Why buy?

[tommytavor]

I haven't noticed any discounts from buying anywhere except DJI for a new drone. Can anyone explain why they buy a new drone anywhere else?
Thanks
Thom

 

[Rchawks]

Yeah I've noticed that too.

 

[GFields]

I bought my first drone off of eBay because of the price. All other drones in my fleet have been bought directly from the manufacturer. Many buy from places that they have done business with before and have got good prices and customer service.

 

[Rchawks]

Yeah, best buy was a go to store for me locally, it's been shuttered. They closed the one in north Kansas city as well. So future purchases will probably be online for me (DJI).

 

[MA2 317]

Yeah, best buy was a go to store for me locally, it's been shuttered. They closed the one in north Kansas city as well. So future purchases will probably be online for me (DJI).

Same here, local Best Buy if available.

I have 3 in my area that I could purchase from, but haven't.

My SPARK & MA2 were direct purchases from DJI.

It's nice to see a physical item before pulling the trigger on a website.

It's nice to have a local option JIC I need something right away.

I'm patient.

.

 

[Cafguy]

I have an avata 2 on Backorder from PyroDrone. 10 more Days.(they have a three Battery deal.) I buy almost everything I can from them WHY? Service, support, and shipping.
I have had nothing but a great experience with them thru the years. I remember I ordered an ESC from them that was bad out of the box. Instead of telling me to go to the manufacturer they told me to send it back. The next day I received a new ESC and a bunch of Pyro swag...Service like that needs rewarding! I could get an Avata 2 anywhere right now, But I have other Drones and I don't mind the Wait if it keeps me in good at PYRO!!!

 

[Xi Zhou]

I bought my first drone from eBay, DJI authorized Refurbished; zero issues.

Bought all the rest direct.

 

[msinger]

Can anyone explain why they buy a new drone anywhere else?

Convenience, easier returns, faster delivery (especially if picking up in person), or maybe when DJI doesn't have something in stock.

I haven't noticed any discounts from buying anywhere except DJI for a new drone

DJI does sometimes have sales not available elsewhere. But, those sales are often also available from DJI dealers (like Best Buy) or Amazon. And then I've seen deals on places like Woot that not even DJI can match.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I haven't noticed any discounts from buying anywhere except DJI for a new drone. Can anyone explain why they buy a new drone anywhere else?
Thanks
Thom

Perhaps they don't like buying directly from dji. Or perhaps return policies favour other sellers.
If prices are the same I would prefer to use a seller that was, in my case, British or perversely Amazon but use of Amazon is due to their return policy which I think is superb.

 

[mavic3usa]

To me, there are several advantages to buying from DJI and these are somewhat specific so I understand it doesn't apply to all:

When you buy from DJI, you generally get a 1% credit. You will be able to use this towards the purchase of other drones or accessories. A single drone purchase could give you anywhere from $5 to $20 depending on your purchase. Over time, you'll build up enough to be able to buy something decent like batteries, filters, etc. You can even use it to buy DJI Care Refresh. I understand other retailers have their own discounts and reward opportunities but you won't miss out a lot if you go with DJI where you can use your credits.

In some states, DJI does not charge sales tax for the online purchase. If you buy a new DJI Mavic 3 Pro, this is huge, for example; maybe up to $300 for some. I can't comment on why they don't but please follow your own state's rules for sales tax liability. As far as I know, this doesn't happen at many retailers; however, I understand at B&H Photo (which I highly recommend) will pay the sales tax for your purchase when you use their Payboo credit card.

DJI claims they have a minimum charge for free shipping but I have been known to buy a singe battery or a filter for cheap and the shipping is still free. A NEO battery for $39 shipped is pretty good. Also you can pay $5 for signature required (seems to always be an option) if you live some place where this is important (you know who you are).

DJI is listed in a couple of cashback portals from 1% to 3% which is easy to click thru for additional discount. I am aware this applies to other retailers as well but usually there are restrictions and often caps on the total amount and suffer from occasional retailer denials but for DJI these appear to be largely unrestricted and pretty consistently paid out. Another way to shave off a few dollars.

DJI takes Apple Pay. You know who you are.

If there is a national DJI promotion, you can be sure it will appear on dji.com whenever it appears at the retailers. I haven't see it often where the bigger retailers are promoting a drone but dji does not. Couple times a year, DJI has big sales and sometimes they have specific only coupon where you can get a discount on a remote controller or when you buy accessories. These particular coupons are account specific (they have unique codes) and depend on your having some sort of prior purchase or account at DJI (I recall the $90 to buy the RC Motion 2).

 

[Kilrah]

At least here DJI only makes deals on old products once a newer one has come out, and I tend to get the latest thing so...
If I wanted to buy an old model I'd buy it used and way cheaper than their deal.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

To me, there are several advantages to buying from DJI and these are somewhat specific so I understand it doesn't apply to all:

When you buy from DJI, you generally get a 1% credit. You will be able to use this towards the purchase of other drones or accessories. A single drone purchase could give you anywhere from $5 to $20 depending on your purchase. Over time, you'll build up enough to be able to buy something decent like batteries, filters, etc. You can even use it to buy DJI Care Refresh.

Just curious, have you ever used accrued DJI points to buy anything?
If so, given their points-exchange-rate/time, it must take quite some time to gather the £/$ to buy anything.
In addition, here, their £ threshold for free postage is far higher than the likes of Amazon.
Certainly a "drone's" carriage would be free but not so for less costly items.

 

[mavic3usa]

Just curious, have you ever used accrued DJI points to buy anything?
If so given their points-exchange-rate/time it must take quite some time to gather the £/$ to buy anything.
In addition, here, their £ threshold for free postage is far higher than the likes of Amazon.
Certainly a "drone's" carriage would be free but not so for less costly items.

Participation in the public DJI forum over the years also for points, shows about US$130 redeemed.

As for purchases at DJI.com, my total history shows order rebates totaling about US$100 redeemed.

This is about in-line with other retailer affinity programs, my point is going with DJI does not forgo those so you're not giving up on the perks you enjoy at BBY rewards for example.

Fortunately I've never paid shipping at dji.com, even for something as small as a wide-angle lens that couldn't be found anywhere else except dji initially.

Amazon/BH for me is a close second because Prime means quick, free shipping (DJI is pretty slow) and the Prime Card will give you 5% off anything you buy. Unfortunately I live in a super high tax area and sales tax on Amazon is a pure theft; often as much as 10%. If the Mavic 4 Pro FMC with smart controller sold for US$4500, I would save probably $450 by buying from DJI or BHPhoto as opposed to Best Buy. So for me, it's not the points but the sales tax that primarily drive me there.

Right now, I have enough points to buy DJI Care Refresh for the DJI NEO so wherever I buy the NEO from, I go over to DJI.com and put 2-year on it for free.

Finally I forget to mention, about once a year, Paypal has a 5% cashback for purchases (promo) which helps if you plan your purchases by the year like I do. It's not easy to use Paypal in stores or at amazon so all of my drones purchases have been online and never in store. I try to save as much as I can which is why I am excited to see what happens for BF and the Holidays. Still on my list to buy are NEO and Avata2.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Participation in the public DJI forum over the years also for points, shows about US$130 redeemed.

As for purchases at DJI.com, my total history shows order rebates totaling about US$100 redeemed.

Thanks but that's a long post to answer a simple question. "have you ever used accrued DJI points to buy anything?"

"Yes" would have been sufficient.
I am assuming "my total history shows order rebates totaling about US$100 redeemed." means you used the generated money to buy stuff.

 

[mavic3usa]

Thanks but that's a long post to answer a simple question. "have you ever used accrued DJI points to buy anything?"

"Yes" would have been sufficient.
I am assuming "my total history shows order rebates totaling about US$100 redeemed." means you used the generated money to buy stuff.

I know but I had planned to add more to my previous post about the pros for going to someone besides DJI so I just added it to this post instead. I guess really you can't go wrong with DJI, Amazon, or someone good like BH. Not a fan of Worst Buy.

 

[VenomXts]

I buy from Amazon because of their return policy and my history with them.

 

[RangerEd]

I buy from Amazon because of their return policy and my history with them.

Same here. Plus I get 5% credit for using their CC.

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

The price for DJI products is set and dealers cannot lower that price. However, dealers I have dealt with knowing they cannot lower the price on the DJI product will throw in another product or accessories in place to compensate for a discount.

 

[DISC]

Went Amazon for my Mini 4 Pro Fly More because they offered 2 years interest free. Means I left the money in my bank saving account and earn 5%. Meanwhile I’m paying the £40 a month out of my pension and have ended up leaving the savings alone! No-brainer….

 

[REStewart]

I have bought from BHPhotoVideo.com because they pay the state sales tax when you use their PayBo card. In Michigan that's 6% so it amounts to a $60 discount on a $1,000 purchase. And their reputation for support is excellent.