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Bargains Are Near; Just Keep Waiting



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 26th 06, 04:14 PM posted to rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
jeremy
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Posts: 984
Default Bargains Are Near; Just Keep Waiting

Published in the New York Times on August 26, 2006

As the economy slows, manufacturers and consumer electronics retailers are
growing more anxious - and pushy.

Continue your buying binge, they tell consumers. Now is the best time to buy
digital cameras, notebook computers and big-screen televisions, they say.

Annoy them. Wait even longer to buy any electronics. The cardinal rule of
the industry is that prices always go down. There is no reason, despite
increasing inflation pressures elsewhere in the economy, for that to change
this year. Remember that you rarely need new electronic devices.

When you do - or you think you've waited long enough - you can turn the
makers' and merchants' competitive natures to your advantage. The market for
digital cameras, flat-panel TV's and external hard drives for backing up
data, an emerging category, are especially tumultuous right now.

Manufacturers are adding myriad features and making pricing more opaque, but
there is a method to cut through the confusion to spot the bargains.

If you were shopping at the grocery store and wanted to figure out what the
better deal was, the 2-liter bottle of Coke for $1.39 or the six-pack of
Pepsi for $3.89, it is a fairly simple equation. For one thing, the unit
price is often right there on the store shelf. But even when it is not, you
just take the price and divide it by the number of liters or, for the
traditionalists, ounces. (The liter bottle is the better deal at 2 cents an
ounce.)

What you are really looking for, though, is the deal. You want to find the
two-liter bottle of Coke selling for less, per milliliter or ounce, than the
one-liter bottle.

Could you do the same thing with consumer electronics to find the sweet spot
before you buy? You could if the devices had essentially the same features;
in other words, if they were a commodity product, like a DVD player or a
wireless router. Many, though, are not.

But if you can strip a product down to its essence, to that one thing that
is most important, you might be able to find the bigger or newer product
selling for less than the smaller or older. Here are ways to look for the
better deal in the competitive markets for cameras, televisions and hard
drives:

CAMERAS The shift from film to digital is almost complete. Because of that,
demand for digital cameras is expected to slow. Prices have fallen about 9
percent this year, but in certain categories where competition is intense,
like the slim cameras, the price decline has been greater. Sales of cameras
that are less than an inch thick have increased 131 percent over the last
year, according to a survey of retailers by NPD, a consumer products
consulting service. The average price for those cameras has fallen 14.7
percent, to $290 from $340.

The prices of digital single-lens-reflex cameras, preferred by professionals
and experienced hobbyists, have dropped significantly. About 22 percent of
sales in this category were for cameras that cost less than $700. That is
remarkable because a year ago, there was not a single camera selling for
less than $700.

In the main market of compact cameras, manufacturers were saying last year
that consumers were no longer making their purchases based on the picture
resolution, measured in megapixels. They were said to be looking at other
features like styling, image stabilization or the various automated shooting
modes.

It turns out, megapixels still matter. "I don't think the resolution war is
finished yet," said Liz Cutting, an imaging analyst with NPD. The average
price for a 5-megapixel compact camera, which about a third of consumers are
buying, has fallen 34.4 percent, to $212 this year. That comes to about $42
a megapixel.

The average price of an 8-megapixel compact camera has fallen even more,
about 47 percent, to $394. That's about $49 a megapixel. With only a 17
percent increase in price for a camera with 60 percent more pixels,
manufacturers are encouraging consumers to trade up.

So watch for the anomalies when the 8-megapixel cameras drop below $336, or
$42 a megapixel. CompUSA, for instance, was recently offering the
10-megapixel Exilim Z1000 for $400, or $40 a megapixel.


  #2  
Old August 26th 06, 04:30 PM posted to rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Daniel Silevitch
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Posts: 380
Default Bargains Are Near; Just Keep Waiting

On Sat, 26 Aug 2006 15:14:59 GMT, jeremy wrote:
It turns out, megapixels still matter. "I don't think the resolution war is
finished yet," said Liz Cutting, an imaging analyst with NPD. The average
price for a 5-megapixel compact camera, which about a third of consumers are
buying, has fallen 34.4 percent, to $212 this year. That comes to about $42
a megapixel.

The average price of an 8-megapixel compact camera has fallen even more,
about 47 percent, to $394. That's about $49 a megapixel. With only a 17
percent increase in price for a camera with 60 percent more pixels,
manufacturers are encouraging consumers to trade up.

So watch for the anomalies when the 8-megapixel cameras drop below $336, or
$42 a megapixel. CompUSA, for instance, was recently offering the
10-megapixel Exilim Z1000 for $400, or $40 a megapixel.


That's got to be one of the most inane ways possilble of measuring value
for cameras.

Is a ten megapixel camera, all other things being equal, twice as "good"
as a five megapixel model? For most poeple, probably not.

-dms
  #3  
Old August 26th 06, 05:41 PM posted to rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Alan Browne
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Posts: 12,640
Default Bargains Are Near; Just Keep Waiting

jeremy wrote:
Published in the New York Times on August 26, 2006

As the economy slows, manufacturers and consumer electronics retailers are
growing more anxious - and pushy.


I agree totally. The signs are very strong:

My SO, who is an avid watcher of retaillers (as she sells to them), has
noticed store inventories are tightening. IOW retaillers are putting
less capital on the shelf in anticipation of tightening disposable
income. This also, of course, reduces "discount" risk on remaining
inventory.

In light of record and growing consumer and government debt in the US;
falling car sales, falling house prices, rising house inventory in most
of the US and rising energy prices, it is clear that a new recession has
started, if not "officially" yet. (The embattled Republicans are in for
more bad news as several economics reports will be published late next
week, a few months before the mid term elections...)

So, if you're debt free and perhaps you have a little put away, you'll
do well over the next few years and be well placed to snap up some
bargains as they appear. Land, houses, cars (esp. SUV's and RV's),
motorcycles, camera gear, etc. will all soon be on the market at
steal-it prices.

We currently wait about 6 months for new DSLR prices to "settle"; but in
the next year it will likely take only a couple/three months

Cheers,
Alan

--
-- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
-- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm
-- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin
-- e-meil: Remove FreeLunch.
  #4  
Old August 26th 06, 06:12 PM posted to rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
AAvK
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Posts: 243
Default Bargains Are Near; Just Keep Waiting


That's what I say Jeremy, never 'feed the giants' simply for their hype to the
consumer merely based upon their massive "lust for money"...find a cheaper
way. HOLD ON to your M42 system as long as 35mm film exists!!! I know
I would.

--
})))* Giant_Alex
cravdraa_at-yahoo_dot-com
not my site: http://www.e-sword.net/
  #5  
Old August 26th 06, 06:14 PM posted to rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
ASAAR
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Posts: 6,057
Default Bargains Are Near; Just Keep Waiting

On Sat, 26 Aug 2006 12:51:24 -0400, Michael wrote:

That's got to be one of the most inane ways possilble of measuring value
for cameras.


Sort of like -

"In conclusion, the Toyota's the more comfortable car, with good
handling and an excellent reputation for reliability. But the Mazda runs
$81 per horsepower, while the Toyota is more than $86 per horsepower.
So, obviously, the Mazda is the better value in a mid-size sedan for the
typical new car buyer."


Nah. More like the bad old days when ads pushed "muscle" cars
with their 7 liter engines, huge carb's with air scoops in the hood,
and they got you from point to point in, oh, about the same amount
of time. And they produced more noise, pollution and (naturally)
cost more. But it's not really an inane way of measuring value for
cameras. Why, you may ask? Because it's not really measuring the
camera's value for consumers. It's measuring the value of the
cameras for the manufacturers. The manufacturing cost of 8 and 10mp
cameras isn't much higher than that of 5mp cameras, but they can
sell for much higher prices. If the sale of 8 and 10mp cameras
results in large profit increases, it makes those cameras much more
valuable to the manufacturers than the 5mp cameras. Whoever wrote
that article for the NY Times wrote it more as a business analyst
than as a technology analyst. I wonder which section of the paper
the article appeared in.

  #6  
Old August 26th 06, 07:38 PM posted to rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Daniel Silevitch
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Posts: 380
Default Bargains Are Near; Just Keep Waiting

On Sat, 26 Aug 2006 13:14:13 -0400, ASAAR wrote:
On Sat, 26 Aug 2006 12:51:24 -0400, Michael wrote:

That's got to be one of the most inane ways possilble of measuring value
for cameras.


Sort of like -

"In conclusion, the Toyota's the more comfortable car, with good
handling and an excellent reputation for reliability. But the Mazda runs
$81 per horsepower, while the Toyota is more than $86 per horsepower.
So, obviously, the Mazda is the better value in a mid-size sedan for the
typical new car buyer."


Nah. More like the bad old days when ads pushed "muscle" cars
with their 7 liter engines, huge carb's with air scoops in the hood,
and they got you from point to point in, oh, about the same amount
of time. And they produced more noise, pollution and (naturally)
cost more. But it's not really an inane way of measuring value for
cameras. Why, you may ask? Because it's not really measuring the
camera's value for consumers. It's measuring the value of the
cameras for the manufacturers. The manufacturing cost of 8 and 10mp
cameras isn't much higher than that of 5mp cameras, but they can
sell for much higher prices. If the sale of 8 and 10mp cameras
results in large profit increases, it makes those cameras much more
valuable to the manufacturers than the 5mp cameras. Whoever wrote
that article for the NY Times wrote it more as a business analyst
than as a technology analyst. I wonder which section of the paper
the article appeared in.


It was in the business section. Besides cameras, the article looked at
price trends on flat-screen TVs and external hard drives.

-dms
  #7  
Old August 26th 06, 08:02 PM posted to rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Mark²
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,185
Default Bargains Are Near; Just Keep Waiting

jeremy wrote:
Published in the New York Times on August 26, 2006


It turns out, megapixels still matter. "I don't think the resolution
war is finished yet," said Liz Cutting, an imaging analyst with NPD.
The average price for a 5-megapixel compact camera, which about a
third of consumers are buying, has fallen 34.4 percent, to $212 this
year. That comes to about $42 a megapixel.

The average price of an 8-megapixel compact camera has fallen even
more, about 47 percent, to $394. That's about $49 a megapixel. With
only a 17 percent increase in price for a camera with 60 percent more
pixels, manufacturers are encouraging consumers to trade up.

So watch for the anomalies when the 8-megapixel cameras drop below
$336, or $42 a megapixel. CompUSA, for instance, was recently
offering the 10-megapixel Exilim Z1000 for $400, or $40 a megapixel.


Assessing the value of a camera in terms of dollars per megapixel has got to
be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson


  #8  
Old August 26th 06, 08:13 PM posted to rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
ASAAR
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,057
Default Bargains Are Near; Just Keep Waiting

On Sat, 26 Aug 2006 12:02:14 -0700, "Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even
number wrote:

So watch for the anomalies when the 8-megapixel cameras drop below
$336, or $42 a megapixel. CompUSA, for instance, was recently
offering the 10-megapixel Exilim Z1000 for $400, or $40 a megapixel.


Assessing the value of a camera in terms of dollars per megapixel has got to
be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.


From your perspective that's certainly true. But the article
wasn't written for you. For its intended audience it wasn't dumb at
all, although it was far from an example of brilliant analysis. And
where would you advise investors to plunk down their easily earned
cash? If it's a company other than Canon they'll need a large
shipment of lithium batteries down in Hades.

  #9  
Old August 28th 06, 01:31 AM posted to rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Bob Hickey
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Posts: 197
Default Bargains Are Near; Just Keep Waiting


"jeremy" wrote in message
news:TzZHg.1462$nR2.117@trnddc03...
Published in the New York Times on August 26, 2006

CAMERAS The shift from film to digital is almost complete. Because of

that,
demand for digital cameras is expected to slow. Prices have fallen about 9
percent this year, but in certain categories where competition is intense,
like the slim cameras, the price decline has been greater. Sales of

cameras
that are less than an inch thick have increased 131 percent over the last
year, according to a survey of retailers by NPD, a consumer products
consulting service. The average price for those cameras has fallen 14.7
percent, to $290 from $340.

The prices of digital single-lens-reflex cameras, preferred by

professionals
and experienced hobbyists, have dropped significantly. About 22 percent of
sales in this category were for cameras that cost less than $700. That is
remarkable because a year ago, there was not a single camera selling for
less than $700.

In the main market of compact cameras, manufacturers were saying last year
that consumers were no longer making their purchases based on the picture
resolution, measured in megapixels. They were said to be looking at other
features like styling, image stabilization or the various automated

shooting
modes.

It turns out, megapixels still matter. "I don't think the resolution war

is
finished yet," said Liz Cutting, an imaging analyst with NPD. The average
price for a 5-megapixel compact camera, which about a third of consumers

are
buying, has fallen 34.4 percent, to $212 this year. That comes to about

$42
a megapixel.

The average price of an 8-megapixel compact camera has fallen even more,
about 47 percent, to $394. That's about $49 a megapixel. With only a 17
percent increase in price for a camera with 60 percent more pixels,
manufacturers are encouraging consumers to trade up.

So watch for the anomalies when the 8-megapixel cameras drop below $336,

or
$42 a megapixel. CompUSA, for instance, was recently offering the
10-megapixel Exilim Z1000 for $400, or $40 a megapixel.

After doing my research; I was disappointed to find all the

shops fresh out of Exilims. Z1000s were out of the question.
Bob Hickey


  #10  
Old August 29th 06, 01:41 PM posted to rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Jon
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Posts: 4
Default Bargains Are Near; Just Keep Waiting

Bob Hickey wrote:


After doing my research; I was disappointed to find all the

shops fresh out of Exilims. Z1000s were out of the question.
Bob Hickey



$255.
http://www.thedigitalexpo.com/produc...aexz1000&tab=1

 




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