Messages

1

Pricewatch Deals / Re: Cyber Monday at B&H Photo, Adorama & Amazon

« on: November 26, 2012, 09:33:50 AM »

yawn.....

2

Canon General / Re: Advice for potential rate/releases

« on: November 15, 2012, 11:10:17 AM »

If you have any income (over $600), you will have to pay Income Tax. If you do not, you may be found guilty of income tax evasion and not only have to the tax you should have paid, but penalties and interest which may equal the original tax. The tax codes are way to complicated for someone who is not schooled in them. Get yourself an accountant and let them worry with it. Then you can do what you do best and not have to think about book keeping.

Either it's a business or it's not.
Probably you will be shocked by how much tax you have to pay to be in business that you never even knew existed. Here in WA you have to pay a tax just to be in business. It's called Business and Occupation (B&O) tax. People who do not run a business have no clue as to how many taxes and hidden costs there are in a business. There are also benefits in the form of deductions which an accountant can advise you on (like transportation costs for one) as a deduction.

I ran a machine shop for a few decades and chose to not have to occupy my time and brain power with book keeping. I was only audited once by the state and I simply informed them that I had no clue about book keeping and asked them to contact my accountant which they did. I did not have to deal with any of it.

I find that lack of stress worth the cost of the accountant

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Canon General / Re: Advice for potential rate/releases

« on: November 15, 2012, 10:06:50 AM »

Consult with an accountant to help you with depreciation figures and taxes.
You may want to form an LLC.

4

Canon General / Re: Suggestions for website hosting?

« on: November 11, 2012, 08:22:41 PM »

I have used  Lunarpages for several years with no issues. It seems to just keep getting better.
I have 4 domains with them.

 http://www.lpwebhosting.com/

5

Pricewatch Deals / Re: $749 24-105mm f/4L IS USM on eBay (BigValueInc)

« on: November 08, 2012, 09:27:48 PM »

I also got a fold over sheet that looks like it came from Canon (says Canon on it and has the right colors and logo)  It folds in 1/4s and looks like it is a warranty card but says it's not a warranty card right on it. But it does have the printed lens description and the serial number. It's not like a 3x5 card, more like a pamphlet or something.

I'm pretty happy today.....

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Pricewatch Deals / Re: $749 24-105mm f/4L IS USM on eBay (BigValueInc)

« on: November 08, 2012, 02:32:17 PM »

Received mine today.
Registered on line without problem.
Also received a sales receipt with the serial number of the lens on it and a buy date of 11/01.
All items as promised in white box.

7

Pricewatch Deals / Re: $749 24-105mm f/4L IS USM on eBay (BigValueInc)

« on: November 05, 2012, 09:40:03 PM »

I'm not sure what happened to the post on the $750 24-105mm L IS USM, but I bought one and it shipped immediately showing up at my door 2 days after. The seller was BigValueInc and there was some debate as to whether the lenses were really new, whether they were a Canon retailer and if the lens was under USA warranty. They are not a Canon Authorized retailer (there's a PDF if you google it and they're not on it).

The box came and it was a white box with no warranty card though the lens appeared brand new. It came with the lens pouch, the front/end caps and lens hood as you would expect. I emailed them and asked about the white box and missing warranty card and they sent me the reply below. I also did go to Canon's website and started a warranty claim and they show it as under warranty (I canceled the claim before submitting final).

This is there explanation...

Thank you for your email. I am very sorry for any confusion this may have caused. This item was removed from a kit box that included the body of the camera. To sell this item at the price we do, we put the lens in a separate box and sold the item. It is brand new and never been used. This item is covered under US warranty and you can register the item by the Serial number. If you would like to return the item, I can set that up for you as well.

Thank you

Mari
Support
BigValueInc
800-319-8258

Mine is supposed to be here on Thursday.
How is the quality and your other concerns?

Are you happy with everything other than the warranty card?

8

Lenses / Re: EF 24-70 f/4L IS & EF 35 f/2 IS

« on: November 05, 2012, 09:46:38 AM »

"Pricing will also be higher than the previously unconfirmed suggestions."

Given recent events, I am not surprised.

9

Canon General / Re: Canon's MAP Pricing Goes Into Full Effect Today

« on: November 02, 2012, 06:19:53 PM »

I personally don't have a problem with the manufacturer setting a firm price for their products. In fact, I'd rather not waste my energy timing the market in search of a good deal.

My gripe is when the price is too high, milking the early adopters, taking advantage of the fact that most people won't bother switching systems for a few hundred $, and offering periodic rebates to prop up sales volume. Why not just set a competitive price from the start?

If the price is set and fixed it is not (by definition) competitive.

Q: Why do retailers lower their prices?
A: To be more competitive and sell more product.

Q: If a retailer has a philosophy of increasing sales by lowering prices why would they suddenly raise them?
A: Because they were told to.

Q: What is price fixing?
A: Price fixing is an agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fixed price, or maintain the market conditions such that the price is maintained at a given level by controlling supply and demand.

It's your money, it's up to you. Personally I don't like to be controlled or manipulated.

I LIKE to shop for the best deal 

10

Canon General / Re: Canon's MAP Pricing Goes Into Full Effect Today

« on: November 02, 2012, 03:16:33 PM »

When a price jumps a couple hundred dollars (or more) for no good reason it POs me. I can see charging more for a new product and then adjusting for the market and competition but not just bumping the price from one hour to the next. A person can make up any rational/excuse they want but that's how I feel and I don't think I am alone.

If you don't mind paying whatever the price is today that is your choice. Just like it is my prerogative to not.

This is NOT how a free capitalist economy works. This is price fixing. I have heard "levelling the playing field" used which is BS and at minimum a socialist method. It should be illegal in the US.

Buy it or not, it depends on you.

11

Pricewatch Deals / Re: Deal: Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS $749

« on: November 02, 2012, 09:33:48 AM »

Looks like they sold 200 of them (very quickly) and then ran out.

Thanks to CR for this money saving alert!

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Pricewatch Deals / Re: Deal: Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS $749

« on: November 01, 2012, 07:12:29 PM »

Gee whiz......I already got a FedEx shipping number!

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Pricewatch Deals / Re: Deal: Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS $749

« on: November 01, 2012, 03:33:40 PM »

I bought one too.

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Canon General / Re: Canon's MAP Pricing Goes Into Full Effect Today

« on: November 01, 2012, 12:29:25 PM »

Goodness some of you need to calm down. The world has not ended. Canon has just decided to enforce their policy which simply means authorized retailers cannot advertise (in print, online, etc) a price below their msrp. That just means the price you see in the official canon online store will be the same across the internet.  If they do advertise it lower then they risk losing canon as a supplier. Secondly those of you who think canon makes any more or less money off the msrp are dillusional. They sell it to a retailer who in turns sells it to you for msrp or whatever you agree upon.  That transaction is between you and the retailer not you and canon. If you don't like it please feel free to check out Sony and Nikon who do the exact same thing just have actually been enforcing their policies unlike canon. Sony is notorious for their map pricing requirements across the entire gambit if their electronics empire. this doesn't mean the end of all "deals". The unauthorized sellers don't care about map pricing, and if you don't care about warrantee issues or have done business with that shop (or better its your local camera store) and know they will honor any issue then you are golden. In the end this is much ado about nothing.

Lastly, I know this will drive some of you bonkers, the big stores (BH, adorama, best buy, ET al) love this. It means no one can undercut them on an advertised price if they are an authorized seller.  It means your local shops who doesnt have the buying power to get better deals out of the supplier are squeezed even further likely requiring them to either drop authorized status or raise their in store price which in turn drives more customers to the big stores who are happy making more money off you when you don't bother to negotiate price. You feel good because you saved money over local camera store, but realistically you just made the big box store very happy because their margin on this item is twice what the local stores is and you still think you got a super deal. It's sad, but it's crony capitalism at its finest.

Well if B&H "loves it" then they will really love that I will not be buying the Canon- 24-105mm f/4L IS EF USM AF Lens USA OR the B+W- 77mm UV Haze MRC 010M Filter to go on it OR the B+W- 77mm Kaesemann Circular Polarizer MRC Filter to go on it OR the Bower- CS77 77mm Pro Snap-On Lens Cap to go on it OR the Sensei- 62-77mm Filter Wrench (Set of 2) to undo any stuck filters.

I had planned to buy all the above items next week, but I won't now. They are probably rolling on the floor laughing insanely, right?

 

15

Canon General / Re: Canon's MAP Pricing Goes Into Full Effect Today

« on: November 01, 2012, 11:33:41 AM »

If I get this right, I might delay the replacement of my 5Dm2 and some lenses like the 24-70L.
These were scheduled for this quarter, but perhaps I should "focus" on something else for a while.
The 5Dm2 is certainly good for another year.

That's what I plan to do too.