D60 - local shop or online quicker?

[koshyou]

I ordered a D60 on May 25 from a local camera shop. They say I'm #2 on their list but Canon refuses to give them any shipment dates.

Would I have been better off ordering from B&H or Ritz online? I've heard rumors that the big stores get things a lot sooner. I called Focus Camera and they said minimum 60-90 days. I prefer to support our local shop but I need the equipment very soon (for work and play). I got all the accessories, now I just need the body!

I'm going hiking in Washington in 2 weeks. I sure hope it gets here in time...

[jsk1535]

canon has committed the greatest marketing blunder in the history of advertising....to create such demand and then not be geared to handle it is STUPID....they have managed to piss off thousands of us professionals and serious photographers...a nightmmare..Ritz told me yesterday they have standing orders for 800 units and have not a clue on when these will be filled...
Grat job, canon

[mrchips]

I really doubt its done on purpose or by oversite or under production. IMHO its a shortage of GOOD CMOS sensors. I have a real strong suspession that Canon is having a hard time making enough good units. There never going to tell you they are having that problem (like Intel would tell you the good-bad ratio of processor manufacturing).

To me it seems the only major hardware difference over the D30 so if they can make D30 then why not D 60's .... probably the sensor.

Thats my take on it... for what its worth.

Denny

[jadams]

Hummm...

Read any of the messages posted about this. They include statements such as "I'm on the list at x, y, and z so that I get one asap."

Canon knows that this is going to likely happen, but they don't know to what extent. If a merchant has 800 standing orders, how many are they likely to really need/sell and not return to Canon at a later date?

Plus, how do you consider it a marketing blunder if Canon has managed to create large waiting lists of people dying to get their hands on one?

It would be a marketing blunder if people said "Oh, I can't have one today -- not interested." I think it's business smarts that they've managed to create such a market that they can have such a short demand and long wait..... but still sell every one that they make at full retail.....

Jasper

[koshyou]

In the current economy, having a backlog is good news for most companies... especially if it's a proprietary product. But if the competition has similar products on the market and available, having a 2 month backlog is someone's blunder that only serves to irritate the customer base and the dealers.

I've rapidly gone into the 'ticked off user' status. The demand for the D60 should have been easily predicted by their marketing people... it's at an ideal price point for corporate or semi-pro users. Instead they have people (like me) on a waiting list for nearly 2 MONTHS. I've taken this long to decide to switch to digital, and now that I decided to switch, I have to wait.

If they are indeed having manufacturing problems with the CMOS, I'd much prefer they get it right, instead of 'right now'. Nothing is worse than getting the latest equipment home, only to find out it's a steaming pile of crap that should have been run through a few more cycles in the test lab.

Regardless, this is an opportunity for their competition to grab customers, and from what I've read about the digital camera market, Canon cannot afford to give up any more market share.

If given the choice of getting another 6 megapixel camera NOW or the D60, I would choose getting the camera asap. My local camera shop has a Nikon D100 to take home and start shooting. Instead I have to continue to wait for the D60. Unfortunately I've been using a Canon EOS setup for 10 years so I know the system and have several lenses I like... so I'd prefer to stick with what I know.

This situation is just a bad thing for Canon to do to their loyal customers and certainly not good to attract new ones. But they probably expect all will be forgotten in a few months when they theoretically catch up with orders and get their act together. The D60 better be one awesome camera or I won't be recommending it to anyone.

venting mode off.

-David Hillyer
Marketing Dept.
Wabash National Corp.

[Sheila]

Just my two Aussie cents. After being on an interminable waitlist, I phoned Canon Australia and was told that they had no idea when the next shipment was coming into Oz and even if there was going to be enough to fill the back orders. So after phoning around the stores of a large camera retailer in the capital cities of east coast Australia, and constantly being told "sorry, there is a waiting list etc etc" I thought "now, where would there be a D60 sitting on a shelf with my name on it" and then Tasmania popped into mind. Tassie is an island state of Australia in the Bass Strait. I emailed their store in Launceston and, bingo, they responded that their Hobart store had one and they delivered it to my husband's office in Sydney this morning! The moral of the story is - be more pro-active in your search. Phone or email large retailers out in the styx (smallish towns etc) but don't put your name down on any more lists. Its exacerbating Canon's problems. There's a guy in American Samoa who is selling some on eBay.

There's a rumour going around the dpreview site that Canon had a whole bunch of D60s stolen from their warehouse!

Cheers
Sheila

[dazimmermann]

I was so excited when I heard about the D60, I pre-ordered mine from Ritz on-line two weeks before introduction at $2200 for the kit. Free shipping, no tax, no handling.

I thought I'd have to wait for months, but the camera arrived in 5 weeks. USA warranty, everything perfect.

I chose them, because I figured with national presence, they'd more likely get allocation from Canon. On the other hand, they might have more orders than others. I figured D60 buyers are more likely to go to the NY shops than Ritz.

I would be last guy to choose Ritz over B&H or some of the other more professsionally-oriented dealers, but it was a great experience.

I can't say Ritz' backorder is still only five weeks, but their price beat the NY shops, the local dealers by a mile, and they're a reputable, nationally known firm.

There are lots of used and gray-market D60s for sale on eBay for more than $2200.

[Dick Ginkowski]

...at least in part had Canon fulfilled end user orders in a chronological manner, the same as Chrysler, Ford or GM would have.