Price Hike on Panasonic M43 Gear?

[ijm5012]

Hi there,

I was curious as to why there was a recent price hike on virtually all of the Panasonic M43 gear, both cameras and lenses? Some of the stuff (if not most of it) is back near it's original price when initially released. What gives?

Was Panasonic running a deal that discounted their gear, and that deal expired? Or is this just a reaction to the recent "news" about Panasonic exiting micro 4/3? Any idea when we'll see pricing go back their previous levels?

I appreciate your input!

 

[henryp]

There is usually one of two reasons price increase brand-wide. One is the expiration of a limited-time discount, such as an instant rebate program. The other is a decision by the brand or their authorized US distributor. When that happens we're never consulted beforehand; we're simply informed of the change. I do not know when (or if) they will revert. I am sorry we do not have more insight on this topic.

 

[ijm5012]

Henry,

Thank you very much for the reply. So the increase in price for Panasonic m43 gear came from a decision made by Panasonic US then, correct? Every time I've seen an instant rebate, it's always listed (like it is for 35-100 currently) with an end date, and this does not seem to be that case.

It is disappointing to see the price of all gear go back up, but I understand that this is out of your hands. Thank you for the response.

 

[mcasan]

Not just a minor increase, The 100-300 went up over $100....over 20%!

 

[ijm5012]

Not just a minor increase, The 100-300 went up over $100....over 20%!

Yeah, nearly all the prices increased across the board, however some were more drastic than others. I'm hoping that the prices come back down here, as I really feel that price is the largest barrier to entry for people getting in to M43 when compared to entry level DSLR (yes, I'm well aware that most m43 cameras have far better features than the entry level DSLR's do, but when somebody can go to Costco and buy a CaNikon DSLR for $400, vs. a G6/GX7/EP-5/EM-10 for $700+, they blindly go for the CaNikon. But I'm getting off topic.)

Yeah, so I hope prices come back down to the previous, more "reasonable" levels before this most recent price hike. Prices may remain high throughout the summer, and then start to decrease around Photokina in September, in preparation for the holiday season. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.