Currency fluctuations - not my game :(

[Yi-P]

From the very recent DROP in prices for the gears from HKS, there is a massive change within days. I had my order shipped on Thursday, will be here by tomorrow, and with the inclusion of the drop, my item's value have gone down by AU$140 in total. On its transition time before I ever opened the pack, or yet have received it....


I guess I can never be a market stock bidder or economist...

[Reschsmooth]

Hey Y-ip, don't forget that the currency can always drop enough to make your gear worth $10,000!

P

[radar]

YiP,

it all evens out in the end

Some win, some lose, if you buy plenty of gear, you'll be even too, the lust continues

You'll enjoy your new bit of kit. I'm sure you are not in a hurry to sell it on anyway, otherwise you wouldn't have bought it.

Cheers,

André

[moz]

Yeah, I still treasure my $AUS2000 70-200IS that I got last time the peso was up, and I'm kinda hoping that the Canon 1DIII becomes more affordable here ... ie the peso keeps going up. Of course, the flip side is that my $AUS1200 12-24 is now $700 brand new from Poon. And I suspect Kris is quite annoyed that he paid a premium for the camera he's currently trying to sell when the new price has dived from the peso shift.

I think the peso will keep rising, so I'm torn between buying new toys now and knowing that between the insane sharemarket returns I'm getting, falling gear costs and the diving $US any money I spend now is costing me a fortune in future spending. So a 5D now and a 1DIII next year are probably the same price. Waaaah!

[PiroStitch]

This is why i quickly dumped the D2 for the 5D as well Seriously, once you buy it forget about calculating the costs as it'll immediately de-value and be out of date. Enjoy what you have and go out and shoot!

[the foto fanatic]

I can't quite believe the current exchange rate either.

My credit cards and I am still recovering from my last visit to NYC when the Australian dollar was worth all of 49 cents US.

The wedding anniversary dinner for my wife and myself cost me in the vicinity of 500 hard-earned Australian dollars.

But, as they say in the classics:

Priceless!

[MHD]

yeah, I bought my d200 about 6 months ago now... lost a bit of value... but you have to factor in the value of the use you get as it is dropping, that makes it worth more now that ever!

[Reschsmooth]

I see a bit of purchaser's and seller's remorse with my clients - the number of times we have sold a stock for a client and they see it continue to go up or we have bought an investment and it goes down in price, and the minor anxiety it creates is not countless, but it is many. As has been said, once purchased, never look at the price again until you consider selling!

P

[gstark]

As has been said, once purchased, never look at the price again until you consider selling!

That really sums it up.

And this is true, not just of purchasing overseas, but also with respect to the purchase of anything to do with technology. At whatever time you decide to buy something, it will already be obsolete. The quantum of that obsolesence will only be dictated by when you make that decision, but, in having made that decision, you should look forward and enjoy your purchase to the full, rather than consider all of the "what ifs".

[BT*ist]

hey, cricketfan, I'm with you on that - that's when I travelled to NYC as well!

And I wholeheartedly agree that you have to forget price after you've bought the item. It's about the value (to you) of the item, and not about the price you paid for it. When I got my 2x1GB SD cards for my camera they were a 'good' deal at $120 each.... whereas two and a bit years later, I'm buying 2xTWO GB SD cards for $44 each!

It does however highlight that it's sometimes not worth overstretching on your budget for certain things.

[gstark]

And I wholeheartedly agree that you have to forget price after you've bought the item. It's about the value (to you) of the item, and not about the price you paid for it. When I got my 2x1GB SD cards for my camera they were a 'good' deal at $120 each.... whereas two and a bit years later, I'm buying 2xTWO GB SD cards for $44 each!

So, you're saying that I should not complain that my first ever HDD - 10MB (yes, that's correct) cost me a neat Au$1K!

On Friday last I bought a 8GB USB stick for just Au$80. What a contrast in apparant value, but at the time, (a long time ago) I was happy with that purchase.

[BT*ist]

I guess I sort of am trapped into saying that, aren't I?

I think nothing will prevent you remembering how expensive 'technology' was in the past, and marveling how much 'more' you get (especially in measurables like memory, speed, capacity) now. But as long as you didn't pay a massive premium to get 10Mb then (instead of 2Mb, say) on the assumption you'd NEVER need more than 10Mb, the original purchase would still have been sound. As were my pair o' 1GB SD cards.

I've just bought a 500GB external and 160GB portable hard drive for data backup. Both were priced relatively well, and represent a good amount of data storage for my needs going forward a couple of years. I won't mention the *slight* sinking feeling when ONE DAY after I bought the 500GB, I saw a similar product from a slightly 'better' brand for 10% less, though.

Still, I don't regret the original purchase.

[joey]

I remember we bought our first 33.3kbps modem paying around $550 for it.
The modem was used to connect our home Mac to the Internet.

In 1986, the speed of backbone Internet was 56Kbps. Organisations in US were paying premium fees to get a connection to it.

Once a gadget is purchased it will loose its market value quickly. However, if it’s known that the product will loose its market value, there’re limited funds available, and you plan to sell the product in the future then you have to make the right decision what to buy and how much to spend.
For example, if I am going to buy a telephoto lens it will be probably the 80-200mm af-d. Why? It’s suitable for me, it’s well priced, and I am not paying for the latest technology as in the case of 70-200mm VR. It’s made by Nikon and not by Sigma, Tamron or Tokina so it will be easier to sell it later.
Or, if there is $3k to spend on photographic equipment it’s better to spend more on quality lenses than the camera. That’s if you want to sell the equipment later.

[Yi-P]

Thanks for all the replies, I got over it by time I held the new lens in my hand... I was just getting bit anxious about price drop before getting it on my hands... but for now, I'm very happy with the purchase and thanks to Gary & Poon's network, the shipment got here smoothly without any touble

I'm over it now, won't be looking back

[Dargan]

Gary I recall I paid $860 for 1MB of external memory for an Amiga 1000 and $1300 for a dot matrix printer NEC CP6 What was I thinking? I could have been living in luxury now!!!
Really there is no point in spilt milk if you want it get it and as PiroStitch says use it and enjoy it while you can. The current XR is good for all concerned.

[sirhc55]

Mac 20Mb external H/D in 1986 - $3,600
Laserwriter 1986 - $12,000

These days we have it sweet

[Alpha_7]

Thanks for all the replies, I got over it by time I held the new lens in my hand... I was just getting bit anxious about price drop before getting it on my hands... but for now, I'm very happy with the purchase and thanks to Gary & Poon's network, the shipment got here smoothly without any touble

I'm over it now, won't be looking back

Yip I missed where you said what you got, which lens has been added to your stable ?

[Yi-P]

Thanks for all the replies, I got over it by time I held the new lens in my hand... I was just getting bit anxious about price drop before getting it on my hands... but for now, I'm very happy with the purchase and thanks to Gary & Poon's network, the shipment got here smoothly without any touble

I'm over it now, won't be looking back

Yip I missed where you said what you got, which lens has been added to your stable ?

A fat beast called 28-70/2.8
Its so big and fat that I need to get used to it... tho i was blown away by its performance on first 10 shots... simply amazing!!

[Kris]

Yeah, I still treasure my $AUS2000 70-200IS that I got last time the peso was up, and I'm kinda hoping that the Canon 1DIII becomes more affordable here ... ie the peso keeps going up. Of course, the flip side is that my $AUS1200 12-24 is now $700 brand new from Poon. And I suspect Kris is quite annoyed that he paid a premium for the camera he's currently trying to sell when the new price has dived from the peso shift.

I think the peso will keep rising, so I'm torn between buying new toys now and knowing that between the insane sharemarket returns I'm getting, falling gear costs and the diving $US any money I spend now is costing me a fortune in future spending. So a 5D now and a 1DIII next year are probably the same price. Waaaah!

Me? Annoyed - not at all. I didn't pay a cent for my 5D and 24-70 , it was a insurance replacement for a 30D Its just I wont rid it for the outrageous offering of $2500 you suggested.