[ICOM] IC 706mkII G Price Increases

[John Geiger]

The FT100D also jumped in price a couple of hundred
once it was officially discontinued.  Could be that
the manufacturers or dealers are guessing that people
will want to get one of the last made radios of a
proven design, instead of being a test case for a new
radio (which hasn't been such a good thing of late)

73s John NE0P

--- vk3ajj <vk3ajj at optushome.com.au> wrote:

> No. all the prices have gone up . The dollar has
> deflated and the yen has  
> gone up ergo your cost goes up not only on this but
> all other asian made
> radios
> 
> 
> Hello All,
> 
> This is partially true but does not explain why the
> 706mk2g has gone up 30%
> in the last few months whereas other price increases
> have been comparatively
> modest.
> 
> Although we are sometimes critical of the radio
> retailers, what is not
> commonly known is the degree of power that Icom (and
> presumably the other
> manufacturers) have in the day to day running of a
> radio retailer's
> business. This includes dictating level of stock
> held, minimum pricing
> policies and a hell of a lot more.
> 
> Rumor has it that Icom dictated (over the last few
> years) that retailers (in
> the US) hold / purchase heavy levels of stock which
> just did not accord with
> market demand. To get their cash back, retailers
> were forced to heavily
> discount the stock and at times were selling at or
> below break even.
> 
> In addition to creating problems for the US
> retailers - this discounting
> created a situation where say an Icom 706Mkg could
> be purchased for say
> US$729 in the US but was being sold at a recommended
> retail of US$1,300 in
> other countries (same radio / same warranty). This
> situation has created a
> massive market in "grey importing" whereby Hams in
> the high priced countries
> (like Australia) simply imported directly from the
> US - saving hundreds
> (even after freight / duties etc) when compared to
> the local retail price -
> but of course creating an untenable situation for
> the local (say Australian)
> Icom retailers who were compelled by Icom to respect
> the higer pricing
> regime.
> 
> It is my opinion (I reiterate opinion) that Icom in
> particular is now
> looking to unwind some of these market
> inconsistencies by:
> 
> Increasing prices in the US - whilst dictating a
> minimum retail price thus
> eliminating the deep discounting prevalent in prior
> years.
> Reducing prices in other parts of the world - the
> 706 has basically halved
> in price here in Australia over the last 2 years
> with approx half that
> reduction being attribtable to a stronger Aussie
> Dollar.
> Most controversially here in Australia, Icom
> Australia has also taken the
> decision to refuse servicing on all radios not sold
> by their local
> Australian authorised distributors. This means if
> your Icom radio is a
> direct import (whether you knew this to be a fact or
> not)- Icom will simply
> refuse to repair it (at any price).
> 
> If my reading of the situation is correct - it is
> likely that US hams can
> expect to pay more for their new radio gear going
> forward - whilst Hams in
> other parts of the world (at least where sufficient
> direct importing
> competition exists) will probably pay less.
> 
> Of course, all of this theorising is subject to the
> response of Yaesu,
> Kenwood and Icom's other Ham radio competitors. In
> theory it may seem
> plausible for Icom to solve the above issues by
> simply hiking the price on a
> now techologically tired radio like the 706 by 30%
> over a couple of months.
> But - if Yaesu, Kenwood etc do not follow suit -
> Icom run the risk of losing
> market share (Hams will vote with their wallet)and
> the whole Icom pricing
> strategy may have to be reviewed all over again.
> 
> In the meantime, the retailers remain the meat in
> the sandwich getting
> pulled this way and that (so don't whinge to them
> about the recent price
> increases).
> 
> Of course - it is also probable that the 706 is an
> ideal guinea pig for this
> strategy shift. As a successor radio to this golden
> oldy is seemingly
> imminent - why not "milk" as much out of the "grand
> old cow" as you can
> before she gracefully passes into the annals of ham
> radio history.
> 
> All just my personal speculation / opinion of
> course.........
> 
> Cheers to all
> 
> Paul (vk3ajj)   
>        
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----
> To: icom at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [ICOM] IC 706mkII G price 
> 
> 
>  
> 
> No. all the prices have gone up . The dollar has
> deflated and the yen has  
> gone up ergo your cost goes up not only on this but
> all other asian made
> radios
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  
> 
> 
> ----
> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC,
> icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
> 


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