Equipment Price Rises

[coliea]

Last year I was keeping tabs on the best eyepiece deals from various manufacturers/suppliers, but tonight was the first time I’d checked my notes since December.

Looks as though prices have increased markedly in the last couple of months, but what's interesting is there doesn't seem to be any consistency. Here's few examples (each quoted both Dec08 and now from the same supplier):

Nag31T5 - Dec08 £395 - now £429

Pan27 - Dec08 £215 - now £235

LVW22 - Dec08 £141 - now £194

Nag13T6 - Dec08 £179 - now £239

Nag7T6 - Dec08 £179 - now £199

I appreciate FLO always give notice of any impending rises, allowing SGL members to take advantage of pre-increase prices, but looking at the figures above can anyone explain the large difference in price rises in general? How come the 13T6 jumps 60 quid in a couple of months whereas its sibling, the 7T6 only increases by £20? And as for the Vixen LVWs... £141 to £194 - that's a 37% hike - Yikes!!

Col

[Ben Ritchie]

I assume some of the oddities are down to existing stock and when dealers orders were processed etc., i'm not sure. I assume favourites like the 13T6 sell in greater quanitity than others, and have to be reordered more frequently but i'm no retailer. Given the decline in the pound recently the Vixen LVW and 13T6 increases ar e closer to what i'd expect than the rest.

There was a good thread late last year (called "the golden age" or something like that) about how the strong pound/cheap import situation wasn't going to last, and that appears quite right. Astro kit still looks like it'll get more expensive before it gets cheaper, it's possible we could reach close to parity with the dollar and we're almost there with the Euro, and getting almost $2.10 to the pound when I paid for my 1200GTO seems a long time ago....

[Doc]

The 13T6 is a much bigger seller the the 7T6 so more profit for the Televue.