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Considering the time of year and the current political/economic uncertainty, we are expecting manufacturers and distributors to announce price rises over the coming 2-3 months.

Most (not all!) give us prior warning when releasing new price-lists so whenever possible we will do the same for you here in this thread :smile: 

 

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First up is Vixen. To be fair to Vixen's UK distributor they have been preparing a new price-list for some time but delayed it's release until after the referendum. 

Beginning 4th July Vixen prices will rise by between 10% and 30% depending on the value of the item.

Vixen telescopes and mounts are likely to rise by around 20%.
Their two most popular eyepiece ranges, the Vixen SLV and Vixen NPL, will increase by 20%.
The Vixen SG2.1x42 binocular will increase from £229 to £259.

 

vixen_SG2_1x42.jpg

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3 hours ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

I was wondering how the current situation would filter down to online retailers such as FLO. 

FLO was launched in 2006, around the beginning of they now call 'the great recession'! We know what it's like to trade in difficult times :smile: 

We'll be okay. 

Steve 

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21 minutes ago, FLO said:

FLO was launched in 2006, around the beginning of they now call 'the great recession'! We know what it's like to trade in difficult times :smile: 

We'll be okay. 

Steve 

Great time to start a business - hope you continue to propser.  Thanks for the heads-up on prices too.  It is indeed inevitable that the impact gets passed on, unless there are strong competitors who aren't impacted by the fx fluctuations and changing prices would undermine competitiveness.  But as so many brands now have their origin in the far east, I imagine it's industry-wide rather than isolated to a few makes.

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31 minutes ago, FLO said:

FLO was launched in 2006, around the beginning of they now call 'the great recession'! We know what it's like to trade in difficult times :smile: 

We'll be okay. 

Steve 

I'm sure you will survive,and i for one will continue to use FLO for online astro purchases. Your sales /after sales team care..........simply cant be beaten. 

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With the possible extra cost of astro from stuff from Germany, plus the weak exchange with the dollar from USA, it's even possible that people might start to buy stuff from the UK for a change !  You may need to stock up :happy11:

 

andrew

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I along with countless others simply wont buy new, theres plenty of good stuff on the second hand market! Nothing Vixen produces is worth a 30% price hike, much in fact is already over priced. Companies thinking theyre going to greedily cash in on the current situation simply don't deserve to survive! 

Mike

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14 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

 Nothing Vixen produces is worth a 30% price hike, much in fact is already over priced. Companies thinking theyre going to greedily cash in on the current situation simply don't deserve to survive! 

Mike

I was thinking about the same. As much as I like Vixen, their prices were already on the high side if you ask me. I'll stick to Skywatcher, Celestron, Bresser and ES I think. Hopefully they don't try and stick as much as 30% on top! 

I always look at FLO before anywhere else, and I'm even more inclined to buy from UK suppliers whilst the pound is week, if others are thinking the same I'm sure FLO will be fine :) 

 

 

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I guess the problem is it's not just a revision of prices, which any manufacturer does on a regular basis, but that the exchange rates are now, and probably will be for some time to come, significantly worsened. Most of our products originate in the US or via German suppliers, so prices are bound to be raised, even from UK suppliers. What astronomical products are there that are solely sourced from UK manufactured products? And that's ignoring any increase in raw materials prices. I suppose that if you're going to buy, buy now whilst existing stock remains.

Ian

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On 27 June 2016 at 22:33, andrew63 said:

With the possible extra cost of astro from stuff from Germany, plus the weak exchange with the dollar from USA, it's even possible that people might start to buy stuff from the UK for a change ! 

I wondered if starting this thread might be a mistake :unsure:

We monitor retail prices both here and in Germany, not casually or intermittently but in detail and methodically. A few years ago it was possible to buy some products for less in Germany but, for the majority of items, those days are gone. Since about 2-3 years ago most astro products cost less here in the UK than in Germany. There will of course be occasions when German retailers have deals not available to UK retailers (usually offered to them by a distributor based in Germany) but that works both ways. Indeed I hear German retailers are deeply unhappy at UK prices. One even complained to me directly, I explained the UK market was much more competitive than in Germany (where only one or two retailers dominate) so prices are lower. You don't need to order from Germany. Your UK £ can stay here in the UK economy, where it belongs. As for the USA, US retailer prices don't include local state tax (imagine our prices without VAT) and after paying UK Import Duty and VAT the US price is usually similar to the UK price. Also, when purchasing goods here in the UK you have greater buyer protection and a UK warranty. 

Perhaps most importantly, we are coming out of the EU so the argument for supporting UK business just got a heck-of-a-lot stronger. 

Regarding secondhand. Fortunately there are enough British astronomers buying new, from FLO, to enable us to remain in business and to provide jobs (have you noticed how few UK astro retailers actually employ people). Also, to fund SGL (SGL's Buy/Sell section must surely be where most people buy and sell secondhand astro kit). If you have ever purchased from FLO you have helped make this possible. Clear Outside and Astronomy Tools too. Thank-you :icon_salut: 

My colleague has just reminded me we should increase our prices for Atik cameras (the second time in four weeks) so they are inline with our friends in Germany... 

Steve

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8 minutes ago, FLO said:

I wondered if starting this thread might be a mistake :unsure:........

I think it offers a very real insight into the pricing of goods and how we can expect over all prices to increase - Of course this won't only be for astro goodies, but a good indicator of all round price rises over time I guess. 

A good thread I think.

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13 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

Companies thinking theyre going to greedily cash in on the current situation simply don't deserve to survive! 

Vixen's UK distributor is not 'greedily cashing in'. 

I discussed the situation with Pete Gamby at Vixen-UK (aka Opticron). Here is some background info, from Pete, explaining the situation. 

Quote

To put these increases into context, the July 2016 price list looks more or less the same as the February 2012 price list which was the last time the yen was at around 130 to the pound. In between times, we've delivered price reductions as the rate improved despite Vixen Japan constantly increasing the price of the equipment it supplies to us to frustrate those efforts.

Since February 2016, when the referendum date was announced, Opticron has absorbed a 20% decline in the exchange rate in the hope that a vote to remain in the EU would allow sterling to settle or even rise back to at least the level it was at towards the end of 2015.

Unfortunately the vote went the other way and sterling tanked. It hasn't hit the lows against the yen that we saw in 2012 but it will be months before it starts to rise. I suspect suppliers that are buying based on dollars will do the same as we did in the short term and hold out for a bounce back in the coming weeks or months. The dollar has been pretty stable over the past seven years (since the 2008 crash) at an average of around 1.5 to the pound. It's now off that average by about 13% so price rises to accommodate that may come through in time. 

I would like to add that is it 'okay' for Japanese manufactured goods to cost more than those made in China because, whilst the Chinese-Japanese quality gap is reducing, Japanese products are generally manufactured from higher quality materials, to a higher standard. 

HTH, 

Steve 

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Very interesting and useful thread Steve, not a mistake at all.  I used manage product price lists in multiple currencies (both pre and post Euro) so I understand a little of what is going on behind the scenes! It's never an easy thing to get right.

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27 minutes ago, Stu said:

Very interesting and useful thread Steve, not a mistake at all.  I used manage product price lists in multiple currencies (both pre and post Euro) so I understand a little of what is going on behind the scenes! It's never an easy thing to get right.

Thank-you Stu, it certainly is a challenge :smile: 

Generally, if the product is sourced from outside the UK and the £ remains low then, sooner or later, prices will rise. If the manufacturer has appointed a capable distributor (i.e. Skywatcher & Celestron) then they will, hopefully, already have stock so can buffer, to some extent, the fall-out from the referendum result. 

FWIW I am disappointed at the way the media are focusing on negatives. The British people are known for their stoicism, good manners, sense of humour and pride in their country. With the right leadership this situation can be considered an opportunity for positive change. It doesn't have to be negative. 

Steve

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I do agree with you, there is no point getting negative about this, regardless of your thoughts. The only way is up!

Oops, just wrote and deleted a line because it was verging on political so I'll stop there!

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1 hour ago, FLO said:

Me too! Several times! :biggrin:

It is a great strain under present circumstances to 'not to' :) !

Stu said " way is up" , yes indeed, lets look on the bright side ,,,, there is now the possibility of a free trade agreement betwixt us and  China, when the prices will be lowered, I am sure :):)

As for the politics could I be permitted to say that I watched the EU parliament just now and , no , I must not , arghh ,

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5 minutes ago, SilverAstro said:

It is a great strain under present circumstances to 'not to' :) !

Stu said " way is up" , yes indeed, lets look on the bright side ,,,, there is now the possibility of a free trade agreement betwixt us and  China, when the prices will be lowered, I am sure :):)

As for the politics could I be permitted to say that I watched the EU parliament just now and , no , I must not , arghh ,

????

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It's a good and necessary thread. I very much doubt that there'll be any greedy cashing-in because, from my understanding, pricing is too tight for that in the UK astro market.

The new and used markets need each other but, personally, I'll be confining my comments to the new market here out of the usual respect for the OP on any thread.

On a cheerful note, even with probable price rises, the income-related cost of decent astronomical equipment has gone down massively since I became involved twenty years ago. FLO can supply an excellent 8 inch Dobsonian Newt for £279. That is really rather good, don't you think?

Let's enjoy the stars together, folks.

Olly

 

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2 minutes ago, Stu said:

????

Oh dear I think my computal must have blown a fuse!, your emoticons are not displaying :(

I think it is probably not political to say that these toys of ours are in the market place so whatever the £ does, up or down, the manufacturer needs to sell if he is to make a profit and he cant sell if we dont buy so I am relaxed about it.  ( have I got away with it? not a word about Marx or, ooops :):) )

2 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

 the income-related cost of decent astronomical equipment has gone down massively since I became involved twenty years ago.

Let's enjoy the stars together, folks.

Verily it is so !! see my comments elsewhere about that big new dob

ditto, well said,

 

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