Hi,
I may suggest that Hasselblad has a different business model than say Phase One. They sell using the same channels that Nikon and Canon use, so they can have lower prices, with admittedly less support. Also, my impression is that you can actually send a Hasselblad to the factory for service, without involving any dealer.
With Hasselblad's business model it makes perfect sense to sell at lower price and at a larger volume.
It is quite possible that they reduce price because a new model is coming or for competitive reasons.
Little is known about Hasselblad's financial status as they are a privately owned company.
Best regards
Erik
While Hasselblad employs more of a Nikon/Canon channel than Phase One, they also still do employ many of the type of more service and support-oriented dealers that Phase One does, including Capture Integration. That does not explain their pricing policy. The difference between employing a service oriented dealer channel and a "Nikon/Canon channel" is significantly over-stated. Say for arguments sake the difference is 10 percentage points, that has an impact, but not as much as some of the price differences would suggest, nor as much as most believe. 10% of a $20,000 camera is $2,000 difference.
Hasselblad - New Gen$42,995 - H5D-60/80mm
$29,495 - H5D-50/80mm
$20,495 - H5D-40/80mm
Phase One - New Gen$40,995 - IQ260/DF+/80mm
No comparable for H5D-50
$23,990 - IQ140/DF+/80mm
Leaf - New Gen$34,095 - Credo 60/DF+/80mm
No comparable for H5D-50
$19,495 - Credo 40/DF+/80mm
Hasselblad - Old Gen$33,495 - H4D-60/80mm
$25,495 - H4D-50/80mm
$19,495 - H4D-40/80mm
Phase One - Old Gen$34,995 - IQ160/DF+/80mm
No comparable for H4D-50
$23,990 - IQ140/DF+/80mm
Leaf - Old Gen$25,995 - Aptus-II 56/DF+/80mm
No comparable for H4D-50
$15,495 - Aptus-II 40/DF+/80mm
Not really much of a difference, although perhaps you could say a 10% difference might account for the lower end price difference. But it's not a pricing strategy (or if it was, it is not a successful one). The difference in price does not create the necessary increase in volume.
I don't have an issue with the promotional price of the H4D-40 without a lens for $12,995 or with a lens for $15,495. The problem I have is that it should be a permanent price, and should have been reduced at the time of the H5D announcement. The "normal" price of the H4D-40 with lens is only $1,000 less than the H5D-40 with lens, which makes no sense. This shouldn't be a "promotion" it should be a price reduction.
Yes, you can send a Hasselblad product in for repair without any dealer intervention. From our standpoint, this is a disadvantage for the client. We continue to facilitate Hasselblad repairs for our Hasselblad customers, regardless of this optional policy.
Steve Hendrix
Capture Integration