Swaro bumps up prices in US (1 Viewer)

[karmantra]

Eagle Optics shows price increases of between $30-$80 on its EL Swarovisions, SLC-HDs & Companion Lines, except the 10x42 EL stays the same as before at $2499. Swaro spotting scopes & eyepieces do not show price increases.

 

[brocknroller]

Jerry, you can skip this one

Eagle Optics shows price increases of between $30-$80 on its EL Swarovisions, SLC-HDs & Companion Lines, except the 10x42 EL stays the same as before at $2499. Swaro spotting scopes & eyepieces do not show price increases.

Last year, shortly before the 8x32 SV EL came out, Swaro announced a price hike of $80 on the SV EL full sized models. Some people speculated this was to give them so room to price the 8x and 10x32 models above $2K but still below the full sized model. That first hike would have been reflected last year, not sure what this one's about, but $30-$80 more is not going to stop someone who is already prepared to pay over $2K for an alpha.

As long as customers are willing to pay more, the alpha makers can keep raising their prices. But what if there were a mass revolt in 2013 and buyers worldwide refused to pay more than $1800 for alphas? I've seen every alpha discounted to $1800 at one time or another. So they can obviously sell them at this price and still turn a profit.

Collectively, birders and hunters have the power to stand up to the alphas by doing what our dearly departed Nancy recommended, "Just, Say NO!" If NObody's buying, demand decreases, and prices lower. Of course, as soon as people start buying again, demand increases and prices go up. So we need to come up with a way to avoid that from happening. We need to use the law of supply and demand against them, instead of then using it against us.

I suggest that birders and hunters worldwide unite against high alpha prices and boycott alphas for the next six months, then after that, from July to December 2013, only birders whose last names begin with A-G buy ONE alpha. Let another six months pass w/out purchases, and then in July 2014, birders with names beginning with H-N buy ONE alpha, then let another six months pass, and birders whose names begin with the letters O-T buy ONE alpha starting in July 2015, then let six months pass, and the last group with names U-Z buy ONE alpha. Then we start all over again, and we keep at it until the alphas enact permanent price cuts across the board.

By the time they get to the Z's, the discounts will be so heavy, even I will be able to afford an 8x30 Habicht when their prices get slashed to $600, same as the 8x32 SE.

Now, I anticipate that alpha companies will be trying to tempt you with perks such as free cameras and upgraded accessories, but don't you lose your discipline, especially those with last names toward the end of the alphabet like Yippeekiay, they will still be there when your name comes up in 2016.

So let's get on with the revolt, shall we? Birders and Hunters of the World Unite! Use your collective purchasing power to lower prices for yourself and others by buying alphas in the staggered manner suggested above, and then wait six months or more until your name comes up to buy an alpha, and we will Take Back the Day!

A Cornish Hen in every pot and an alpha in every birder's/hunter's hand.

Brock, Citizens Against High Alpha Prices, PA Chapter

 

[ceasar]

By the time they get to the Z's there will be new coatings on them and the ones that were previously bought by the A's will be outdated! And some will even have been discontinued!:smoke:

Bob

 

[james holdsworth]

Last year, shortly before the 8x32 SV EL came out, Swaro announced a price hike of $80 on the SV EL full sized models. Some people speculated this was to give them so room to price the 8x and 10x32 models above $2K but still below the full sized model. That first hike would have been reflected last year, not sure what this one's about, but $30-$80 more is not going to stop someone who is already prepared to pay over $2K for an alpha.

As long as customers are willing to pay more, the alpha makers can keep raising their prices. But what if there were a mass revolt in 2013 and buyers worldwide refused to pay more than $1800 for alphas? I've seen every alpha discounted to $1800 at one time or another. So they can obviously sell them at this price and still turn a profit.

Collectively, birders and hunters have the power to stand up to the alphas by doing what our dearly departed Nancy recommended, "Just, Say NO!" If NObody's buying, demand decreases, and prices lower. Of course, as soon as people start buying again, demand increases and prices go up. So we need to come up with a way to avoid that from happening. We need to use the law of supply and demand against them, instead of then using it against us.

I suggest that birders and hunters worldwide unite against high alpha prices and boycott alphas for the next six months, then after that, from July to December 2013, only birders whose last names begin with A-G buy ONE alpha. Let another six months pass w/out purchases, and then in July 2014, birders with names beginning with H-N buy ONE alpha, then let another six months pass, and birders whose names begin with the letters O-T buy ONE alpha starting in July 2015, then let six months pass, and the last group with names U-Z buy ONE alpha. Then we start all over again, and we keep at it until the alphas enact permanent price cuts across the board.

By the time they get to the Z's, the discounts will be so heavy, even I will be able to afford an 8x30 Habicht when their prices get slashed to $600, same as the 8x32 SE.

Now, I anticipate that alpha companies will be trying to tempt you with perks such as free cameras and upgraded accessories, but don't you lose your discipline, especially those with last names toward the end of the alphabet like Yippeekiay, they will still be there when your name comes up in 2016.

So let's get on with the revolt, shall we? Birders and Hunters of the World Unite! Use your collective purchasing power to lower prices for yourself and others by buying alphas in the staggered manner suggested above, and then wait six months or more until your name comes up to buy an alpha, and we will Take Back the Day!

A Cornish Hen in every pot and an alpha in every birder's/hunter's hand.

Brock, Citizens Against High Alpha Prices, PA Chapter

I think Zeiss have been pretty good in this regard. The new Conquest appears to be optically excellent and cheaper than the sub-alpha alternatives.

Same with the HT, sounds fabulous but hundreds less than most of it's direct competition.

 

[edwincjones]

or maybe
sales have been down the past few years due to the economy,
so they need to make more per unit sold to break even with profit

or maybe not,
but more likely than BirdForum members boycotting the latest marketed improvements

edj

 

[joe101]

I would rather pay extra then boycott, think about it sport optics for most of these manufacturers are a very small portion of their business, if there was one prolong period of time they were making a loss/or even breaking even, the guys up in management thinking only of maximizing profit they might just shut that whole dept down since it is a high cost not exactly a great profit generator. Then what will we have left ; the cheap and definitely not cheerful chin bins and the weird off brand poor QC crap that has already flooded the market. And also the sport optic brands that only know how to rebrand and not design and research or manufacture. That will be the day I weep for humanity.

 

[brocknroller]

I think Zeiss have been pretty good in this regard. The new Conquest appears to be optically excellent and cheaper than the sub-alpha alternatives.

Same with the HT, sounds fabulous but hundreds less than most of it's direct competition.

True enough, although at the same time it makes me wonder if they are able to offer this level of quality at a more affordable price without "offshoring," what kind of mark-up are we talking about at the HT level?

I think we've been through this discussion recently, but I'm not sure I bought whoever was selling that the mark-up was justified somehow.

If they just put the HT open hinge body on the HD and offered a 7x42 model, I think I might bite.

<B>

 

[brocknroller]

I would rather pay extra then boycott, think about it sport optics for most of these manufacturers are a very small portion of their business, if there was one prolong period of time they were making a loss/or even breaking even, the guys up in management thinking only of maximizing profit they might just shut that whole dept down since it is a high cost not exactly a great profit generator. Then what will we have left ; the cheap and definitely not cheerful chin bins and the weird off brand poor QC crap that has already flooded the market. And also the sport optic brands that only know how to rebrand and not design and research or manufacture. That will be the day I weep for humanity.

I think that would be a definite sign of the Apocalypse. :eek!:

After the dust had settled, we'd all be back birding with old technology premium porros and driving Ford Falcon GTs like Mad Max.

Hey, wait a minute, that's not that the Apocalypse, that's the Promised Land.

http://www.1001moteurs.com/wp-content/uploads/MadMax-car.jpg

<B>

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

I would rather pay extra then boycott, think about it sport optics for most of these manufacturers are a very small portion of their business, if there was one prolong period of time they were making a loss/or even breaking even, the guys up in management thinking only of maximizing profit they might just shut that whole dept down since it is a high cost not exactly a great profit generator. Then what will we have left ; the cheap and definitely not cheerful chin bins and the weird off brand poor QC crap that has already flooded the market. And also the sport optic brands that only know how to rebrand and not design and research or manufacture. That will be the day I weep for humanity.

I agree with your statement. I think those big companies that has different division like Nikon, Kowa etc will likely survive because if their sport optics department is not making profit, other divisions will support them

 

[brocknroller]

I agree with your statement. I think those big companies that has different division like Nikon, Kowa etc will likely survive because if their sport optics department is not making profit, other divisions will support them

Ah, now you got my drift! In a post-Great Recession Era, which we are still in and will continue to be for quite a while (it took the US 11 years to dig out of the Great Depression, but that's when we had a "closed loop" rather than global economy), there will develop a greater and greater divide between the alpha-haves and the alpha-have nots. As my binocular consumer price index survey showed, as prices climb higher and higher, more birders will drop out of the alpha market, and alpha bin purchases, like Leica camera purchases, will become limited to deep pocketed connoisseurs, professionals, and workers in the oil & gas industry.

Optics companies that offer "something for everybody," from chin bins to alpha quality bins made in Japan and in the US, will do well due to their broad appeal, and perhaps even garner business from the Tuetonic dropouts. Some birders will downgrade to the alpha's second tier offerings when the alphas hit the $3K "glass ceiling," while others will find better alternatives at the second tier in Japanese, East European, and even high quality Chinese bins.

But wait! Perhaps there's another way to do this that will make alpha sports optics less expensive to the US market by locating the manufacturing of alpha sports optics here! Carl Zeiss Sports Optics already has its U.S. sales headquarters in North Chesterfield, Va.

We have already seen this occur in the auto industry. Today, German, Japanese, and Korean vehicles are just as likely to be imported from the assembly line in Tennessee, Kentucky or Georgia as they are from Stuttgart, Tokyo or Seoul.

I also think Joe may be underestimating the Chinese. Something the US did with Japan, and it cost the US auto, optics, and electronics industries dearly.

I have seen the future, and its names are Diversity and Insourcing.

<B>

 

[joe101]

Ah, now you got my drift! In a post-Great Recession Era, which we are still in and will continue to be for quite a while (it took the US 11 years to dig out of the Great Depression, but that's when we had a "closed loop" rather than global economy), there will develop a greater and greater divide between the alpha-haves and the alpha-have nots. As my binocular consumer price index survey showed, as prices climb higher and higher, more birders will drop out of the alpha market, and alpha bin purchases, like Leica camera purchases, will become limited to deep pocketed connoisseurs, professionals, and workers in the oil & gas industry.

Optics companies that offer "something for everybody," from chin bins to alpha quality bins made in Japan and in the US, will do well due to their broad appeal, and perhaps even garner business from the Tuetonic dropouts. Some birders will downgrade to the alpha's second tier offerings when the alphas hit the $3K "glass ceiling," while others will find better alternatives at the second tier in Japanese, East European, and even high quality Chinese bins.

But wait! Perhaps there's another way to do this that will make alpha sports optics less expensive to the US market by locating the manufacturing of alpha sports optics here! Carl Zeiss Sports Optics already has its U.S. sales headquarters in North Chesterfield, Va.

We have already seen this occur in the auto industry. Today, German, Japanese, and Korean vehicles are just as likely to be imported from the assembly line in Tennessee, Kentucky or Georgia as they are from Stuttgart, Tokyo or Seoul.

I also think Joe may be underestimating the Chinese. Something the US did with Japan, and it cost the US auto, optics, and electronics industries dearly.

I have seen the future, and its names are Diversity and Insourcing.

<B>

I am not underestimating the Chinese , I am Chinese but not a Chinese national .I know the chinese mentality , it is a very different one from the Japanese.the Japanese have this seeking of perfection you see this in their watches like grand seikos , knifes/sword and architecture. The majority of chinese style of doing things if I can cut a corner without people know its great and if people get hurt it is no longer my issue . In singapore we deal alot with the chinese nationals, we always have to be very careful around them . In chinese we have a phrase roughly tranlated " in a blink of a eye its all over" they are very shrewd people. I am not saying that they are all bad people.

 

[pompadour]

This thread might spin out too far! Before that I'd say here: with regard to recently emigrated "mainland Chinese" [pl. see correction in post below] in matters of conservation and ornith. the individuals I know of (though they are not many) are very conscientous in their work and very kind in their dealings with people.

 

[joe101]

This thread might spin out too far! Before that I'd say here: with regard to recently emigrated "mainland Chinese" in matters of conservation and ornith. the individuals I know of (though they are not many) are very conscientous in their work and very kind in their dealings with people.

we do not only deal with emigrated "mainland Chinese" but we also go over there to deal with them for business.

 

[pompadour]

Joe, your response came quickly and while I was away from the computer, before I could make a factual correction! Thus: recently emig. "mainl. Chinese" should have been: "mainland Chinese", including some who have emigrated recently. My idea was, in effect, to stress and give an example of what you say in the last sentc. of your previous post.

 

[joe101]

Joe, your response came quickly and while I was away from the computer, before I could make a factual correction! Thus: recently emig. "mainl. Chinese" should have been: "mainland Chinese", including some who have emigrated recently. My idea was, in effect, to stress and give an example of what you say in the last sentc. of your previous post.

To me it does not matter if they emigrated yesterday or 2 decades ago they tend to be similar but not the same but people that emigrated before the cultural revolution or running away from it is different . But just to clear before people accuse me of anything , I am not hating on anyone here , I am just saying that there are difference in culture and mentality between Japanese and Chinese and for me as a Singaporean Chinese we tend to be more careful when dealing with the Chinese in business matters. Singapore as a nation has being burned many times and personally we have encounted some less then tasteful experience.

 

[jan van daalen]

Joe,

I understand fully and agree with you based on experience.

Jan

 

[Troubador]

or maybe
sales have been down the past few years due to the economy,
so they need to make more per unit sold to break even with profit

or maybe not,
but more likely than BirdForum members boycotting the latest marketed improvements

edj

Hi Edj

Not sure that increasing your prices is going to get you out of trouble when sales are down! Although at alpha price levels demand tends to be more 'price elastic' ie less prone to dip when prices rise.

The demand from China has been sucking in all sorts of raw materials and increasing world-wide prices as a result. Anyone have any idea whether this has lead to an increase in the price of optical glass??

Lee

 

[NDhunter]

Last year, shortly before the 8x32 SV EL came out, Swaro announced a price hike of $80 on the SV EL full sized models. Some people speculated this was to give them so room to price the 8x and 10x32 models above $2K but still below the full sized model. That first hike would have been reflected last year, not sure what this one's about, but $30-$80 more is not going to stop someone who is already prepared to pay over $2K for an alpha.

As long as customers are willing to pay more, the alpha makers can keep raising their prices. But what if there were a mass revolt in 2013 and buyers worldwide refused to pay more than $1800 for alphas? I've seen every alpha discounted to $1800 at one time or another. So they can obviously sell them at this price and still turn a profit.

Collectively, birders and hunters have the power to stand up to the alphas by doing what our dearly departed Nancy recommended, "Just, Say NO!" If NObody's buying, demand decreases, and prices lower. Of course, as soon as people start buying again, demand increases and prices go up. So we need to come up with a way to avoid that from happening. We need to use the law of supply and demand against them, instead of then using it against us.

I suggest that birders and hunters worldwide unite against high alpha prices and boycott alphas for the next six months, then after that, from July to December 2013, only birders whose last names begin with A-G buy ONE alpha. Let another six months pass w/out purchases, and then in July 2014, birders with names beginning with H-N buy ONE alpha, then let another six months pass, and birders whose names begin with the letters O-T buy ONE alpha starting in July 2015, then let six months pass, and the last group with names U-Z buy ONE alpha. Then we start all over again, and we keep at it until the alphas enact permanent price cuts across the board.

By the time they get to the Z's, the discounts will be so heavy, even I will be able to afford an 8x30 Habicht when their prices get slashed to $600, same as the 8x32 SE.

Now, I anticipate that alpha companies will be trying to tempt you with perks such as free cameras and upgraded accessories, but don't you lose your discipline, especially those with last names toward the end of the alphabet like Yippeekiay, they will still be there when your name comes up in 2016.

So let's get on with the revolt, shall we? Birders and Hunters of the World Unite! Use your collective purchasing power to lower prices for yourself and others by buying alphas in the staggered manner suggested above, and then wait six months or more until your name comes up to buy an alpha, and we will Take Back the Day!

A Cornish Hen in every pot and an alpha in every birder's/hunter's hand.

Brock, Citizens Against High Alpha Prices, PA Chapter

Brock:

I decided not to skip this one, but to offer some insight on how product
pricing changes. The exchange rate is a very large part in pricing, along with
the competitive marketplace.
For instance in the past year the Euro, has dropped compared to the US
dollar, a big reason the large economic problems in Europe, and the mighty
printing press, injecting large amounts of dollars into the US economy from
the Federal Reserve Bank.
The Japanese Yen has on the other hand increased around 5% compared to
the dollar in 2012, and if you look at a longer chart has increased 20-45%
over the past 12 years over the dollar. There are recent news stories about
Japan complaining about the US keeping the value of the dollar low.
Just look at how the prices of how some of the Nikon optics have increased,
while they have kept some models competitive, all in the sales plan.

And China is another case of a country, that manipulates its currency to
keep it low, to better enable it to sell goods, at a lower price compared to
others, another source of complaints from other nations.

Swarovski, can increase pricing occasionally, and like many higher end
goods, sales may not change much if at all.
On the other hand, Zeiss, and is going after business, with an agressive pricing plan, on its new binocular lines.

I am a self employed business man, and make purchasing and selling
decisions, all throughout the year, and I have a degree in economics.

Jerry

 

[Chosun Juan]

Brock:

I decided not to skip this one, but to offer some insight on how product
pricing changes. The exchange rate is a very large part in pricing, along with
the competitive marketplace.
For instance in the past year the Euro, has dropped compared to the US
dollar, a big reason the large economic problems in Europe, and the mighty
printing press, injecting large amounts of dollars into the US economy from
the Federal Reserve Bank.
The Japanese Yen has on the other hand increased around 5% compared to
the dollar in 2012, and if you look at a longer chart has increased 20-45%
over the past 12 years over the dollar. There are recent news stories about
Japan complaining about the US keeping the value of the dollar low.
Just look at how the prices of how some of the Nikon optics have increased,
while they have kept some models competitive, all in the sales plan.

And China is another case of a country, that manipulates its currency to
keep it low, to better enable it to sell goods, at a lower price compared to
others, another source of complaints from other nations.

Swarovski, can increase pricing occasionally, and like many higher end
goods, sales may not change much if at all.
On the other hand, Zeiss, and is going after business, with an agressive pricing plan, on its new binocular lines.

I am a self employed business man, and make purchasing and selling
decisions, all throughout the year, and I have a degree in economics.

Jerry

Jerry,

Sensible points that give a better picture than reams of other bunkum that gets trotted out around here!
(although everything has it's purpose - whether unusual perspective, insightful snippet, amusement of the greater good, or downright mania -word y'all)

A good "mate" of mine is a Dr. Bus. Admin. and she reckons that the stuff about certain alphas being luxury goods, or buddha forbid veblen or giffen goods, is by and large banannas (although even royalty must scan for distant corgi's with some form of optical piffery - do they not?).
She says, it has more to do with competitive game theory, barriers to entry, substitute goods, R & D, fixed and variable costs, a whole host of strategic market stuff, brand /quality reputation, and business models etc.

If Swarovski charge more it's because they can. Certain brands seem to exhibit more price inelasicity of demand, (ie. demand varies little with increasing price) than others (Lee it's a subject fraught with confusing definitions and mathematics!). Although by no means do the characteristics of these curves (shapes, slopes, positions, etc), remain constant over time, pretty much in the shakeout, they remain in reasonably defined and positioned ballparks (Swaro's just happen to be more sheltered padded stadium seating, with a plethora of corporate box ammenities and dancing girls, than some others struggling with grassy knolls and dilapidated hard wooden bench seating!)

This business of 'binocularing' seems wide open, however while the world is intent on digging great holes in the ground, pouring concrete in the sky, wrapping up all manner of digitial jiggerypoo subscriber revenue streams (you didn't think you'd just be able to walk in sometime after 2020 and just 'buy' those eyeball frying devices outright did you pomp? I'm guessing it'll take longer - after all I'm still waiting for my SHADO UFO, and SPACE 1999 moonbases !! ), and just plain 'being pretty', the fat controllers of the global ponzi scheme purse strings, seem to have no penchant to invest in such a marginal, triffling pursuit and radically change the status quo.

btw, Jerry, I think I've found your "mighty printing press" !! Just for the sake of global equity, it seems there's one in every country !!!
How wonderful ......... :cat:


Chosun :gh:

 

[joe101]

I forgot to mention in Singapore we also had a price hike for Swaro the 8.5 Sv was 3.1 k SGD in April but in Nov it was 3.9kSGD . So 30-80 increase is nothing.