So thank you, London Drugs……

Canon is shrugging responsbility:
http://stoppriceincrease.blogspot.com/

Leaving the resellers holding the bag,

who are talking of and honouring the pre-ordered price…

the resellers are not allowed to rock the boat with Canon? at least at the salesmanager level, it appears as though a gag order was implemented?

My suggestions – demand the pre-order price, with compassion for your reseller who is footing the difference – and if they do not honour the agreement, pay the imposed illlegal levied price increase and then you will have an infraction against you, name the reseller and canon in a small claims suit. You will win. and maybe if they force enough to pay the new price, a class action will ensue (and the only part I am not 100% sure on – damages and opportunity lost can be sought).

More than illegal – new evidence and common sense – points to the strong possibility that Canon Canada is getting 5D’s at the old prices and breaking contract law, stealing an extra $300 because it is convenient….

BBB – I agree it is what I have been saying right from the start…Oh an by the way – Canon does utilize currency hedge practices here in Canada, just before the price increase (literally the day before, I was speaking with Ian McFarlane (That night i received the Email at midnight from my reseller while I was working) I called Ian back the next day and have not been able to reach him since. Another gentlemen from Canon equal in position to Ian, but in charge of the corporate side of sales was surprised to learn that on my invoices there was no disclaimer regarding delivery prices may fluctuate and insisted that in his department they always ensured one or the other – that they deal in future contracts or they have a disclaimer in the agreement…

So it leaves me to wonder if Consumer end of Canon Canada does have a futres agreement for the old prices and is quietly stealing money from everyone – or at least intending to ( I believe Tommorrow is the delivery date). Canon is not dumb enough to not know what is going on with it’s own organization in different departments – the same lawyers and ceo’s run the business plans for both sides at the top of their food chains.

, remember I had to point out that they had to know how many pre-orders were being made by authorized reseller’s who were taking hefty deposites and ordering their stock from canon – that seeing the wildly popular success of their sub $3000 Full frame camera, they thought they would take advantage of the market and use any lame excuse and just not answer the phones after the prices increase…figuring we cannot live without having the camera due to the hype.

Imagine:
“If everyone will pay $3649 for a camera and lens, why not charge them $3949 – they will probably still pay it, and about those pesky pre-orders, well lets get rid of them so that the price was always $3949 and we don’t have the complexity of two prices, we can cover our tracks and make a little extra profit ($150000) while we are it”

I’m afraid I don’t have insight into how Canon sets MSRP, and what we should expect from them down the road. My goal in pulling this table together was just to get a sense of how much this camera really costs in each country, to put some perspective on how screwed Canadians might be relative to the rest of the world. Canon is certainly setting the MSRP in order to achieve some kind of profitability target, but they’re victims of fluctuations in the currency markets like everyone else. Ultimately, all they should truly care about is how many Yen they’re getting per unit sold, and so I imagine they’re making tables much more advanced than mine, with the goal of setting an MSRP in each country that generates as much profit as they feel they need, making their best guesses about how much padding they need to add to hedge against currency market fluctuations.

My personal interpretation of their handling of the Canadian price is that they’ve been surprisingly moderate in the price increase, considering how wildly our dollar has been falling and (less often) rising. Even after the increase, the MSRP in Canada is still the lowest among the countries I’ve checked, when converted back to Yen. I’m not sure why.

The CAD just took another hit this week, I’m sad to say, and so I’ve updated my numbers based on the latest exchange rates:

USD: 3499.95 95%
CAD: 3949.00 87%
GBP: 3049.99 122%
EUR: 3999.99 136%
AUD: 5799.00 102%
JPY: 358200.00 100%

The deal in Canada is still looking good by world standards, although the MSRP has dropped again into the 80s range, which makes me wonder if Canon might have another price increase in store. To change the price two weeks (or maybe even less) before general availability would be pretty poor form, though. Let’s hope that they fear the backlash too much.

In spite of the Australian MSRP of $5799.00 that I’ve listed, what I’ve read suggests that the street price might be as low as $5200, which would bring the percentage down to 91%. That would be a pretty good deal for anyone who can get it.

I hope you all are not taken for your hard earned money -

It is of note and interest the worldwide price comparisons, for those who can glean info from them…just to be clear, youare speaking of the kit price?

I cannot pretend to know all the intricacies of everything that effects the MSRP, I am sure there are a lot of variables that are logical / legal / ethical…and I am not forgetting that Canon is a business, and it would be irresponsible to even us for them to not to try to turn a profit.

So, sorry I missed your point…I do want to be clear so that everyone gets a clear message, undiluted, forgive me for being on a mission – I hope you all are taken for your hard earned money.

With respect (sincerely) to the numbers you found David, could you highlight some conclusions that they might point to for those of us unable to do so? What does this mean for Canadians from a world wide perspective, and how much credit for precision can we attribute to Canon’s MSRP’s at any given time, (do you know or can you suppose what might sway them, are the MSRP’s you are using all recently effected by the increase or are some still to be effected or not at all).

Understand that Ian McFarlane doesn’t seem to be answering his phone and for good reason,….
they would rather you just pay the “preferred Customer” tariff (that’s right, the reward for being a loyal customer and buying product even before it is delivered) and not have to talk about it, let it slide…

Suppose many people are upset, and suppose they maintain there right to a camera at the price they had contracted for. Suppose Canon and the resellers refuse to honour their agreement. Suppose everyone takes action with a small claims court case, (you have to go into the store and complete the purchase for the original price and if they do not honour it then, you have a court case). Suppose this plan for profiteering on loyal customers has a reverse effect, and professionals and prosumers alike hold off two months …I mean i know we are just Canada, but hey sometimes it takes a small country to make a big difference by starting something and sticking with it…Anyone remember world war 2? Watching History this remeberance Day reminded me that you don’t have to be a main influence throughout the entire situation to make a difference, you have to help as much as you can at the right time in key battles.

Even though we are small I am sure Ian McFarlane wants to continue to turn a profit in the Canadian Camera division. What do they do if the next quarter shows a big decrease in sales. It seems to be the only thing they listen too – that is why they go crazy with the rebates to rid stock on shelves.

I know I had a budget for Canon this year, I have reduced it 75% and I may get my feet wet with 1 camera and not 2 and all the lenses and accessories that would have went with it.

$300 ??? I do not think it is the resellers fault or responsibility to make it up too those of us who already bought the camera and are waiting for it to be delivered. Besides the wholesale on a Cheap CF card or a Canon battery is only about $60-80, and while it is a gesture, it is not $300.

if the price was tied to the exchange rate that closely, then the price of the camera should fluctuate daily

Again, everyone who uses the market as an excuse forgets the fact that these cameras were already sold at an agreed upon price, with a promise to deliver. Money has exchanged hands, the reseller has had my deposit in their hand for a few months + now.

They have broken laws, consider bait and switch, profiteering, false advertising, breaking an agreement without both parties involved in the decision and contract law. When you actaully look at it, the market scenario flies out the window, and I have yet to have anyone tell me why the arbitrary increase of $300 to boththe camera alone and the camera with the 24-105 lens kit – why isn’t the kit even more of an increase? Because the priceincrease is not tied to exchange and market, Again it is an arbitrary number based on cameras already paid for, they expected to just cash in.

Anyone who has deposited has completed a sale, on the books stores consider the rest of the paymoent on a sales order as income, myself as a business, it is a debt or liability.

USD: 3499.95 96%
CAD: 3949.00 90%
GBP: 3049.99 130%
EUR: 3999.99 140%
AUD: 5799.00 106%
JPY: 358200.00 100%

If I got any of those numbers significantly wrong, please correct me, preferably with a link. :)

Interestingly, with the exchange rates back in Sep, the USD price was more like 104% and the CAD more like 105%, which leaves me to speculate that Canon normally aims for a 5%+ buffer on the Japanese price as a hedge against currency fluctuation. However, if they had stuck to the original Canadian price when the CAD fell to its current level, it would have come down to 84% of Japan’s, and that’s when they took action, but only to bring it back up to around 90% again. I presume there’s a magic profitability number somewhere between 84% and 90%.