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I have not yet posted thirty posts so buying off Bird Dog is unfortunately not available to me. So, in looking for alternatives it struck me how many people here and on other forums have been waiting for the D200 to show up.

There are roughly 200 with money ready (assuming the specs meet with their approval) to actually buy. This is very serious money indeed.

Can you imagine what type of discount we would get if we offered a retailer an order for, say, 50 or 100 cameras. Their yearly revenue achieved in one massive order!!

I know the camera does not even officially exist at the moment. But this could mean our timing for organising such a group could be perfect.

If it comes off I'd like to organise a bulk buying group for the famous 17-55 DX lens - bet there's quite a few who dream of this baby. And maybe a bulk buy of the SB800 would bring it down to something reasonable.

Before I get slammed by devout D70 Users, just have a think about what discounts a bulk buying group could actually achieve for all of us in getting the gear we want.

For those of us (including me) who have little chance of affording our dream Nikon items, a bulk buying group could command the right discounts that would make everything possible. We all save heaps!!

Thoughts??

Jumbuck

I'm in a few car forums where we've done this sort of thing quite successfully, but I'm not sure it works with electronics.

Mind you, I'm interested, so put me on the list for a D80 / D90 / D200.

Cheers

Justin

Yes, we're getting responses over at Nikonians too.

This could end up being big.

Jumbuck

I am not suprised that this idea came up in the middle of the night

Who would be game to take such an undertaking on? Can you imagine the logistical problems. Getting the money out of everyone for starters, shipping them all over the place, not to mention what happens if you do not receive the full order Are you putting your hand up Jumbuck?

Methinks that this is Pie in the Sky ( not to be confused with a Bird in the Hand).

This is not going to work! due to few factors:
- when the camera released, the first shipment to Maxwell will be 4 or 5, then the next one will 20 -30, then 50 -100 after 6 months or a year after,
that's forecast, if the D200 is too good to be true with all your expectation then Maxwell won't be able to deliver to you after 12 months it was released.

- How many dealers or shop in Australia order thru Maxwell? and they can only get 1 or 2 or 3 units at one go in the first few months of its life.

- Will people willing to pay the deposit and sits their waiting for their turn to grab the camera, perhaps one month or two or three months after?

- Group buy? how can you handle the logistic? say people around the country? will you or the shop collect the deposit from them? and put them on waiting list without the firmed delivery date?

- Buyer may find another sources, cheaper in O/S market and buy it instead of waiting for their turn same as the premium applied to local stock.
- Buyer may not wait coz their friends all got their toys well before, but he or she does not receive it yet.

Group buy is OK with small items and it's not hot or items was released long while ago.

Look, how many people on this board will upgrade to the D200 while they're having their D70/ D70s/ D2H/ D2Hs and D2x, and the price tag of the D200 is expected to be in between 2k-3k.

I'm telling you this the most number you'll get on this board is 10 or less atm, if this number is true then you won't find any benefits in doing this.

Just wondering, would there be any sort of tax implications on the person who puts the order through? Also juggling that sort of money, it would have to be someone I'd extremely trust.

Sorry but as Birddog mentioned, this would be something better off for smaller objects like the rocket blower and not an entire camera body/kit.

I don't think I'd be interested in a bulk buy of D200s

Seriously though, you would have to think about this very carefully. Birddog has raised a number of very valid points. I can point to the release of the 20D last year by Canon in Aust - it was a similarly anticipated camera. And what a PITA it turned out to be!

Canon would import say 50, then send 1 or 2 to a couple of shops. Then the week after, just a few more. It didn't seem to matter if it was a big shop or a little shop, they all got the same tiny allocation (I got mine from a little shop). I waited quite a long time, and that was some months after the initial release. In the end I even had to buy the kit with the useless 18-55 lens, because body only boxes were so rare (this is another thing - Canon had 3 different kits with the 20D - body only, 18-55, and 17-85 IS kits).

In the end there were people shopping around and finding the shop with the least number of people on their order books, waiting for the 20D, and jumping on that list. There were also many people burning deposits at shops to go buy from other shops because that other shop had stock whilst the one they were waiting with didn't have stock. This could happen with you - the retailer you place an order with still has 150 outstanding orders due to your order of 200, but most other shops have normal stock. Of course people are going to cancel their order and buy elsewhere!

Case in point - I was on a waiting list for 2 months, and my friend decides on a Saturday morning he wants a 20D so buys one that day! He found an obscure camera shop at Redcliffe that had one in stock, so he took it. Couldn't believe it, I had been waiting for months.

Sorry to be a downer, but it could end up a very bad experience.

My 20D story is similar to Dion's. I was on two waiting lists here in Oz for many months, until I finally got fed up and bought one from Adorama in NY. Had to buy the 18-55mm kit as they had it in stock, although I got it and the grip for the same as I would have paid for body-only in Oz. That was OK because I used the 18-55mm to help sell one of my old cameras.

A local group had got together (via dpreview) to do a bulk buy of 20Ds, but I think the list fell apart because most people got impatient.
The bulk buy wasn't going to save any money, as the crowd they'd be bought from had no incentive to sell to the group. They had plenty of customers out there in the market willing to pay full price for the thing, so why not milk them and keep giving business to the retailers they had established dealings with?
Short supply often isn't the best scenario for bulk buying as a new entity.

Gee, we're all very negative this morning, aren't we?

Birddog has raised some very valid points, but has not mentioned a couple of others.

Like, do you think Maxwell's will even deal with you on this? If you think the answer is a "yes", then turn around, with your tail between your legs, and go back to bed. Maxwell require quite a significant background in order to deal with them, and this sort of hare-brained scheme won't even make it to the gate, let alone fly.

Ok, so let's bypass Maxwell's, and get them through a Hong Kong reseller. Do you honestly believe that we're going to get better service, respect, and prices than we already enjoy from Poon?

Think too about the GST side of that particular order: 20 cameras coming in in the one shipment - that is NOT going to be ignored by Customs, who is up for that sort of a bill before the cameras get delivered, bearing in mind that you don't know, until the goods hit our shores, exactly what the bill is going to be.

Deal direct with Nikon? ROTFLMAO!

And I'm ignoring the most important aspect of this whole, stupid discussion: the D200 is not yet released!

What are its specifications?

What's its price?

Why would a person, with a perfectly functional D70 (or whatever) consider an upgrade to this (still) mythical camera.

Forget it!

I'll probably close down this thread later today, maybe with a VI tag.

Jumbuck,

Dont take offense to what people have posted. They are mearly stating the facts.

Start posting and become involved and you will gain access to the restricted sections.

I think you will get access quicker than the d200 being released


You idea is a good one but I think relistically the chances of sucess are slim.

MATT

Jumbuck wrote:Yes, we're getting responses over at Nikonians too.

We have had few bad experiences in direct ordering from Nikonians.org in the past, buy from them again, a BIG NO NO

Anyone who lived through the D2X coming out will tell you there wont be enough stock to go round. A quantity deal is best made for a mature product or a product in the latter half of its life cycle. Ignoring the quite substantial logistics involved, this would probably be possible on the D100 if enough stock was left. Unfortunately that is two generations old. No chance of getting the hottest Nikon product from either Maxwell or HK at a substantial discount.

jumbuck

i wouldn't think it would be hard to make more than 30 post before the appearance of the D200, if it ever appears...

Genji, I think you are right, 30 posts in the next 6 months should be possible

Jumbuk, I'd have to agree that organising a bulk order of D200's could turn out to be quite a messy experience, both for you and any potential buyers.

With this in mind I would also like to add that this forum is a great place to share ideas and the points outlined by fellow members are just constructive critisism that could end up saving you a big headache in the end. Thanks for sharing your ideas and keep posting

Jumbuck great idea in theory ,but in pactice NO.!!!! not even if you have a good suply of VALIUM
gstark wrote:
And I'm ignoring the most important aspect of this whole, stupid discussion: the D200 is not yet released!
That makes three of us at least!!

NeoN

Jumbuck
Bulk buy won't work
Assuming the D200 is manufactured, demand will exceed supply and early adopters will enter the market in numbers. Nikon will exploit this through an appropriate higher than normal pricing strategy unless they want to burn market share from other manufacturers.
Bulk buy strategies do work when a manufacturer has spare redundant manufacturing capacity or when supply exceeds demand or when they wish to burn old inventory quickly. This is unlikely in the short term.
Work hard on getting your 30 or so meaningful posts Jumbuck and you'll enjoy member benefits.
Cheers
Graham

Hi Jumbuck

I will take 20 off you if you can manage a good price. Just kidding!!
Love my D100 and would be interested in a D200 as a backup [/quote][/list]