Here's another theory... it's quite incomplete but you can figure out the rest yourself and balance out my lack of skills (and time) for writing something more intelligent.

To pre order a camera, someone has to be some kind of enthusiast who probably knows enough about this kind of product to read rumors and be excited to upgrade... (in general)

In other words, I believe among those more people were waiting for the D7000, most of them wanted to upgrade their body and probably use their lenses (because buying the kit lens is not really a lens upgrade and pretty much everyone who owns a lens at least have something as good or better than the kit lens (since its among the worse lenses)

I know my logic is flawed there, but still...

Considering that I strongly believe that kit buyers are probably those who don't have much equipment... Imagine yourself as a neophyte visiting the store to choose his new camera... I bet the salesman will suggest some models that are already in stock in the store rather than offered a pre order on a new product.

So the demand for body only is probably higher when the product just got announced than, let's say, 2 months later.

Once again, I know this explanation is based on generalizations and it's not very valid, but I believe it has its role in whats going on with the D7000.

Also, big stores such as best buy and futureshop tend to have the kits in stock because their customers are mostly the neophytes. Making those kits even more accessible.

I don't think that the fact that stores are selling kits instead of bodies is really Nikon's fault. The stores sell what the stores order ... they must assume that the kits would sell better than bodies. I suspect that they are right. Don't make the mistake of assuming that bodies sell better if you and five other people you know, prefer to purchase only the body ... there are plenty of other people who are happy to buy the kit.

Nikon is making lots of D7000's in kits & in bodies. Since they've decided to sell through the big box chains (which I consider to be a mistake), their is probably more initial demand for kits than bodies. So, it seems that the first wave of deliveries was kits. Most local specialty stores now have bodies & kits available - at least they did, if you were on their initial wait list.
Serious photographers know that it is not best to purchase newly delivered models via the web, or big boxes. The best way to get a new camera model is through a strong specialty Nikon USA dealer. And, their price is the same - with plenty of instruction & customer service included. If you want to get what you truly need, when you want it, a strong relationship with a good Nikon dealer is essential. Everyone else is just selling boxes.

Nikon doesn't have a problem with manufacturing at all. They are still cranking out D7000s, but they are adding kit lenses to it.

As much as the typical buyer may not be a first time owner, the D7000 is not aimed at those people. It's still a consumer camera no matter how many high-end features it has.

And really if I were in Nikon's shoes I'd rather have a shortage of body-onlys for the people upgrading than a shortage of kits for those who are considering picking up a Nikon.

I was able to get one before it was official released because I bucked down and got the kit from BB. Selling off the lens was easy as pie because I sold it with my D90. I know not everyone could afford to go that route but still, just wait it out.

Or read all the people whining about a couple of hot/dead pixels.

Seems some people are rethinking purchasing a D7000 because of all the complaints.

The body only is available. I got mine from a local shop. I was put on a waiting list in october and picked it up a few days ago. (I was not first on the list)
That said, I agree with you about the kit but look how many people are buying it even if they don't want the lens. That's more profit for Nikon. If nobody bought the kit, they would put more effort into selling the body-only.

monty11 said:
What is there to be puzzled about? It is better for a company to underestimate a market than overestimate it.

As to why doesn't Nikon cast aside all other models ... did you actually mean what you wrote?

Well, I meant what I said, but I sure didn't say it well. I meant that since Nikon has stopped manufacturing several other models (e.g. D90), they should have the capacity to manufacture enough D7000s to keep up with demand.

What is there to be puzzled about? It is better for a company to underestimate a market than overestimate it.

As to why doesn't Nikon cast aside all other models ... did you actually mean what you wrote?

I am puzzled by Nikon's marketing strategy with the D7000. The last time I checked, which was Friday, no suppliers either online or local stores had the D7000 body only available. However, at least one local store did have a D7000 kit available. From what I gather from some other threads, there are some online vendors offering the D7000 kits as well.

So why hasn't Nikon made more body only D7000s available? Did they just underestimate how popular the D7000 would be? It seems like more would be available if they have stopped manufacturing the D3000, D5000, D90, D300, and perhaps the D300S. Are they maxing out their production lines on some other model that they haven't announced yet?

Also, why are they making so many kits available, when the typical buyer will be someone who is NOT a first-time DSLR owner, and would like to have some lenses already? That just doesn't make much sense to me.