Nikon Australia – Sends Dealer’s Prices to Customers!
Nikon Australia Dealer Price List
I’ve run businesses (small ones) so I do understand the costs associated with providing things for the public to buy, especially when your business is located in Manhattan, and I’m ok with paying reasonable markups. But I think it’s also reasonable to know how much I’m being taken for.
That’s why my little heart filled with a small amount of joy when Tim forwarded me a spreadsheet that he got from Nikon Australia with both the manufacturer’s recommended price and the wholesale dealer prices!
Here’s the full price list (xls) with markup added.
What’s the upshot?
* Coolpixs: You’re paying 19% margin
* Bodies: D3, D3x kits ~14%, consumer-grade bodies like D60 kit ~18%
* Still like film? That’ll cost you. That F6 you were looking at? 16%. FM10 26%!
* Lenses: almost uniformly 22% markup. Some are 18%, exotic pro stuff is 14% except the 300mm f/2.8 which is 22%.
* Flashes are basically 25%. If you lose any of those flash accesories and you’ll pay anywhere from 30 to 100+%!
* Binoculars are ~30%
* Chargers are roughly 50% in most cases
* Batteries range from 30-82% for an en-el8!
* Eyepieces (diopter adjustment, etc) at nearly uniformly 100%
* Filters- 30-60%
* Lens hoods- almost all 100%
Thanks Tim!
January 4th, 2009 at 14:49
I enjoy knowing this info, but I think it’s off base to think of a profit margin as “being taken.” It’s the cost of providing a service.
For example, a 100% profit margin on diopter eyepieces sounds stiff. But even at that margin, it’s hard to find local dealers who stock them. Considering the different diopter values and eyepiece shapes Nikon uses, and how infrequently the average dealer probably sells a diopter eyepiece, it’s no wonder few dealers want to maintain an inventory.
But if you need a diopter eyepiece, you really do need to find someone who stocks them — since everybody’s eyes are different, and different camera models have different built-in diopter values, the only way to be sure you’re getting the right one is to look through them. Maybe 100% isn’t a high enough margin on this type of item…
January 4th, 2009 at 15:42
[...] wondered what dealer margin on Nikon is? whoops – Nikon Australia dealer price listed sent to customers by accident What?s the upshot? * Coolpixs: You?re paying 19% margin * Bodies: D3, D3x kits ~14%, [...]
January 4th, 2009 at 21:25
I don’t mean ‘taken’ in all that bad a way, small items like eyepieces normally have ridiculous markups and I’m reasonably comfortable with that.
I think it’s harder to justify the markups on lens hoods though.
January 5th, 2009 at 12:21
Does your “source” Tim work for NikonRumors?
January 25th, 2009 at 13:49
[...] we’re seeing a lot of chatter about price increases in February. Specific countries like Australia apparently are getting 15-20% increases soon, the UK has also been mentioned. I haven’t seen anything solid on the US [...]