MP's at Sam's Club

[PoolerGA]

I just returned from Niagara Falls and while I was there I had reason to visit Sam's Club. As soon as you walked in you were met with a vendor display for the Mavic Pro. The cost was the same at just under $1k but the availability is what took me away. I guess the shortage is over. Also, with an in your face public offering, it made me feel like I was no longer going to belong to an elite group of owners who had pride and respect for their hobby. I can only imagine what this will do for our image as those who have no common sense start flying. Sure the price will keep it out of the hands of some......

 

[Nikon1]

I feel the same about the potential "level of pilots" that this selling strategy may open the skies to. With the backlog that the Mavic Pro has generated over the last 7 months there weren't too many opportunities for Instant Gratification purchases, so the committed buyer was someone who knew what they were buying.

Selling them now at Sam's Club opens that Instant Gratification door wide open. "Mommy - I really want THAT!"

As always, YMMV

 

[Ziggy01]

Wtf is sams club?

 

[2nckayakers]

It is like a BJ's or Cosco just owned by the same parent company as Walmart. Bigger Box Chain Store is basically it.

 

[2nckayakers]

I just returned from Niagara Falls and while I was there I had reason to visit Sam's Club. As soon as you walked in you were met with a vendor display for the Mavic Pro. The cost was the same at just under $1k but the availability is what took me away. I guess the shortage is over. Also, with an in your face public offering, it made me feel like I was no longer going to belong to an elite group of owners who had pride and respect for their hobby. I can only imagine what this will do for our image as those who have no common sense start flying. Sure the price will keep it out of the hands of some......

Off topic of your thread, but being in Pooler have you flown down around Savannah or Tybee anywhere and if so did you have any issues? I go down there several times in the summer to paddle around in Lazaretto Creek and out to Cockspur Beacon. I know flying from Ft. Pulaski is a no no, but I could launch from the little boat access that we use right there on 80 or there is a place across the street you can walk down to from the road, and then fly out across the south channel and around Cockspur. Just curious if you have done that and if so where you launched from.

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

I don't see it as a bad thing...Bottom line is that the Mavic is selling for $999. Being a parent, now with grown children, I can honestly say that I never made a $1,000 purchase for my kids on a "whim". These types of purchases aren't like buying you kids a Matchbox car at Walmart just to keep them quiet while you shop.

 

[Gerry65]

Yeah, I feel your pain, poolerGA. I always check out the quads at Best Buy and love seeing the Mavic and other DJI models displayed in the glass cases. Makes them look exotic and it makes me want to purchase the Phantom Pro model because its lines are so smooth and the pearly white color really stands out. Then I walk around the corner and see about 50 boxes of small, medium and large sized cheap Protocol quads piled in the aisle and advertised as having some of the same features as the Mavic. All this commercialization somewhat diminishes the pride that one gets from delving deeply into the hobby and being a serious pilot.

 

[Nikon1]

I do not have kids - I am my own - but in the area I live in, I would expect this very scenario to develop quickly. I don't belong to Sams Club, but I have seen a similar situation in the local BJ's Club where a kid was whining about something and the next thing I saw was his "parent" putting a $1,000 plus Computer in her cart to shut the kid up.

 

[PoolerGA]

Off topic of your thread, but being in Pooler have you flown down around Savannah or Tybee anywhere and if so did you have any issues? I go down there several times in the summer to paddle around in Lazaretto Creek and out to Cockspur Beacon. I know flying from Ft. Pulaski is a no no, but I could launch from the little boat access that we use right there on 80 or there is a place across the street you can walk down to from the road, and then fly out across the south channel and around Cockspur. Just curious if you have done that and if so where you launched from.[/QUOTE

Sorry to say that I have not flown the MP over those areas. I would have to say the proximity to KSAV might be an issue downtown. Also, if you like line of sight flying, the MP would quickly get lost over the canopy of oaks with Spanish moss. If I fly over Tybee, it is always in my Cessna. I am blessed to be a pilot and own a plane. The MP still amazes me every time I send it up.

 

[DSGDSG]

I just returned from Niagara Falls and while I was there I had reason to visit Sam's Club. As soon as you walked in you were met with a vendor display for the Mavic Pro. The cost was the same at just under $1k but the availability is what took me away. I guess the shortage is over. Also, with an in your face public offering, it made me feel like I was no longer going to belong to an elite group of owners who had pride and respect for their hobby. I can only imagine what this will do for our image as those who have no common sense start flying. Sure the price will keep it out of the hands of some......

Fortunately, I think the price tag is something that forces everyone that buys it to look into things a bit deeper and makes them have a bit of pride. There will be a lot of idiots no matter what the industry, but they are more likely to be idiots with a much cheaper drone than this one. IMHO anyway.