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Nikon Product Shortages

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NikoDoby

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Instead of having several "why can't I find the Nikon ... in stock" I'm starting this thread to discuss the topic. Seems as though Nikon products are going to be very hard to find in the next several months. This is a direct result of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck very near Nikon's main Sendai factory.

All of Nikon's pro cameras (D700, D3S, D3X) are built there as well as many high-end lenses (70-200mm f2.8, 200mm f2, etc). The plant was shut down for several weeks but has reopened. However, due to power outages and product shortages from other manufacturers, it is not up to full production.

Nikon also has factories in Thailand and China that produce models and lenses such as the D3100, D5100, 18-55mm lens, etc. Those factories have not been shut down but shortages of key parts from Japan MAY also lead to shortages at those factories. These factories can not take over production of Nikon's pro equipment from Sendai.

Posted 2 years ago #
TaoTeJared

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Good thread! Can we close the rest of shortages threads and re-direct them here? ;)

Posted 2 years ago #
JJump

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What gets me angry is when they raise the prices of in stock, already paid for lenses. If Company X paid $400 for Lens Z and was selling Lens Z at $900 for a $500 profit per lens, there is no reason to suddenly mark it up to $1000 to make an extra $100 on account of anticipating paying a higher wholesale cost, or having to wait longer to get new stock. If they have to replenish stock at a higher price from Nikon, that is one thing, and by all means, raise your prices once you run out of the old ones you paid at the old rate, and are about to sell the new ones you had to pay more to get. But to simply raise prices on stock they've already paid xxx amount of dollars for, is very greedy, IMO.

Posted 2 years ago #
Rx4Photo

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Good thread NikoDoby because I was just waiting for someone to say "where have you been hiding, under a rock?" at the next poster who asked "why is it so hard to find xxx camera or xxx lens?" That said, I think this lens shortage could work to the benefit and detriment of many parties involved. I, for one, think it helped the on-line sale of my Nikkor 16-85mm lens because I didn't raise the asking price of it when the lens shortage issues began. On the other hand, I think higher prices could slow the sale of those lenses and actually reduce the profits of companies trying to sell them at higher prices. Yeah, there will be many who have the money and/or need the lenses and click "buy." But I think many others will find a way to make do with what they have and not buy.

Another issue, at least for me and many others, is the fact that gasoline prices among other things are going up in price. I will always chose driving to work and feeding my family over buying another lens. That scenario could also hurt the bottom line of the lens sellers who are raising those prices. So what will the end result be...I don't know. I just hope that once production normalizes and we get a break from natural disasters for a while (God bless those in Japan, Haiti, Thailand, etc.) that prices go down a bit by next year.

Posted 2 years ago #
kanuck

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JJump thats standard with any business as profits can be made when supply is short and public demand remains high. I remember before purchasing my Leica M9 last September being worried that I had finally saved up enough money to purchase one, but how was I actually going to be able to find one? Ebay didn't help me feel any better as all sorts of idiots were charging upwards of 9-11 thousand dollars initially! People were paying this too! It was crazy. Luckily I tracked one down where I live. My point is people never miss an opportunity to make a profit and the Nikon shortages, which will be felt the rest of the year at least will be another example of this.

Posted 2 years ago #
SkintBrit

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JJump said:
What gets me angry is when they raise the prices of in stock, already paid for lenses. If Company X paid $400 for Lens Z and was selling Lens Z at $900 for a $500 profit per lens, there is no reason to suddenly mark it up to $1000 to make an extra $100 on account of anticipating paying a higher wholesale cost, or having to wait longer to get new stock. If they have to replenish stock at a higher price from Nikon, that is one thing, and by all means, raise your prices once you run out of the old ones you paid at the old rate, and are about to sell the new ones you had to pay more to get. But to simply raise prices on stock they've already paid xxx amount of dollars for, is very greedy, IMO.

Whilst I completely understand the point you raise JJump, I have to agree with Kanuck. The purchase price of a product (any product) has nothing to do with it's sale price. If you had bought stocks and shares, Gold or Oil etc, at the bottom of the market, would you sell them for anything less than the market rate when their price increased, just because you'd bought them cheaply? Profit isn't a dirty word, it's our job (and in these days of the interweb it's easier) to shop around and buy from the person who's prepared to sell at the least margin. Having said that, I'd be interested to hear from anyone with insider information, whether it ever goes the other way (a shop buys a shed load of D90's just before the D7000/5100 is released, and end up doing their money on them).?

Posted 2 years ago #
Wanderer69

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Before I start let me first state that I am aware of the earthquake and the effects on all things Japan. Just like all the other natural disasters that happen everyday all over the world.

I can understand the price hikes, thats just business. What I still don't understand is this earthquake happened on 11 Mar. I ordered a D3s and 70-200 on 20 Mar thru the military exchange, which has those items shipped directly from NikonUSA. I was informed it was in stock when I ordered (I specifically asked that) and was scheduled to ship on 2 Apr then later I was informed it was resechuled to ship on 6 Apr. On 11 Apr I received the email posted at the end of this post.

Question, does Nikon keep their warehouse inventory that low that they would run out in just "9" days or was it a case of some retailers hurriedly ordering a massive number of Pro level products that Nikon USA stupidly filled without stopping to realize what was happening. I have direct personal knowledge that this happened with Lexus parts but Toyota put a stop to it the second day. Nikon USA has not put out any kind of meaningful information, only a few generic press releases. There are people like myself that have paid for Nikon products (which I was told was in inventory) that they have not received. Does Nikon not ship sold orders before stock orders? Nikon has not had the courtesy to inform people like myself of any specifics. The earthquake happened in Japan not in New York or where ever Nikon USA is located. They know what there inventory status is, for instance was there any in transit when this earthquake took place. Please don't tell me they don't have a clue where an item is in transit. Nikon should know where any products in transit are and when it will arrive at the warehouse. If there were none, just say so. I have been a Nikon user for 40 years and believe their products are second to none, but their customer service is lacking

This email is in regards to items A611K - D3S FX D-SLR CAMERA BODY & B763R - NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 70-200MM.

Unfortunately, due to the current situation in Japan, there has been a delay in this merchandise shipping. At this time we don’t have an ETA of when it will ship but the vendor is working on getting it shipped as soon as possible. We sincerely apologize about any inconveniences this may cause you.

Posted 2 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Nikon is a relatively small company. Even before the diaster in Japan they had a hard time meeting the demand of some items. The items you are after have always been big sellers and have always sold out quickly. I don't understand how Nikon's customer service is failing you. They have given you an explanation of the delay.

Posted 2 years ago #
Wanderer69

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Like I said I am aware of the situation in Japan. Why tell a customer you have the item in stock for order and give them a ship date if the product is not available? How do you schedule a ship date for something that is not in inventory? If they didn't have it at the time they shouldn't have said they did. I paid for it and believe I am owed a better response than what I got. 9 days and the warehouse was cleared out? Anything is possible I guess?

Posted 2 years ago #
casperwb

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Wanderer69 said:
Like I said I am aware of the situation in Japan. Why tell a customer you have the item in stock for order and give them a ship date if the product is not available? How do you schedule a ship date for something that is not in inventory? If they didn't have it at the time they shouldn't have said they did. I paid for it and believe I am owed a better response than what I got. 9 days and the warehouse was cleared out? Anything is possible I guess?

seems your issue is with your supplier, not Nikon.

Posted 2 years ago #
SkintBrit

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casperwb said:
seems your issue is with your supplier, not Nikon.

Your issue is with whoever told you the items were physically in stock in a US warehouse. Did you get the name of the person you originally spoke to? If so what have they said about your problem? I agree, I can not see why the situation in Japan has anything to do with you being shipped a camera and lens that is (supposeably) already in the US. Someone in the chain has slipped up, you just need to find who. Can you get your money back and buy elsewhere? Does anyone else have any stock? There is of course the possibility that you were not misinformed, and that enough people (not retailers) ordered their items as you did, to wipe out the stock that was being held. My only gripe then would be that I would have hoped in this day and age that stock levels would be live, and that when an order goes in, the stock is instantly reserved for that customer and the computer updated. It don't know if this facility exists with Nikon, it does in others. I hope you get your equipment soon.

Posted 2 years ago #
TaoTeJared

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NikoDoby said:
Nikon is a relatively small company. Even before the diaster in Japan they had a hard time meeting the demand of some items.

+1 I think of it this way - a stock level of 1,000 70-200 VR II is over $2mil of inventory. Take that across all the products and all over the world and you quickly get to $100 million+ of stuff sitting in a warehouses. There is almost no company out there that can handle that much stock or can get enough money to carry that kind of stock levels. Small disasters, sure, but no one plans on a maga quake and tsunami that happens once in a lifetime.

Gripes aside, smaller photo shops, at least near me, do have most of "normally" stocked glass - albeit 1 to 10 of each and they are not price gouging anyone.

Posted 2 years ago #
shivaswrath

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so I guess this was a bad time to sell my D3 and upgrade to a D3s. . .SOB!!!

Looks like I'll be renting or shutting down the biz for the next few months. . .

Posted 2 years ago #
buds

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JJump said:
What gets me angry is when they raise the prices of in stock, already paid for lenses. If Company X paid $400 for Lens Z and was selling Lens Z at $900 for a $500 profit per lens, there is no reason to suddenly mark it up to $1000 to make an extra $100 on account of anticipating paying a higher wholesale cost, or having to wait longer to get new stock. If they have to replenish stock at a higher price from Nikon, that is one thing, and by all means, raise your prices once you run out of the old ones you paid at the old rate, and are about to sell the new ones you had to pay more to get. But to simply raise prices on stock they've already paid xxx amount of dollars for, is very greedy, IMO.

$500 profit on a $900 lens?!?!?! I can tell your not in retail... a lens that sells for $900 MAP will usually cost about $800 NET. There is very little profit in cameras and lenses, only in accessories.

Posted 2 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Wanderer69 said:
Why tell a customer you have the item in stock for order and give them a ship date if the product is not available?

As far as I know most supply inventory isn't in real time. There might have been 9 cameras sitting in the warehouse but by the time the computer updated inventory, you were actually the 10th person in line.

shivaswrath said:
so I guess this was a bad time to sell my D3 and upgrade to a D3s. . .SOB!!!

Looks like I'll be renting or shutting down the biz for the next few months. . .

You're shutting down your business because you can't get an "S" upgrade to your D3?!?!

Posted 2 years ago #
SkintBrit

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NikoDoby said:
As far as I know most supply inventory isn't in real time. There might have been 9 cameras sitting in the warehouse but by the time the computer updated inventory, you were actually the 10th person in line.

Yes, I suspect this is exactly what happened. No ones "fault" just frustrating if you're the 10th person.

NikoDoby said:
You're shutting down your business because you can't get an "S" upgrade to your D3?!?!

I was thinking the same thing!?! Anyway shivaswrath I would think SELLING your D3 now would be an excellent time, you just might have to put the money away for quite a while and buy a D4 :-)

Posted 2 years ago #
smarterchild

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I finally came to terms that the D800 would not be released for quite some time and was searching for a 85 1.4 G and a refurb D700. I went up to Roberts imaging in indianapolis and they had the 35 1.4 in stock but neither the 24 or 85. they first told me they had the 85 (the computer did) but they went to look for it and they didnt :/ The 35 was a stunning lens. Also they were getting 10 or so refurb D700s and i thought the price tag they told me the other day was 2300$ so i was going to buy one but i calledtoday and they said 2700! FOR A REFURB D700! plus id have to pay tax on the camera. I guess just save and save :)

Posted 2 years ago #
shivaswrath

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SkintBrit said:
Yes, I suspect this is exactly what happened. No ones "fault" just frustrating if you're the 10th person.

I was thinking the same thing!?! Anyway shivaswrath I would think SELLING your D3 now would be an excellent time, you just might have to put the money away for quite a while and buy a D4 :-)

Yeah who knows - Niko, I was kidding, I'm still taking in consults with potential clients, but to be honest, I haven't booked for the spring OR summer. . .not sure what happened (maybe I'm doing something wrong?!)

Regardless, I'm going to take the few thousand I got from the sale, invest heavily in the stock market (since S&P was kind enough to destroy our US bond rating yesterday), and hope I'll have enough for a summer announced D4.

And I'm thinking Nikon will proceed with their announcements despite the tragedy. . .they'll leak things earlier, that's all (like the 50 1.8!)

Posted 2 years ago #
SkintBrit

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smarterchild said:
I finally came to terms that the D800 would not be released for quite some time and was searching for a 85 1.4 G and a refurb D700. I went up to Roberts imaging in indianapolis and they had the 35 1.4 in stock but neither the 24 or 85. they first told me they had the 85 (the computer did) but they went to look for it and they didnt :/ The 35 was a stunning lens. Also they were getting 10 or so refurb D700s and i thought the price tag they told me the other day was 2300$ so i was going to buy one but i calledtoday and they said 2700! FOR A REFURB D700! plus id have to pay tax on the camera. I guess just save and save :)

Wow Smarterchild, that sounds incredibly expensive. Even $2300 sounds like full new price? You can pick a new one up in the UK for around £1600 now.

Posted 2 years ago #
smarterchild

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SkintBrit said:
Wow Smarterchild, that sounds incredibly expensive. Even $2300 sounds like full new price? You can pick a new one up in the UK for around £1600 now.

Thatd be nice! I BHphoto has one for 2530 refurb and only 2650 new i believe. Id rather get the complete new one for the extra 130$. Would help the resale value when the D800 would come out.

Good news though the 35 1.4 and 85 1.4 is still at introduction price at Roberts

Posted 2 years ago #
scoobysmak

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Well good thing I got my D700 last year, wow.

I do have to comment on the prices going up for products already in stock though. I see your point but want to show others maybe a business side of this problem. Lets just say I sell one product (not true so putting on flame suite). I have 10 of these in stock and I bought them for 100 each and normally sell them for 120 each. Now my supplier can not get any to me for say ...uh the next 2 months. Yes I can sell the ones I have this month but what about next month to keep my business open, will my supplier give me the money I am not making until the product returns to the shelves or should I increase the price now so I can stay alive.

Just a thought but agree some of the prices are just uh....way off.

And yes I am still waiting on my exotic, maybe by Christmas I might see it.

Posted 2 years ago #
pabnj

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JJump said:
What gets me angry is when they raise the prices of in stock, already paid for lenses. If Company X paid $400 for Lens Z and was selling Lens Z at $900 for a $500 profit per lens, there is no reason to suddenly mark it up to $1000 to make an extra $100 on account of anticipating paying a higher wholesale cost, or having to wait longer to get new stock. If they have to replenish stock at a higher price from Nikon, that is one thing, and by all means, raise your prices once you run out of the old ones you paid at the old rate, and are about to sell the new ones you had to pay more to get. But to simply raise prices on stock they've already paid xxx amount of dollars for, is very greedy, IMO.

The reason retailers are hiking their prices is simple, they know due to inventory constraints, they will be selling a lot less this year. Therefore they need to make more profit on every unit they sell if they are to remain in business. MAP is a thing of the past for now, get used to paying full retail until this disaster works itself out. I can't blame them a bit for raising prices, this will be a very lean year for camera retailers.

Posted 2 years ago #
NikoDoby

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There was a news story about how severely Toyota has had to cut production due to the earthquake. They are limiting their production runs to three times a week. However even on those days production will only be at 50% or less.

They have said that they will cease production in Canada and the US for an entire week in May. One week for each country. Toyota plans to continue this schedule until June when they will reevaluate the situation.

Toyota is a mega company with over 300,000 employees. Nikon has less then 30,000. If Toyota is forecasting major global delays in production, then what does this tell us about Nikon?

Posted 2 years ago #
adamz

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guys, please don't blame companies for making profit. I know how it feels when You finally manage to save enough and the price goes up, but that's life. as for the prices in US, IMHO they became ridiculous high lately. right now, most of the products in US are at almost the same price level as in Poland or lower (usually the price gap between Poland and US is app 20-25% in favor of US), i.e. 35/1.8 polish price is app $250 (vat included), d3s $5900, d700 $2850 (and if You are non EU client You can get back 23% vat).

Posted 2 years ago #
bjrichus

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adamz said:
guys, please don't blame companies for making profit.

My 2c worth...

Photo retailers are *not* philanthropic charities, don't you know?

You may also not know that the retailers will raise the sticker price to the point where customer flow slows down enough (because the price is "too high"), to not make up for the profit lost at the higher price. They'll then have a "Sale" (or other kind of "special event") and the price will go DOWN depending on local/country laws (must have been at the higher price for 'so many days' for it to be a 'sale' or whatever) to a point where increased customer flow due to the lower price raises profit above whatever the appropriate point is.

This all depends on a sustained stock level that is, which is the wild card in all this... No stock? Then they'll simply take orders for a product but not have a delivery date. The idea is to lock you into buying it from THEM when stock does come in. Remember when you left a "deposit" for something, instead of just leaving your card details on file?

I'm not criticizing the retailer channel here, just stating how I see it work, is all.

Remember, there are complex so-called business intelligence computer packages to work out the points above and below whatever the points to raise/lower prices etc are. And you all thought setting prices was all guess work? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....

Oh and by the way, retailers hate all this as much as we (the buyers) do. While they cannot ship a product to a customer, they cannot collect a payment, which means no profit for them.

Posted 2 years ago #