( Beware ) Komodo Scalper on eBay

[Christopher A. Bell]

Or, if you need one you could bypass eBay...

I can confirm on this^. I reached out late yesterday and got a reply this morning saying that they do have some Komodo's ready to be ordered, and they are offering some accessories to go with it.

I guess B&H was only reaching out to those who have spent a lot on cameras(previous RED purchases?), because I spend a fair amount with them every year and a lot over the years combined, but I never received an email invitation about the ST Komodo. But my Abel rep text me directly. But it’s all kind of moot, as I’m not wasting $1K extra just to have it earlier than some other people. And I don’t have any jobs “needing it” vs. other cameras I already own, that could cover/justify the higher cost.

 

[Jordan Anthony Dudek]

I guess B&H was only reaching out to those who have spent a lot on cameras(previous RED purchases?), because I spend a fair amount with them every year and a lot over the years combined, but I never received an email invitation about the ST Komodo. But my Abel rep text me directly. But it’s all kind of moot, as I’m not wasting $1K extra just to have it earlier than some other people. And I don’t have any jobs “needing it” vs. other cameras I already own, that could cover/justify the higher cost.

I was surprised to find that their pricing was the same, being $6995. I have had some recent projects come up needing a camera like this, and in Memphis, TN, there haven't been many renting options. Being that this is the first cinema camera I will own, I am fine paying extra for an earlier version. If there weren't projects coming up though, I would totally be waiting for the black production models.

 

[Jonathan Keane]

I asked b&h about the ST komodo yesterday and they said they didn't have any and there is no pre order. It's like they didn't want to talk about it.

 

[Michael Hastings]

What's crazy is RED will probably make more $$ selling $6k Komodos direct than they are selling them at $7k via distribution.

Yes, and probably make as much even if they offered it to us loyal long time Red and Hydrogen buyers with the discount, instead of shipping them off to B&H. Not even sure I understand the marketing or financial thought behind that.

The longer the delay, the less likely I am to buy the "production" version even with the Hydrogen discount as we are approaching DSMC3 - not to mention the residual poor taste left by the Hydrogen debacle (my last RED purchase after the Epic-W) - and the fact that there a lot of other cool options out there. Sort of losing a little faith in RED. I think I put the "Komodo soon" in my signature about nine months ago. Might have to change that to "Canon EOS R5" coming soon. LOL. :wink5:

 

[Christopher A. Bell]

I was surprised to find that their pricing was the same, being $6995. I have had some recent projects come up needing a camera like this, and in Memphis, TN, there haven't been many renting options. Being that this is the first cinema camera I will own, I am fine paying extra for an earlier version. If there weren't projects coming up though, I would totally be waiting for the black production models.

I obviously have no clue what RED may be selling them to B&H (and other dealers) for, but a lot of times now, you see dealer and direct(from manufacturer) pricing as 1:1. And sometimes dealers will sell for less to get you buy other things(loss leaders). Years ago, I was talking to someone that designed and sold mounting boxes and plates. He started out selling directly, as it was kind of a cottage industry at the time and then started selling through dealers. One day I asked him why B&H was selling his products for less than he was and he replied, "they can sell them for whatever they want to". And at the time, I took that to mean that as long as they paid him what he wanted for the product, then they could retail it for whatever they wanted. This was probably also before you really had MAP being as widely implemented and enforced, like it is today(plus he was a small "mom & pop", not a major manufacturer). There are still ways around it, but for the most part, you know you're generally going to pay the same price for things from the major manufacturers at all the major dealers.