[Elecraft] Price increases - I feel unappreciated!

[Tom Childers, N5GE]

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 12:02:37 -0700, you wrote:

>While doing a quick scan of the K3 order page I noticed the 100 watt PA
>has gone up in price again.  This time, it pissed me off.  I have a K3
>on order but have not ordered the 100 watt PA.  I don't *quite* have the
>money for it but I am on the fence, wondering if I should stretch a bit
>and get it anyway.

[snip] 

>Then in Dec 07 or so, the price went up.  Darn, I should have ordered in
>Nov.  Well, with a Dec price increase, prices should be pretty constant
>for quite a while, so I guess I can wait, right?
> 
>WRONG.  Price went up sometime in the last week.  It's another $50 to
>play radio at full barefoot levels.  
> 
>Instead what I got was *Surprise - higher prices - you lose".  Well, at
>least I can say that Elecraft is consistent in this.  I've never seen
>them give current customers any sort of heads-up about impending price
>increases.
> 
>All of which leaves me feeling consistently underappreciated!
[snip]

What you describe is a real bummer and nobody wants that to happen to them, but
it does.  We have no control over prices, and shouldn't.  The manufacturers of
products control that.

Many companies use pending price increases as a marketing scheme to push
potential buyers into buying.  I'm glad Elecraft does not play that game with
us.  I'm also glad they don't start out with an unreasonable price and offer us
coupons to encourage us to buy.

I for one would rather make my own decisions, based on what I can or cannot
afford, which is what it appears you have done.  Congratulations!  We should all
be better at that.

Elecraft (or any other business) has no contract or obligation to notify
consumers of their decision to raise the price of their products.  What would be
wrong, would be for them to raise the price of anything you had already ordered.

As far as feeling unappreciated;  I wouldn't feel unappreciated unless I knew
they had raised the price only for me and others were not paying the increased
price.

 
Tom, N5GE - SWOT 3537 - Grid EM12jq

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