chiron wrote:
Greentoe is actually facilitating a free marketplace in the goods it sells, and I have had nothing but good experiences with them and their dealers. GT has been completely straight-up and responsive every time. I have gotten better responses from them than I have gotten from some dealers from whom I have made multiple purchases in the past. GT has sometimes responded to my emails sent at 1 AM within 30 minutes. There has sometimes been a few days between when an offer is accepted by a dealer and when I get an email from the dealer telling me they are shipping my product. But there has never been a problem with actually getting the item in completely brand-new condition. I am a very satisfied customer.
The MSRP process, on the other hand, is a form of price-fixing. I am not sure why it is legal, but I am not a lawyer. I assume its primary role is to benefit dealers (rather than to directly benefit the manufacturer) because it maintains the dealer's margin (not so much, or at least not directly, the manufacturer's margin). The manufacturer wants to keep its dealers happy.
I have bought thousands of dollars of gear that I would not have otherwise purchased because of the prices I got via Greentoe....Show more →
I am not a lawyer, but I believe price fixing usually refers to SEVERAL manufacturers ganging up together to fix prices. In Sony's case, it's perfectly legit for them to set the price for retailers. I reserve the right to be wrong.
I called my Greentoe vendor about the status of my A7lll order. They took my name and number and said they would call me back. They never did. They are now closed for the day.
Because I received an email from GT saying if I did not want to wait for my A7lll order I may contact them and they would cancel my order and "we will get it refunded immediately". I called GT phone number 1-888-840-0464 . There is a voicemail stating they are only accepting email customer service support.
After placing my order with GT i usually get the "don't say the vendors name in public" email. I received this email today from GT about my order I placed several weeks ago. "DO NOT post price". I don't remember ever seeing this before. And I finally got through to my vendor and was told I "should be" on the next delivery of cameras 'maybe" next week. I canceled my order.
I wouldn't mind name brand vendors but these little shops like ones in Brooklyn and charge your card in early March and keep you waiting. I like the "you'll be charged when it ships". Not worth saving a few bucks to me anymore.
mjm6 wrote:
Not sure exactly when I placed the order, but it was a few days after the orders opened; not on the first or second day for sure. Probably in the first week, though.
My point in commenting is that they don't appear to be giving preferential treatment to anyone not using the GT system, at least in that the orders they took at that time are being fulfilled seemingly as early as any full price order.
Sounds like you're the only one who received a shipping notification from GT so early. April 6th?
kdrk888 wrote:
I am not a lawyer, but I believe price fixing usually refers to SEVERAL manufacturers ganging up together to fix prices. In Sony's case, it's perfectly legit for them to set the price for retailers. I reserve the right to be wrong.
I think it's mostly a form of brand protection to set Minimum Advertised Prices for retailers. If you want to be an "authorized" dealer and have a partnership directly with the brand, you adhere to the price. It's very common where the markup is high - like jewelry. An AD will post the MAP for a watch, for example, and then when you start to show bona fide interest in purchasing, suddenly they'll make a deal for you and the price drops 20%. Oh, you'll pay in cash? Now it's down 30%. But they also typically ask you not to share the details of your deals. There are other reasons, but a big one is because it cheapens the brand if everyone knows that the $10,000 watch is really a $7,000 watch.
This might have something to do with why they don't want you to share the either the price or where you got it from. Because if the retailer is an authorized distributor and selling below MAP, they may have a problem.
I just got my shipping notice (UPS) this afternoon. (the 10th)
It's so fresh the tracking number doesn't show anything yet.
As far as this MAP stuff goes, I have very little knowledge about it.
If a dealer sells to you at a price that is under what's allowed, if you need warranty work done,
and they always ask for a copy of the sales slip, wouldn't this raise a red flag for the manufacturer?
Ostensibly, MAP is established to protect the retailers, not to protect the manufacturer, so I don't think there is any real possibility that the camera would be at risk of warranty if it was sold below MAP. Remember, that is the minimum ADVERTISED price, not the minimum sales price. The manufacturer still makes the same profit on the camera based on their pricing to the retailer.
They certainly provide wholesale pricing advantages to larger retailers that smaller ones can't get, and that is one of the aspects that supports MAP. If you are a small retailer, and you want to buy $50,000 in Sony camera gear a year, you will get a certain price point on things. A retailer like B&H could easily sell $1,000,000 in Sony gear in a year, and they will have a pricing advantage. If Sony didn't have MAP, B&H could sell the gear at a price that a small retailer may not even be able to buy it for and still make money. How long do you think the smaller retailers would last if that were the case? Hence, the reason for MAP.
MAP also makes it easier for Sony to manage the pricing of products through the product lifecycle. The may keep the price the same, but then they offer 'sales' prices near the end that allows them to blow out the gear without it being a complete market dive by the retailers to avoid being stuck with old stock.
A MAP price is a minimum amount that resellers agree not to advertise below. Since GT isn't advertising their discount prices, it's doesn't come into consideration when discussing their name-your-price-model.
My guess is you heard something from the vendor today, that it is back ordered, but your card will not be charged until it shipped. Several vendors were closed last week due to holidays.
I’ve had several updates on my Batis 135 deal from the vendor, I knew when accepting the counter that it was back ordered 2-4 weeks (3 weeks now today.) The vendor must determine when to charge you, I’ve clearly been indicated the vendor will not charge me until my item ships.
Neurad1 wrote:
Well I have a slightly interesting little tale. I offered $1200 for a Batis 135 on 4/6/18. Later that day the offer was accepted (according to Greentoe). They did not name the vendor, and three days later I have had ZERO futher correspondence from Greentoe or from the mystery vendor. My card has not been charged, but I really want to know the ship date as I will be leaving town and don't want to miss the package. I requested an update from Greentoe but have heard nothing but crickets.....Not entirely happy with this, but I'm not panicking yet.
Ordered my A7III within hours of it being available on Greentoe. Paid the $20 extra for 2 day shipping. Since the store was only one state and a few miles away, they shipped it yesterday and it arrived today. At first I wasnt even going to take it out of the box just yet (already have an A7RIII so I just saw this as a "meh" backup camera) but I decided it would be disrespectful to all those waiting for theirs if I didn't take it out and at least get all the settings set up just like my A7RIII
I was a little worried about the viewfinder and monitor resolution difference between the RIII and the A7III, but I'm happy to report that while there IS a slight difference, I really don't notice it much and if I didn't have the RIII to use as a reference I probably wouldn't be able to see the difference in the first place.
Overall, my only regret is not buying a second one while I was at it. I hate switching between photo and video with one camera due to rigging and what not so I really should have just gotten two and sold my RIII.
Anyways, just another successful Greentoe order, just like the A7RII and A7RIII orders before it.
Side note: They shipped it to me in the original Sony factory (Quanity:2) box. Had a good panic moment wondering if they messed up like B&H did with the RIII and sent me two by mistake
Anyone who ordered theirs thru P##cam on GT got any confirmation about their pre-order ? I orderd on 23rd March and nothing so far, although I did get A7iii from my Bestbuy pre-order already.
Yes mjoshi mine is coming today, i bought the kit,I put an offer in before i saw this thread and paid more than others ,but didn't want to back out after my offer was accepted.
IrishDino wrote:
Canadians - has anyone found a retailer willing to go less than MSRP?
The only two I'd even think about asking would be CameraCanada and Aden as they are the most aggressive with pricing. Aden with their MAP (Magnificent Aden Pricing) obtained via email to get around MAP (Minimum Adv price) and CameraCanada who usually have the most stock. Both those store also employ the "damaged" or "open" box strategies which are purely MAP circumvention. But on a brand new product like the A73, I doubt either will do a deal yet.
Neither list it as in stock right now (CameraCanada did have stock yesterday).
