Sandisk Extreme CF prices - astonishing!

[Vodka]

Hello all,

I've been looking around at Sandisk's Extreme III range of CF cards, and I'm shocked at price difference between various retailers.

A quick Googling around for an 8Gb Extreme III card shows prices ranging from AUD$130 to AUD$200 from a mixture of online and shop-front retailers. Thinking I can get a similar, but slightly higher, price from the bigger camera stores around Sydney CBD (more convenient for me), I was shocked to find them selling the exact same card for $450 to $500! At one such CBD retailer, when asked about a possible price match to that of another reputable shop-front retailer (ECS), I was rudely asked to stop wasting my time and their time when I showed them a print-out from the ECS website.

My theory on why there is such a big price difference is this:
- All retailers (both CBD, online, etc) bought inital batch of 8Gb's at original $400+ price.
- Online and other retailers sell their stock quicker due to more competitive pricing.
- 16Gb, 32Gb CF cards announced and released, resulting in 8Gb price drop.
- Online and other retailers restock at the new lower price, and pass this new price onto consumers.
- CBD retailers still have old stock that was bought at original $400+ price, and are unwilling to sell at a loss.

Theory number 2 is simply the CBD retailers are a bunch of blood-sucking leeches out to make a huge profit from tourists!

Sorry about the long winded rant. I'm glad I got that off my chest.

Ben

[gstark]

Ben,

Call the store, and ask to speak with the manager. Tell him how rudely you were dealt with, and express your opinion (if that's the case) that this is not how they should be treating their customers.

Then point out that ECS is a bricks and mortar store, that they (the store you went to) are supposed to be in the business of providing you, the customer, with a service. Add that if they keep on behaving as they do, they will surely find themselves out of business, and out of a job, at some point in the future.

It is vitally important that you do call the store manager, btw. If you don't there is no way that he is going to know that his staff are a bunch of boofheads, and there is no way that he can take up the matter with the staff concerned. And there is no way that he can go ahead with the price match as suggested by you, subject of course to a further 15% or so discount because of the piss poor way that you were dealt with.

Teds?

Georges?

Paxtons?

Fletchers?

Please feel free to name and shame them. I'm moving this thread to Traders Opinions, btw.

If it's Georges, btw, then ignore what I said earlier.

[Vodka]

Thanks for the suggestion Gary.

I'm a bit wary about naming names on public forums, given that a couple of Aust based forums (not photographic related) have been in legal trouble in the past due to negative posts about traders.

All I'm going to say is this particular store is very close to the Wynyard Station exit on a very busy Sydney road. Their Pelican cases were also way overpriced (AUD$599 for a 1520).

Ben btw... I actually don't have a problem with Teds - they've been quite helpful and have been willing to price match in the past. They just didn't have the 8Gb I'm after in stock.

[sirhc55]

There is no problem in shaming bad dealers so long as the truth is told. I for one would not hesitate to shame any company that does not give service. And they wonder why people buy grey

[gstark]

There is no problem in shaming bad dealers so long as the truth is told. I for one would not hesitate to shame any company that does not give service. And they wonder why people buy grey

Exactly.

Ben,

That sounds a lot like Paxtons. They have some staff who are good .... and others who really need to be considering their career options.

Bottom line is that you should call them and make your feelings known to their management. And you can then report the results of that call here as well. If their management is caring and professional, they will be upset at what occurred, but should thank you for bringing it to their attention.

I'll let others determine the alternative.

[Killakoala]

They are quite rude in that shop, from personal experience. I won't go there again.

I think they may feel intimidated by people who know what they are talking about. (Not that I'm an expert, but I do know more than most tourists )

[moz]

Having dealt with various retailers I've been told by a couple that they try not to hold stock of any memory at all, barring stuff that's less than $30 or so (their buy price) that they hold as loss leaders. So if you order anything it'll take 2-3 days to get it, because it comes direct from their distributor if you're lucky) or via their shop (if you're not).

I can understand traditional shops that have a lot of stock charging an arm and a leg for the stuff they sell, because once they've bought it the price is fixed. But I'm not so sympathetic that I'd actually buy one...

My recent purchase of an 8GB USB key was interesting - I rang the shop about something else and asked about USB keys, they said they'd get one in for me at the same time as my other stuff, so I paid $80 for a reasonably fast 8GB key. Cool.

[seeto.centric]

haha that definitely sounds like Paxton's down there. They've got plenty of variety in that shop and its always crowded but ive been dealt rudely by them twice before.

tell ya what, if anyone's after some cheap 4GB extreme 4's, go to Ryda's online store (http://www.ryda.com.au). However, i do believe they're out of stock at the moment. I scored 2x 4gb E4's for $99.95 each which afaik, is below official cost.

Cheapest (4gb e3) and in stock & also bricks and mortar is Digital Camera Warehouse - im sure Yip can vouch for their excellent service.

http://www.staticice.net.au & search

hope this helps!

-j

[shutterbug]

Give these guys a try http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com I order my cards from them.

[Grev]

I can get CF cards at a very good price, although I cannot share this with anyone else because I can't exploit it and not that I don't want to share. For example my 4gb extreme 4s were at $83 each.

[Vodka]

I did do a staticice search, but all listed retailers were either out of stock or not too convenient for me. I ended up getting a 4Gb Extreme III for $85 at JB Hi-Fi. Not the cheapest, but I needed the card quite urgently. Did all the checks to see if it was a genuine card as well.

As for the shop in question, I'll unleash my fury when I come back from overseas. Can never have enough memory cards, especially if I manage to get that 15% discount.

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!

Ben