Slave Flash Question

[Gavjenks]

Ummm... you may want to double-check that.

Okay, sorry. "Every major modern hot shoe except Sony." Pentax, Nikon, Canon, Sigma, and Olympus are all interchangeable for 3rd party accessories like radio connectors, or modern flashes doing basic manual firing (I never claimed TTL compatibility, etc.)

Really? And you base this on what? Do you have inside knowledge of their CODB? Please...

I know this because I have bought dozens of equally complex products for <$50, and assuming a basic 50% manufacturer markup and a 50% retail markup, that's a little over $10 in cost of production. Sure, maybe pocketwizard's general business costs are higher. Maybe they only employ beautiful, silver-haired virgins and hand-craft every pocketwizard device in UNESCO world heritage architectural sites on daisy-dappled picturesque Swiss mountain slopes.

But why would they? If it is POSSIBLE to make something like this for $10 (and we have evidence that it is), then pocketwizard would be silly not to do exactly that. Any higher costs than that would just be wasting profits, no matter what price they sell the final product at at retail. So it is safe to assume that if pocketwizard is an intelligently run, efficient business, they would be making these things for ~$10, because they CAN. Then, they simply charge whatever price gives them the maximum overall profits.

As I suggested in my earlier post, the reason why this is so much higher than the ham radio is very simple: pocketwizard has a monopoly on flash sync devices that have that many features at this point in time, whereas there is a lot of competition for ham radios (no monopoly). That is probably the entire story.





Monopolies are generally bad. DEFINITELY bad for the consumer (us, which means you shouldn't be happy about it). And most of the time bad for the overall health of a free market, too (due to lots of externalities, which is why there are laws enforced against larger scale monopolies).
It may still be worth it for you to pay if that's the product you need and there are no other options, but you don't have to be HAPPY about it.

Exactly! If you're not happy, there is another monetary system in place, used in a number of large countries, as well as many smaller, less developed ones, 'though I understand it's not been fairing so well lately.

... No. That's not how capitalism works. Capitalism is not an explanation for why you shouldn't be unhappy about prices. It is exactly the opposite, in fact. The function of a free market DEPENDS on people being unhappy with high prices. That's one half of the forces that keep prices in equilibrium. If we just shrugged and paid any price given to us, then the whole system would fall apart, because we would spend our entire savings on $15,000 loaves of bread, and then the economy and government would collapse.

 

[jwbryson1]

and assuming...

Exactly.

I have bought dozens of equally complex products for <$50

pocketwizard has a monopoly on flash sync devices that have that many features at this point in time,

Namely? Also, how are these 2 comments consistent? You mention "dozens of equally complex products" but then say PW has a "monopoly on products with that many features..."

Maybe they only employ beautiful, silver-haired virgins and hand-craft every pocketwizard device in UNESCO world heritage architectural sites on daisy-dappled picturesque Swiss mountain slopes.

And I think this says it all. Good luck with your photography pursuits.

 

[Dray1027]

Isn't free will a great thing, & The fact we live in such a great country that we can say what we want, or spend our money on what we want, when we want, without someone saying NO, you can't do that. Also its great that we have free enterprise to the fact of freedom to sell an item that we can perceive as a great deal no matter what someone else has purchased the same or similar product at a more costly or cheaper price. This is where advertising & marketing has come to be such a huge money maker in this world, in order to be competitive these companies have spent millions of dollars on advertising to persuade you & I to purchase their products, but still its up to you & I to make educated decisions on our purchases for whatever the reason is, its still our DECISION!

 

[Gavjenks]

Namely? Also, how are these 2 comments consistent? You mention "dozens of equally complex products" but then say PW has a "monopoly on products with that many features..."

A car is about equally complex to manufacture as a tractor, but they are not interchangeable in usage.
A ham voice radio is about as complex as a flash sync radio, but they are not interchangeable in usage.

These things don't economically compete with one another (and thus cannot break each others' monopolies), but they DO provide useful comparisons for manufacturing costs, because they are made in the same ways out of the same materials and have about as many features as one another, etc.

I have bought only one type of flash sync radio, but I have bought many types of radio devices in general that can transmit and receive and have equivalent numbers of features and build quality etc.

and assuming...

Exactly.

Assumptions are unavoidable. People who buy the pocketwizard are making just as many assumptions as people who don't. They're just making different assumptions, that's all. It's not possible to make a purchasing decision without assuming anything.

The goal of product reviews and discussion (which is what has been happening here) is to help people reduce the number of assumptions they make and the scope of those assumptions, in order to lead to more educated decisions being possible overall.

Educated decisions are a wonderful feature of our economy and modern lives, as Dray1027 so rightfully pointed out.

 

[Dray1027]

What a HOT little topic we have going on here..... Who knew?