The Museum of HP Calculators

HP Forum Archive 20

[ Return to Index | Top of Index ]

Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #1 Posted by Les Wright on 27 Sept 2011, 10:23 p.m.

My 15C LE finally arrived and so far I am so impressed I want another to squirrel away as a collectible.

So I go back to the trusty Samson site, and not only is item back-ordered, BUT the seller has the cheekiness to pump the price up 20% over MSRP!

Ain't capitalism grand?

Maybe this demand will keep the unit in production as an HP standard?

Les

      
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #2 Posted by Michael de Estrada on 27 Sept 2011, 11:14 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Les Wright

The reason they are OOS at their home website is that they are selling all their existing stock on TAS for 50% over MSRP.

      
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #3 Posted by Bruce Bergman on 27 Sept 2011, 11:50 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Les Wright

Yeah, I have to say, I've lost a LOT of my respect for them. They used to be pretty much the last best calculator sales place (dedicated calculator sales), but lately they've taken to reaming the community for as much as they can get. Their prices vary day to day on the 15cLE, based on stock and demand. And over even the HP SMB price. Then, they resell for Buy.com (who is OOS also) at an even higher price.

Not cool, Samson. I doubt I will buy from you ever again.

:-(

            
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #4 Posted by Cristian Arezzini on 28 Sept 2011, 4:53 a.m.,
in response to message #3 by Bruce Bergman

Hmmm... I agree that it's frustrating (I wish I could buy them before the price increased), but isn't this just the essence of capitalism? As in, if people are willing to pay an higher price, why should they sell for less? :(

                  
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #5 Posted by Michael de Estrada on 28 Sept 2011, 8:45 a.m.,
in response to message #4 by Cristian Arezzini

No, this isn't capitalism, which requires competition to set prices. SC has cornered the international market as the only "dealer" that can/will ship outside the USA. They are the only dealer that has charged over MSRP. Even Buy.com sold all their initial stock below MSRP, both through their website and on TAS. HP SMB initially charged above current MSRP, but agreed to credit customers who overpaid. IOW, everyone except SC has shown good business ethics. But, there's and old expression, "what goes around comes around," so short term profits may be offset by long term ill will.

                        
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #6 Posted by Eric Rechlin on 28 Sept 2011, 2:02 p.m.,
in response to message #5 by Michael de Estrada

Quote:
SC has cornered the international market as the only "dealer" that can/will ship outside the USA

But that's not even true. I've been shipping calculators outside the US since 2003.

Eric

                              
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #7 Posted by Raymond Del Tondo on 28 Sept 2011, 2:47 p.m.,
in response to message #6 by Eric Rechlin

Mmmmm, how could I forget?

Just ordered some from you:-)

Regards

Raymond

                        
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #8 Posted by Brian Walsh on 28 Sept 2011, 2:19 p.m.,
in response to message #5 by Michael de Estrada

Quote:
But, there's and old expression, "what goes around comes around," so short term profits may be offset by long term ill will.
You are absolutely correct. Being a retailer myself (high end home audio) I am very sensitive to this. The HP handheld enthusiast community is small, so it doesn't take much to fall out of favor. The Golden Rule is a good guideline to follow.
                        
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #9 Posted by Steve Fennell on 28 Sept 2011, 8:03 p.m.,
in response to message #5 by Michael de Estrada

Samson Cables took preorders for the 15C LE and charged $95 which is below MSRP. I do not know their reasons for charging higher prices except that is what the market would bear, or they assumed there were no additional shipments of the calculator.

buy.com also raised their prices from $79 to $85 shortly after it became available. Not a big increase, but still taking advantage of higher demand for a product in short supply.

                              
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #10 Posted by Michael de Estrada on 28 Sept 2011, 8:17 p.m.,
in response to message #9 by Steve Fennell

Buy.com never went above $90 and shipped for free. They sold out their entire stock on both their website and on TAS at that price. I also bought from CostCentral in a pre-order for $80.52, back when the projected MSRP was $129. Meanwhile, SC has been as high as $200 + shipping. Frankly, if SC wants to price gouge, then so be it, but it seems like a very short-sighted business model. The 15C LE is already starting to flood TAS and prices are coming down significantly, so people now have other choices. It looks like so far only a small number of these have actually reached the market (highest LE# is less than 3000), and once HP gets them in stock with more consistency all this nonsense will be over.

                                    
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #11 Posted by Steve Fennell on 28 Sept 2011, 8:55 p.m.,
in response to message #10 by Michael de Estrada

Is this confirmed that HP is shipping more? I thought I read an earlier post that the question was posed at the HHC meeting and HP marketing would not confirm how many they planned to produce.

                                          
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #12 Posted by Michael de Estrada on 28 Sept 2011, 9:02 p.m.,
in response to message #11 by Steve Fennell

I'm just saying that it appears that so far no more than 3000 have shipped to distribution centers in the USA, and one can infer that at least 10000 units were planned based on past informal statements. The ones here now probably arrived in small shipments by air freight, and there may some yet to arrive by sea. I'm just doing some reasoning here, because I'm certainly on the outside. Anyway, I think it will clearer over the next couple of months.

                                                
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #13 Posted by Lincoln R. on 28 Sept 2011, 10:01 p.m.,
in response to message #12 by Michael de Estrada

HP said that some were destined for Europe. I imagine they may have put a hold on manufacturing while they're trying to deal with the keyboard/firmware issues.

      
Re: Who Needs TAS When We Have Samson Cables?
Message #14 Posted by Roger Blake on 28 Sept 2011, 4:42 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Les Wright

They have been selling at $199.99 for the last few days ! so you've actually got a big discount :-)


[ Return to Index | Top of Index ]

Go back to the main exhibit hall