but when our dollar continued to plunge, they decided that they only wanted to sell full retail priced items up here...
The price may drop but I don't think the gh5 is involved. If folks want the gh5 they won't buy the em1 ii even at a reduced price. The fact that the refurbs are still available is probably because $1700 is still a lot for most folks.
At 7 pm, my time, GetOlympus allowed me to enter an order for 50 E-M1 IIs. The bill? It was $84,999.50. I pressed the complete transaction button, gave them my shipping address, then told them to send the invoice to AussiePhil because I've always heard about how nice Australians are. Thanks, Phil! An E-M1 II is on its way to you! It's in the mail, you have my word as an American.
In other woke news: USD $1700-$1900 has been the going price down under for sometime. Aussies still bemoan. Seppos* were baffled. *Endearingly used here. Hugs?
what this committee needs is the next screenshot: showing the actual checkout invoice Or should that be Tweeted
now, I have the feeling that you might think that I doubt you could buy the 50 cameras... it's not that. It's the fact that you bought them in Phil's name... or if you really did, please let me know how coz I want in on that deal
If I could actually buy things using this technique, I'd be far too busy shopping to be on this forum - and Phil would be in a helluva a lot of trouble!
@Gregory, so what's your point? You've now posted 3 times within this thread about how you can add large quantities of "refurbished" E-M1 II's to your cart, and I honestly don't understand the point you're trying to make (because you haven't adequately articulated it up to this point). To be honest, you just sound like somebody who's bitching because they can't afford to spend the money on the camera, but really want one, so you're reverting to simply attacking the price saying that it's "too high". If you want the camera, then buy it. It's a great camera and you'll be very pleased with it. If you don't want the camera, then spend your time being productive, either by taking pictures and sharing them on the forum, or contributing in some positive way to other threads that may be of interest to you. By repeating this behavior, I'm beginning to think you're simply a troll (or you want an E-M1 II, but just can't afford one).
