Barry_Green
Moderator
... okay, up front, let me say that this ISN'T the 10-year-anniversary post I wanted to be making...
This month, September 2013, marks the 10-year anniversary of when I first joined DVXUser. I cannot begin to describe that journey here, nor is this the right post for that -- I'll wait another 400 posts until I hit 50,000 for that.
But it's also been almost 9 years since I wrote and published my first book about a Panasonic camcorder -- The DVX Book; first released in November of 2004. The reception from the DVXUser community was overwhelmingly positive, and I've always been delighted by that; I've had so many positive reviews and people writing PM's specifically to tell me how helpful they found it; thank you one and all for that, it's very much appreciated.
Shortly after The DVX Book was released, in January of 2005, Jan Crittenden of Panasonic USA (the manager of the DVX100 product line) decided that it was valuable enough that she wanted to package it with every camera sold throughout the USA. And that was the first of many such promotions; it continued with The HVX Book, The HVX & HPX Book, The HMC Book, The AF100 Book, The AC160 & AC130 Book, The AC90 Book, and The HPX Book.
And now it's come to a screeching halt. Panasonic USA has gone through some substantial corporate restructuring, the management team that was in place during the last decade is gone, and even Jan has chosen to change jobs and is now a regional sales representative over the northeastern USA, rather than in product management. And the new management team in place has decided that they are discontinuing the book promotion deal.
Panasonic has yet to notify you of this change, so I will. I've already received questions from several customers who just bought camcorders, asking why there was no book included. As the inventory at dealers rotates over, cameras with books in them will be sold out, and replaced with new cameras with no books, and people are starting to notice, and some are none too pleased by it, and so I felt an announcement needed to be made. I think it's unfair that people who were counting on receiving the product are now opening the box and being disappointed by finding out that it's been discontinued, so -- I think you all should know that if you buy a new Panasonic camcorder, you should count on the book not being in the box anymore. It's possible that it may be, if you get one of the remaining inventory that still has it, but going forward those will disappear.
Needless to say, this is not the way I would have wanted things to go. There are very good reasons why this has been a successful promotion for NINE YEARS, but -- the current management does not see it that way, and they're the ones who make the decision.
I can't change their minds. But I can do what I can to ease the transition a little. I was thinking of doing some sort of 10-year-anniversary promotion anyway, so now seems like an appropriate time to put something in play. Accordingly, I've dropped prices across the board; my books were $89.95, I've cut the prices by $20 to $30 to ease the sting. And, since it is my 10-year-anniversary at DVXUser, I've put a promotion code on my Amazon store specifically for you, the DVXUser membership. Use coupon code 10YEARSA when you check out, and you'll save an additional 35% between today through 12/31/2013. That brings the net price down to half-price or less. I know it's not the same as getting it for free, but I hope it helps lessen the sting.
My sincere thanks and gratitude to you, the members. I've spent 10 years here, racking up nearly 50,000 posts (and no, that post count isn't artificially inflated, those are actual legitimate posts), and countless private message discussions, and I've very much enjoyed seeing members grow from complete newbies to working professionals and even Academy award nominees. I've been very grateful to be a part of this DVXUser phenomenon. Thank you very much to all of you.
This month, September 2013, marks the 10-year anniversary of when I first joined DVXUser. I cannot begin to describe that journey here, nor is this the right post for that -- I'll wait another 400 posts until I hit 50,000 for that.
But it's also been almost 9 years since I wrote and published my first book about a Panasonic camcorder -- The DVX Book; first released in November of 2004. The reception from the DVXUser community was overwhelmingly positive, and I've always been delighted by that; I've had so many positive reviews and people writing PM's specifically to tell me how helpful they found it; thank you one and all for that, it's very much appreciated.
Shortly after The DVX Book was released, in January of 2005, Jan Crittenden of Panasonic USA (the manager of the DVX100 product line) decided that it was valuable enough that she wanted to package it with every camera sold throughout the USA. And that was the first of many such promotions; it continued with The HVX Book, The HVX & HPX Book, The HMC Book, The AF100 Book, The AC160 & AC130 Book, The AC90 Book, and The HPX Book.
And now it's come to a screeching halt. Panasonic USA has gone through some substantial corporate restructuring, the management team that was in place during the last decade is gone, and even Jan has chosen to change jobs and is now a regional sales representative over the northeastern USA, rather than in product management. And the new management team in place has decided that they are discontinuing the book promotion deal.
Panasonic has yet to notify you of this change, so I will. I've already received questions from several customers who just bought camcorders, asking why there was no book included. As the inventory at dealers rotates over, cameras with books in them will be sold out, and replaced with new cameras with no books, and people are starting to notice, and some are none too pleased by it, and so I felt an announcement needed to be made. I think it's unfair that people who were counting on receiving the product are now opening the box and being disappointed by finding out that it's been discontinued, so -- I think you all should know that if you buy a new Panasonic camcorder, you should count on the book not being in the box anymore. It's possible that it may be, if you get one of the remaining inventory that still has it, but going forward those will disappear.
Needless to say, this is not the way I would have wanted things to go. There are very good reasons why this has been a successful promotion for NINE YEARS, but -- the current management does not see it that way, and they're the ones who make the decision.
I can't change their minds. But I can do what I can to ease the transition a little. I was thinking of doing some sort of 10-year-anniversary promotion anyway, so now seems like an appropriate time to put something in play. Accordingly, I've dropped prices across the board; my books were $89.95, I've cut the prices by $20 to $30 to ease the sting. And, since it is my 10-year-anniversary at DVXUser, I've put a promotion code on my Amazon store specifically for you, the DVXUser membership. Use coupon code 10YEARSA when you check out, and you'll save an additional 35% between today through 12/31/2013. That brings the net price down to half-price or less. I know it's not the same as getting it for free, but I hope it helps lessen the sting.
My sincere thanks and gratitude to you, the members. I've spent 10 years here, racking up nearly 50,000 posts (and no, that post count isn't artificially inflated, those are actual legitimate posts), and countless private message discussions, and I've very much enjoyed seeing members grow from complete newbies to working professionals and even Academy award nominees. I've been very grateful to be a part of this DVXUser phenomenon. Thank you very much to all of you.
