X100's Selling for Huge Premiums on Ebay

This "Completed Listings" page on Ebay shows early examples of the now-delayed Fuji X100 selling for premiums of up to $1,400 above list price. Apparently there is no shortage of sellers...or buyers.

I'm as big a fan of this little camera as anyone, but at the same time it seems like all this might be getting just a little out of hand...a bit of a pop phenomenon, or at least what passes for one in the world of camera enthusiasm....

Mike

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Original contents copyright 2011 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Comments

[Steve]

It's not really unexpected; to most of these people it's just another electronic toy.

[Carl L]

Just think, in a year it will be "buy now for $500". I think I'll wait. What! the Fuji X200 will be out then for only $600.
I also know where you can buy an old bridge that goes across the east river for less.

[charlie]

Good grief,

On the flip side I predict loads of used ones to be on the market in 6 months.

Funny money.

[Danny Chatham]

Seems to me a sad commentary on our society.

[Sean]

I think a fair amount of "hate" or resentment to/for the popularity of this camera is building. In my opinion, proof that things have gotten out of hand is each and every time someone buys a Leica.

Where's the sturm und drang about the X1, the M8, or heaven forbid, the excessively-priced lenses? Pray tell.

As long as both parties — buyers and sellers — are in agreement, its all okay.

[Danny Chatham]

And by the way,if any where near the passion in obtaining a new camera was converted into passion for useing the camera and most likely the cameras plural we all already own we would experience a revival of the image itself.

[Leon Laore]

This might of course be related to the announcement that production of this little miracle will be halted as a result of damage to the production facility, sustained as a result of the March 11th quake/tsunami distaster. One could think that has caused a run of sorts?

[Bernd]

I just wonder how much of these sellers actually do have an X100 sitting on their shelves.... Looks like a lot of speculating to me.

[Ray]

Shortages + Demand = Profit

Nintendo Wiis were in short supply for years after release, and if you could get your hands on one you could make a tidy profit turning it around on eBay. It was completely predictable that the hyped up demand for the camera would mean that well heeled early adopters would pay a premium, so I'm betting that tons of the pre-sales were pure speculation. Add the unexpected manufacturing/supply chain disruption, and you've got the perfect storm.

[Dennis Huteson]

My father used to say that a fool and his money were easilly parted. Plenty of fools about still it seems.

[Carl Weese]

During my long afternoon at AIPAD last week I spotted at least three people--all apparently Japanese--sporting X100s either bare or in the luxury leather accessory case.

[David Dyer-Bennet]

While I've made good photographic purchases on Ebay, what it's really obviously good for is SELLING photo equipment. Because there seem to be a lot of buyers there who will happily pay new prices for used equipment, or sometimes more.

If you MUST have it, you WILL pay through the nose!

[Bill Rogers]

FWIW, I note that B&H's price for the Nikon D700 recently took a $300 jump.

[cb]

2000$ for a simple point&shoot?

[Chris]

I didn't buy a Wii, even though I wanted one, because I couldn't find it. Now you can, but I don't want it any more. I'm enjoying gaming on my iPad, which I walked into a store to buy and walked out with immediately, so much that a Wii is irrelevant. I was in line for a GH-2, but gave up after 6 months of waiting and got an E-P2 instead. I really like it, and when I had a chance to finally hold a GH-2 I found that I wasn't missing anything.

I'm not willing to fight for consumer goods. If someone can't provide me with a product then someone else will. The Nintendos and Panasonics of the world don't do anything but hurt themselves when they hype then can't fill demand.

It's the same for the X100. If the camera is always in short supply and only for sale at a huge markup, I'll go for something more appropriate and affordable and available.

[Grizzlymarmot]

These prices are high but are not as high as they seem. The current MSRP of the price is 128,000 yen which is over US $ 1600. The US is slowly becoming the "grey market" for the more wealthy european and asian nations.

[Matt P]

I figure the market should start to level out right about the time Lightroom updates and can read X100 RAW files. Works out well for me.

[Ben]

Wow, for $2,600 you could fly to London, buy the one in my local store's window, spend 2 days in London trying it out (nice clear blue skies right now), hop in a cab and fly back home in time for tea.

[Jeffrey Goggin]

I like to think at least some of these sales are between scammers: A seller who doesn't actually have a camera to sell and a buyer who plans to pay with a phony cashier's check.

[Arch Noble]

How many of these were genuine transactions and how many were staged by the unscrupulous trying to "create" demand? After all, Ebay is just a flea market, with all the uncertainties of flea markets going back thousands of years in places like Baghdad, Cairo, Rome, and Marrakech.

[RobG]

The longer I live, the more I realise that we are indeed a strange species. And I wonder if we deserve to survive much longer...

[Leigh Youdale]

The current shutdown of X100 production and the frenzy that was generated prior to release is undoubtedly driving the price up. What I'm finding interesting though, in another forum, is the significant volume of postings from those who actually have one to use that are saying something like "well, yes, it's a nice little camera but ....." and then go on to list a number of significant shortcomings compared to their earlier expectations.
It's not perfect, it does have flaws and there will doubtless be another version and competing models from other manufacturers. Rationality will eventually prevail! In the meantime, a few fingers will get burned.

[ypocaramel]

Yes, there is some degree of irrational pricing behavior here, just as there is with limited edition sneakers or overvalued equities. But that's a fairly common human phenomon, I don't see a reason to be upset because we exhibit irrational behavior from time to time, though I think we should understand ourselves and control our irrationalities.

Though I do expect people to be frustrated if they really wanted this camera for a shoot or a trip. In a way we're lucky this is the kind of camera you 'want' rather than 'need'

[BasM]

I think it's fairly right to underline something that was just mentioned "en passant" by a commenter above: HYPE. Sorry for the caps, but (as MJ said) it's a sad clue about the market.
A much more subtle creeping for the prices: the so-called "bread and butter" lenses. Take the 70-200f/2.8IS or VR; quality down, price up. And when a better version shows up, it goes up instantly by 50%. And that's only because hoards of... buyers ;) feel the need to lug around the equivalent (in weight) of a rocket launcher, because "pros do it".
Or, much more mundane, the overhyped camera in the iPhone; I've seen at least ten "demos" of studio pics, mostly of scantily clad women, somehow proving that a button-like camera is enough. Of course, while using lights and modifiers worth tens of thousands...
And one more point and I'm done: the film craze (using a Holga or not). At least we can be thankful to the hipsters that they kinda keep the factories running, churning out celuloid...

[Tim A.]

...wow. Now I know what my coworker meant when he asked me if I was going to pay $2k for one. I'm happy with my preorder at B&H and will wait for it to come. The production will not stop. It's just halted for a bit. But hey, if you have the cash... This isn't going to ruin it for everyone else. Fuji is not going to look at Ebay and go "hmmm...really....$2k you say?" and jack up the price (...I hope...).

Oh, and I'm thankful for the hipsters. If they want to start a mini film renaissance by shooting poorly focused skewed light leaked blown out photos (not that there's anything wrong with that!), then so be it. Means the rest of us can reap the benefits of continued film production and local labs kept in business!

[Patrick Perez]

Jeffrey Goggin said:
"I like to think at least some of these sales are between scammers: A seller who doesn't actually have a camera to sell and a buyer who plans to pay with a phony cashier's check."

Jeffrey, you are evil. Please understand, I mean that as a compliment !

Patrick

[Dennis Ng]

This camera cannot be the only camera (system) you use. It is mostly likely be only one of the many cameras one used/owned. Also, in general, one shall wait for the first year is the fixing and showing time. Even if one has a kind of "LV bag" kind of GAS, I do not think this is the camera in the same level as Nikon D3x, Leica M9, Pentax 645d, MFDB etc.

It is an interesting camera no doubt, but in short for me, I wait.

[Ed]

If I were Fuji I would fire my price elasticity economist on the spot and revoke his salary for at least 5 years (even if he's only been employed for three). As economy is a bloodsport this isn't playing the sport quite right. So I hope Fuji responds and up's the price on this (IMHO) useless toy of a camera to make it available for the people it seems to be designed for. The people to which a camera is an assesoir to make them look cool. The same crowd that bought the 1000 dollar ap for their Iphone only to show they could spend a 1000 dollar on an app that does essentially nothing. If I spend 1000 dollars on a camera it has to have a zoom lens or even better interchangable lenses.

http://www.kottke.org/08/08/the-1000-iphone-app

Fuji makes great camera's but the X100 is simply to limited at the moment (as is the X1 build by Leica) for my liking.

Greetings, Ed

[Robert Howell]

Right now I'd say the X100 is jewellery.