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Archive 2017 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights

  
 
Littleguy
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


I was going to post something the Profoto A1 due to an e-mail I just got in my inbox from them but saw this over the weekend about Godox.

From watching this video it looks like Cheetahstand has stopped carrying Godox lights - at least for now?

https://www.facebook.com/edward.tang.1610/videos/1836778236336509/?hc_ref=ARQPpEfpKUcQZybv0VmXfavmdCyVbs375mK_A-Sy2d-hYyCQ5u_VmqArsN_II6CeQxA



Oct 16, 2017 at 08:21 AM
LeeSimms
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


"Lord I was born a ramblin' man" — The Allman Brothers


Oct 16, 2017 at 09:05 AM
FrancisK7
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


I watched the whole thing.

Here is the summary (I didn't catch everything because he does ramble a bit and his accent is thick):

1. He stopped carrying Godox lights and at the same time Adorama slashed prices on the AD600 down to $399. This made people panic and wonder what was going on. He says it's possible Adorama has a huge inventory and he expects price slashing again at Black Friday. He goes on to explain why he isn't carrying it anymore.

2. He goes on against the Flashpoint 7" reflector design saying his own design provides 3/4 stop more light (with an AD600 and HSS I find this irrelevant because it's more power than you would ever need even in broad daylight. I only use softboxes with this light anyway).

3. He points to the circuit boards being cheaply made and needing replacement often.

4. He rants on the longevity of Godox products and appears irritated Godox keep coming up with a new model every year instead of making one that will last long. He makes a direct comparison to Paul C Buff products like the Einstein or White Lighting line. I do love my Einsteins. I had five. I sold four.

5. He says Godox will come out with a new AD360 soon even if Godox says no

6. He does not expect a new AD200 model before at least 6 months. He says its his favorite Godox light. Wait until Black Friday for awesome deals when major retails will want to bring down inventory. (Now that they make dual adapters where you can pair two AD200 together on the same softbox ring, it makes them very versatile and even more useful than the AD600. I'll probably get two)

7. He wants to focus on making the best light modifiers and the best grids. They like the Godox lights but they're "sick and tired" of people dropping them constantly and needing repairs (AD200 bottom screen especially) and people "not reading instructions". If you respect the product its a great one and will last a long time.

8. Something about not relying on TTL, not using AWB because using Kelvins is superior and light meters are for suckers.

9. Something in Espagnol

10. Accessories sale coming

11. Disclaimer about personal opinions



Oct 16, 2017 at 10:39 AM
level1photog
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


I own CheetahStand products but I think he got out because it's too competitive for him. Adorama got exclusivity with the TTL AD600B. They probably able to get much better pricing and there are already so many other people selling Godox products at more affordable price than Cheetahstand that it's hard to compete.

I wouldn't be surprised for them to redesign the AD360 to AD360/400 to be All in one design similiar to AD600/200. It's going to be bigger than AD200 but smaller and more compact than AD600.



Oct 16, 2017 at 11:43 AM
Littleguy
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


Well he did remake another video where it was shorter - 7:38 mins vs 40+ mins.

https://www.facebook.com/edward.tang.1610/videos/1836946796319653/

But I feel the interesting stuff was in the longer video.

Where I live - there is now 2 large retailers carrying Godox and offering local support. There are no Canadian distributors of Godox - its is everyone importing products for themselves.

There were many local guys selling out of their cars / houses - they were cheaper but don't expect any support from them if anything goes wrong but they seem to have disappeared now.

I didn't realize that Adorama got exclusivity on the TTL version of the AD600 - makes sense now that they want to wipe out all the other large US importers of Godox offering support.



Oct 16, 2017 at 01:03 PM
bipock
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


I cannot and will not speak for Edward, but I think the thing that really got him, was the price slash. He indicates that it is well below MAP and they started the sale on the 600 when they closed for holidays, meaning even if Godox wanted to enforce their MAP pricing, there wasn't anyone there to fix it since they were closed. In my opinion, much like his, that touches on unethical and shady, but it's how they do business.

Edward's a nice guy and really goes out of his way to help and stand up for his clients. He has some of the best and most affordable modifiers out there, but it's pretty tough for these small guys when the BB stores get ahold of the product.

Sorry to hear he's not going to carry the lights anymore, but can't fault him. He's better off focusing his efforts elsewhere.



Oct 16, 2017 at 01:20 PM
sungphoto
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


Don't have much to say re Cheetahstand getting out of distributing godox, but I do agree they are kind of throwaway strobes.

I've had a couple failures on my ad200 and ad600 strobes, both fixed under warranty as I had my butt covered buying via amazon. They're now all out of warranty now though, and it makes more sense to just throw them out then fix them once they bite the dust for real.



Oct 17, 2017 at 12:02 AM
Jason Ferber
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


Hey Littleguy,

I'm in Canada too (North of Toronto) and Henry's carries the full line of Godox products. I know in the past it's always been guys selling out their trunks (the main reason I don't have any!) but I plan on scooping some up from Henry's now!

Here's the link to the product search: https://www.henrys.com/Search/GODOX.aspx?offset=48



Oct 17, 2017 at 08:24 AM
Littleguy
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


Jason Ferber wrote:
Hey Littleguy,

I'm in Canada too (North of Toronto) and Henry's carries the full line of Godox products. I know in the past it's always been guys selling out their trunks (the main reason I don't have any!) but I plan on scooping some up from Henry's now!

Here's the link to the product search: https://www.henrys.com/Search/GODOX.aspx?offset=48


Yeah - I see them on my banner ads all the time now - but Vistek has had them for years. My first Godox product was from Vistek but its quite bit more for the insurance of having a local retailer for support.

Amazon.ca has some now too but you have to be careful that its fulfilled by Amazon and not some 3rd party reseller.




Oct 17, 2017 at 11:44 AM
Jason Ferber
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


Haha yes, I had looked at Vistek but thought they were out of their mind with the prices! Henrys was on par with what I was seeing on Amazon for the same generation products though, I didn't think they were too bad at all.


Oct 17, 2017 at 12:33 PM
DaveyD
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


Try Strobepro in Canada. The have re branded godox flashes and modifiers.



Oct 17, 2017 at 04:29 PM
BigIronCruiser
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


Edward also implied that he would be testing a non-Godox light before the end of the year. Don't remember if that was stated in the video or one of his comments.


Oct 17, 2017 at 07:24 PM
Helen Oster
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


bipock wrote:
I cannot and will not speak for Edward, but I think the thing that really got him, was the price slash. He indicates that it is well below MAP and they started the sale on the 600 when they closed for holidays, meaning even if Godox wanted to enforce their MAP pricing, there wasn't anyone there to fix it since they were closed. In my opinion, much like his, that touches on unethical and shady, but it's how they do business.



"He 'indicates'..........".

1. He does not know the detail about Adorama's business relationship with this (or any other) supplier

2. Nothing would be charged or shipped during the Holiday closure period, giving any supplier ample time to step in, if they chose so to do.............


Fairly dodgy innuendo, no?



Oct 19, 2017 at 03:25 AM
bipock
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


Helen Oster wrote:
"He 'indicates'..........".

1. He does not know the detail about Adorama's business relationship with this (or any other) supplier

2. Nothing would be charged or shipped during the Holiday closure period, giving any supplier ample time to step in, if they chose so to do.............

Fairly dodgy innuendo, no?


Helen, I'm on several boards with Edward. Whether he said it on the video posted, I don't know. I do know that was a big deal for him. I agree that he knows nothing about the business dealings between Godox and Adorama - no one other than those 2 parties do. However, pertaining to the second one, do you really believe that Godox would step in and have Adorama cancel the orders from those that were placed during the sale, especially given the potential quantity of units sold? I highly doubt it as that would be a pretty funny conversation to drop in on. And "ample time" would be the morning of the day you reopen, which would also be day you started shipping and charging?

I'm not pro-Cheetah and anti-Adorama (or vice versa), but I am about fair business practice. When you have other vendors complaining about Adorama selling units below MAP at a point and time when there's no one working, then that triggers something in me that makes me question. Adorama's intent was to sell units and I hope you guys were successful. Was it done in an ethical manner? That may or may not be up for debate, depending on you ask or who you believe.

IMO, there's a touch of shady there.



Oct 19, 2017 at 07:28 AM
Helen Oster
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


bipock wrote:
Helen, I'm on several boards with Edward. Whether he said it on the video posted, I don't know. I do know that was a big deal for him. I agree that he knows nothing about the business dealings between Godox and Adorama - no one other than those 2 parties do. However, pertaining to the second one, do you really believe that Godox would step in and have Adorama cancel the orders from those that were placed during the sale, especially given the potential quantity of units sold? I highly doubt it as that would be a pretty funny conversation
...Show more

Again, if retailers and suppliers choose to develop certain relationships, that is surely between them......


Adorama does not sell, has not sold and will not sell - units at a price point which violates any of our retailer / supplier relationships.




Oct 19, 2017 at 08:22 AM
Littleguy
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Words from a (former?) US retailer of Godox lights


bipock wrote:
Helen, I'm on several boards with Edward. Whether he said it on the video posted, I don't know. I do know that was a big deal for him. I agree that he knows nothing about the business dealings between Godox and Adorama - no one other than those 2 parties do. However, pertaining to the second one, do you really believe that Godox would step in and have Adorama cancel the orders from those that were placed during the sale, especially given the potential quantity of units sold? I highly doubt it as that would be a pretty funny conversation
...Show more

There probably is a MAP on Godox products - but probably no MAP on Flashpoint products. I see this for big box stores all the time - they have the manufacturer change the model number or name of the product to be an exclusive for them - this way no one can do price matching or enforce MAP on them as they have a "different" SKU number than the regular products.

Different model numbers but practically, the products are the same as ones found at all other retailers.




Oct 19, 2017 at 10:50 AM





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