Will Canon Prices Go Down?

[ballwackers]

approx f/x rates ($1 sg buys xx yen)

Sept 1 08 - 77
Nov 1 08 - 66
Jan 1 09 - 62
Feb 1 09 - 59
Mar 1 09 - 63
May 1 09 - 65

This is just Singapore - other currencys were worse (weaker) to the yen. Eg Australia.

So if canon sold the same about of lens in Feb as they did in Sept the revenue drops 24% due to currency. Since the low the currency has increased by 10% but that might not trigger a price change as it is still down 15% since Sept.

 

[Russ]

approx f/x rates ($1 sg buys xx yen)

Sept 1 08 - 77
Nov 1 08 - 66
Jan 1 09 - 62
Feb 1 09 - 59
Mar 1 09 - 63
May 1 09 - 65

This is just Singapore - other currencys were worse (weaker) to the yen. Eg Australia.

More data
2004 average 64.0
2005 average 66.0
2006 average 73.2
2007 average 78.0
2008 Q1 avg 74.8
2008 Q2 avg 76.5
2008 Q3 avg 77.1 July 2008 Canon reduces prices by 25%
2008 Q4 avg 64.6
2009 Q1 avg 61.8 March 09 Canon increases prices by 20%
Now 67.2

So it took canon about 2 years after the Yen weakened in 2006/7 to reduce prices in mid 2008, although prices did soften slightly a bit in 2007 and early 2008. Then the yen strengthened in Oct-Dec 08 and canon took about 6 months to increase prices by about 20%. I reckon there may be a 10% reduction if the Yen goes to 70 or so and sustains that for a few months - so may take a while, maybe next year.

But who knows?

 

[antacid]

ask Chuck Westfall --> www.fakechuckwestfall.com

haha

 

[nottipiglet]

Hi nottipiglet,

How share is it when purchase online from Amazon? I mean the electronics kind of stuff as i only purchased books from them. I am curious about the condition of the goods that suffers during the transition of delivery to owner.

Any warranty that Amazon guarantees?

Thanks a lot.

I ship through Borderlinx: www.borderlinx.com

Borderlinx is run by DHL, so the shipping is usually fast... and so far, no damage from transit. Borderlinx covers damage through transit with an insurance policy with QBE.

Condition of the goods received so far is brand new and perfect. As for the warranty... I think it is US warranty, so it is up to Canon Singapore if they want to honour. Heard that they honour warranty for lenses up to 6 months, but not bodies... but I have not had the need to exercise the warranty, so I cannot tell you if this is the case.

Amazon does not provide the warranty. But Amazon is usually reasonable if the goods get damaged because of their fault (poor packaging, etc).

 

[bugsz]

hi guys may i know if these website are reliable?
saw some of the websites you guys posted here actually the lenses are pretty cheap as compared to the price guide given by other forumers.
i was looking at http://www.adorama.com/CA2470AFU.html
after adding shipping and stuff it adds up to be 1.7k still much cheaper than singapore but anyone has any idea if its a reliable site to buy from?

 

[rendition]

Adorama and B&H are reliable defenitely. These 2 are amongst the most popular online shop for electronics. I have good experience with both.

Yes, some of their stuff are cheaper especially when instant* rebates are available and that the USD vs SGD is good. Both also have the same price and discounts for most of the products they carry. Currently, they're having instant rebates for quite a fair bit of Canon products. BTW, don't forget the total price for shopping online is (Selling Price + Shipping) x Conversion Rate + 7% Import Tax + 1.5% CC Admin Charge.

Good thing is Canon Singapore honours internationally warranty (at least for my 50/1.4 bought from B&H) that comes with lenses and accessories. Bodies are all local warranty and this can be quite lay chay if anything goes wrong with your cam, either you send back for repair or send to Canon Singapore but pay for service - essentially no warranty.

 

[bugsz]

hmm so we have to still pay 7% GST if we were to buy online?
whats the 1.5% charge about, never heard of...

 

[rendition]

Yes, any purchases above SGD400, before the delivery man can pass you the goods, you have to prepare the 7% Import Tax. Receipt will be issued by the shipping company on the spot. Meaning, if purchase is SG$1,700, you'll have to prepare SG$119. This is why sometimes when people purchase goods from places like eBay, buyers request the seller to under declare the price or state it as repaired item etc but some will refuse to as it's a violation of the law.

1.5% is admin charge for the credit card you're using to make the purchase and it's the same for all local credit cards - it's a T&C thing from MAS.

 

[bugsz]

ok lets say if i buy online and ship to my friend who lives in US... then ask her to send it back to me as a gift without receipt then i don't have to pay the additional 100++ dollars?

 

[rendition]

Aha! This I dunno but I believe your pal in US have to declare the price still and under declaring would pretty much means lowering the insurance claim. So if your lens is $1,700... and suay suay they dropped the package and it's decalred as $1.70, you'll get that back lor... one dollar seventy cents... I think that's how it works la.

Nevertheless, whether or not the postal service will still charge import tax on the parcel sent by your friend it's beyond my knowledge already...

Haiyah, you do your math lor, see how much you're saving... sometimes its just not worth it to go through much hassle over a few dollars. When I bought 2 of my lenses, the USD vs SGD was only $1.32 so.. good good.

 

[nottipiglet]

hmm so we have to still pay 7% GST if we were to buy online?
whats the 1.5% charge about, never heard of...

Only if over S$400 in value plus shipping than must pay tax. When I bought my 430EX, it was USD240... so under S$400.

1.5% charge? It's all implicit, so you won't see it. I think he means the credit card FX rate is a bit higher.

 

[bugsz]

Only if over S$400 in value plus shipping than must pay tax. When I bought my 430EX, it was USD240... so under S$400.

1.5% charge? It's all implicit, so you won't see it. I think he means the credit card FX rate is a bit higher.

so afterall it is not such a good idea to buy overseas unless we're there i guess.

 

[nottipiglet]

ok lets say if i buy online and ship to my friend who lives in US... then ask her to send it back to me as a gift without receipt then i don't have to pay the additional 100++ dollars?

If your friend carry in, then it's the best. I made my friend carry in one lens when she went for holiday in US. A lot of savings.

The customs in Singapore is not so bad one... they don't usually check until like that and make you pay tax.

 

[nottipiglet]

so afterall it is not such a good idea to buy overseas unless we're there i guess.

Why you say that? Sometimes it is, and sometimes it's not. Just do your maths.

 

[longkangman]

just saw this http://downloads.canon.com/cpr/software/camera/Lens_rebate_May2009.pdf but not in SG

 

[aikidoka25]

Seems like Canon reduced prices for several items in the US and Canada. They finally realised increasing the price during tough times was a bad idea? Hope they reduce the price here too. :dunno:

http://www.canonrumors.com/2009/04/usa-rebates-may-3-july-11/

in fact the price for 5DMK2 just increased by 200$ in Canada.

 

[2evans]

Someone posted this link in the dpreview forums and provides some additional information on the camera landscape.

http://www.lensrentals.com/news/2009.04.24/state-of-the-slr-industry-2009

 

[frankchn]

Sian... 100-400L in the US only S$2050 from BH - really feel like shipping to my friend in the US and asking him to bring back.

 

[swish]

the 70-200mm f/4 L is approx 1.1k USD with shipping at adorama (~S$1590 if USD 1 = S$1.45). if the USD keeps falling, it will be considerably cheaper to buy online. of course, there is the GST component as well, so this will make sense only if it falls to 1.35 or so.

 

[bugsz]

the 70-200mm f/4 L is approx 1.1k USD with shipping at adorama (~S$1590 if USD 1 = S$1.45). if the USD keeps falling, it will be considerably cheaper to buy online. of course, there is the GST component as well, so this will make sense only if it falls to 1.35 or so.

it still makes sense to buy now because u will save like 300+ for the case of 24-70 2.8L after 7% tax. 400+ before tax.