Lube up for the Canon “Rebate”

You Can't - Canon

I admit I don’t usually keep myself busy here at Canon USA with sales matters, that’s not really my department. I’m more of a technical guy working with the marketing division. But I’ve been hearing some complaints about the current ongoing Canon rebate in a few places, and I’ve also been sent this email (thanks):

Here’s a heads up about the games being played with Canon lens prices since the 2/20/11 through 3/19/11 rebates were announced last Sunday.

Apparently, Canon and/or major retailers raised prices on Canon lenses (at least lenses with a rebate) since Last Sunday to offset about 75% of the rebate.

For example, the EF 70-200/2.8L IS II lens was priced at B&H Photo, Beach Camera and buydig.com, among others, last Sunday at $2374 USD. Since then, said retailers increased the retail price to $2499. After the $200 rebate is factored in, the real rebate is only $75 and not the $200.

Results are similar on a percentage basis for the EF 100/2.8L IS Macro. I haven’t checked prices for the other lenses listed for rebates.

Canon’s as cunning, sinister and self-serving as their nation was on December 7, 1941.

Thought you’d want to know.

I just got off the phone with the sales department, and apparently Canon Inc. realized that the price of the 60D would drop all the way to $800 (same price as the 600D) due to the retailer discounts being offered on top of the rebate. So they jacked up the prices bringing everything back to the way it was pre-rebate.

The very sensual, the verry toit, Helen Oster from Adorama Camera also posted about this here:

When Canon raises the prices to retailers, rebates are generally offered for the first few months to delay the price-change for customers. We don’t raise prices on our existing stock to match the new prices, which often means that customer prices drop initially; however within a week or two, when we’ve sold out of almost every Canon unit that has a rebate on it, as well as a few that don’t – we have to pay the increased prices when we re-stock.

This seems to confirm my theory. Canon Inc. initially offered the rebate and then jacked up the prices after they saw prices got too low. It’s like I said, who would fucking buy a 600D for $800 if you can buy the 60D for the same price? Fortunately it seems that retailers acted fast enough and lubed up before Canon Inc. began penetration. The whole rebate became a fucking rip-off in the end, but this should not surprise you if you know Canon Inc.

In other news…. yeah, you know it’s coming right? You know I’m gonna mention it… yeah that’s right, the 5D Mark III petition!! Have you signed it yet? If not, you should be fucking ashamed of yourself. So far only 200 people have signed it, and that’s nowhere near the minimum 10.000 signatures I was aiming for when I launched it. And that’s FUCKING PATHETIC. Words cannot even begin to describe how much I regret investing my valuable time in that God forsaken petition. All that effort and then only 200 of you bastards sign it? I could have better spent the time it took me to make that petition beating my meat to a Sasha Grey video. Speaking of which, I need to go now.