(news & commentary)
NikonUSA has already leaked it’s upcoming “Switch and Save” promo for the D810, though it’s much more like Buy and Buy More. There’s no switching, and only modest saving. Here’s how it works:
Buy a D810 and some amount of extra Nikon gear at the same time and you get:
- US$200 coupon for a future purchase if the additional gear totaled at least US$1750.
- US$400 coupon for a future purchase if the additional gear totaled at least US$3500.
- US$1000 coupon for a future purchase if the additional gear totaled at least US$7000.
The promotion starts July 17th and ends September 30th (i.e. most of Nikon’s 2nd quarter; think they’re worried about 2nd quarter sales numbers?).
Already the deal seems a little unclear. So if you buy one of Nikon’s official D810 bundles (the Videographer bundle, for instance), are those lenses qualifying “additional gear,” and if so, how much? ;~)
Seems to me like NikonUSA shouldn’t be letting staff go, they should be hiring staff that can get a promotion on target and clear from the get go. Unfortunately, the way this deal works means the paperwork ends up at NikonUSA to be dealt with by their now smaller team, and we all know how well the old NikonUSA rebate system worked when they did it this way in the past ;~). Good luck getting hold of someone who knows what the status of your coupon is. Moreover, if this promotion is really about getting people to “switch” (I assume from Canon, though Nikon’s vagueness is yet another problem with the promotion), you don’t want them delaying purchases, you want them to make them all now.
Finally, news of this promotion comes after many people pre-ordered the camera. The requirement is that you order the extra stuff “at the same time” to get the coupon. So NikonUSA effectively screwed those that jumped online fast to get in the front of the line for what will likely be a fairly popular camera (at least short term). Oh, I guess those weren’t “switchers.” ;~)
Sometimes NikonUSA promotions feel a little too much like a car dealer trying to clear his lot of inventory. I suppose we’re the fools for falling for the promotions often enough that NikonUSA thinks this the way they should do offers, because it works in some way for them. But I have to think there are better, more efficient, and less cumbersome ways of pushing products.
If you want the full text of the offer and the details of how to apply for it, see the PDF on this site’s exclusive advertiser’s site.
