Woot! Off - - anyone see these deals on Woot!

[Oasis]

Has anyone come across these deals on Woot! I just ordered the DJI Mini 4 Pro Fly More Combo Plus for 35% less than retail. It says new in box. Curious if anyone else has used the deal or if I should be worried about any issues. It does say NEW and there is a full return policy. There is also a Mavic 3 PRO with DJI RC, and a Mini 4 Pro without fly more and the DJI Mini 3 with DJI RC.

(NEW) DJI Drones

I wonder if these are new

electronics.woot.com

 

[MS Coast]

Those appear to be legitimate offerings. Woot is an Amazon company and, as you say, they're specified to be new and there's a reasonable refund policy.

I bought a couple of things from Woot and had no problems whatsoever.

 

[Cafguy]

WOOT does sell refurbs BUT when they do it is clearly noted. These say NEW I will bet they are.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Has anyone come across these deals on Woot! I just ordered the DJI Mini 4 Pro Fly More Combo Plus for 35% less than retail. It says new in box. Curious if anyone else has used the deal or if I should be worried about any issues. It does say NEW and there is a full return policy. There is also a Mavic 3 PRO with DJI RC, and a Mini 4 Pro without fly more and the DJI Mini 3 with DJI RC.

(NEW) DJI Drones

I wonder if these are new

electronics.woot.com

That $749 is $200 less than I paid for the same DJI Refurbished kit directly from DJI last November! Great deal! Only problem for me was the three included Plus batteries cause RID broadcasting and registration requirements, so I had to separately purchase 3 Regular Mini 4 Pro batteries for use when I want to stay under 250g for travel and no RID broadcasting. I suspect that is the reason for the discount. Most buying the Mini 4 Pro are doing so to avoid continuous RID broadcasting of their location for their safety, and to avoid the necessity of pilot registration with the FAA. The Plus kit is really specifically designed for 107 pilots who must broadcast RID regardless of weight, but most of them want a heavier drone for stability in wind, and better cameras, more like the Air 3S or the Mavic 3 Pro.

 

[rwilliam99]

And it is now sold out. I was wavering on getting this - seemed like a GREAT deal - but when I checked a few mins ago it is gone - sold out.

 

[Starz]

My trust in Amazon has dwindled. Of the last two items(not drone related)delivered, both listed as new items, showed up as used. May be a while before I send Jeff any more $.

 

[mavic3usa]

My trust in Amazon has dwindled. Of the last two items(not drone related)delivered, both listed as new items, showed up as used. May be a while before I send Jeff any more $.

Seems to be a few complaints from the Woot portion of Amazon as well.

 

[Starz]

Probably Jeff have figured out how much money he spends on warehousing returned goods and has found an avenue to reduce those costs.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Probably Jeff have figured out how much money he spends on warehousing returned goods and has found an avenue to reduce those costs.

Jeff retired almost 4 years ago.
He's very busy now with his new trophy lady/eye candy. LOL!

 

[Starz]

Okay, his team.

 

[thegoat]

I suspect this is connected to the Mavic 4 coming out.

I was a Woot customer before Amazon acquired them. Less so now but every so often they'll have something I want.

The sales approach of Woot is to get odd lots of products, throw together a quick description, price it at a good but not necessarily great price, and encourage fear of missing out by emphasizing throughout the sales experience that everything is temporary and the product could go out of stock at any moment including after you've placed your order. It's a classic pushy sales tactic, "ACT NOW! SUPPLIES ARE RUNNING OUT! THIS IS YOUR ONLY CHANCE TO GET THIS DEAL!", but at the same time they sometimes have legitimately good deals - if you understand that there is probably a new model coming out next week, or some other reason they want that inventory cleared out fast.

The secondary mission of Woot is to provide data to retailers/manufacturers. If a product is moving x units a month at a certain price, and the manufacturer thinks maybe they could sell more if they lowered the price but they don't want to set a precident, how do they get accurate information? One way is to ask Woot to sell a small lot, and see how customers respond. They can try a certain price or package in a limited way, and the audience is limited so they are less likely to set a new price expectation for consumers.

I suspect what you saw on Woot was either DJI figuring out new prices for the old drone models if they intend to continue making them, or DJI/someone else clearing out inventory in advance of new models.

I also suspect they sold some Mini 4s to encourage that fear of missing out by having some products run out really quickly. But maybe those are stacking up now that they have the Flip and Neo and they needed to clear some inventory.

 

[Starz]

Would be interesting to find out if the package the OP mentioned would show up in a sealed DJI box.

 

[thegoat]

Well, I can't speak for OP, but the DJI drone I ordered from Woot/this sale arrived today and it was in a sealed box complete with the little pull tags DJI uses to make sure someone doesn't just re-shrinkwrap a box.

 

[mavic3usa]

Well, I can't speak for OP, but the DJI drone I ordered from Woot/this sale arrived today and it was in a sealed box complete with the little pull tags DJI uses to make sure someone doesn't just re-shrinkwrap a box.

Yes people should be aware that anyone can shrink-wrap a box and the pull tabs are harder to re-create so if you know what they are supposed to look like....

 

[thegoat]

Yep. Beyond pull tag, the drone is festooned with all the usual bits of anti-chaffing tape, foam collar for the gimbal, everything is in the same type of sealed bags my other DJI products have used, it has the normal bits such as extra control sticks, etc. I'm waiting for everything to charge but all evidence points to this being exactly the same new/never opened Mavic 3 Pro you'd get if you bought from B&H, Amazon, or anyone else.

My guess is that by this time next month $1599 won't seem like a special price. It might still be a good deal, or it might not. There will be a new flagship drone from DJI and most people will want the latest/greatest so DJI/retailers will drop the standard price.

 

[mavic3usa]

There will be a new flagship drone from DJI and most people will want the latest/greatest so DJI/retailers will drop the standard price.

We may or may not have seen this happen in the past (as in, dropping the price for the previous model isn't always a given); however, there won't be a retailer price drop if there is no "new flagship" for them. There is a good chance no US retailer will get the new drones "any time soon."

The price on the Mavic 4 is going to be pretty high. At this point, I'm not sensing a lot of movement in terms of "let me get rid of my Mavic 3 to make room from the Mavic 4." Mavic 3 is an investment for some and letting is go on the cheap is likely out of the question. Even the used Mavic 3 market is pricey so your run of the mill causal buyer probably still won't see it as a likely upgrade. Used Mavic 3 might get a shock rebound where the Mavic 4 price is so high, now Mavic 3 demand goes up.

 

[thegoat]

I have no idea what's actually going to happen.

It's also a bit irrelevant. We don't know why Woot is/was selling drones at a discount. It's all speculation. Yesterday I ordered one of the Mavic 3 Pros from them. I live close to their distribution center, so it was delivered today. As far as I can tell (as someone who has purchased 4-5 other DJI products over the years - not an expert) this is a legitimate new in box/never opened Mavic 3 Pro. It accepts firmware updates, DJI was willing to sell me fly-away insurance, it made a quick hop in my back yard, and in general seems to be a legitimate purchase.

 

[mavic3usa]

I have no idea what's actually going to happen.

It's also a bit irrelevant. We don't know why Woot is/was selling drones at a discount. It's all speculation. Yesterday I ordered one of the Mavic 3 Pros from them. I live close to their distribution center, so it was delivered today. As far as I can tell (as someone who has purchased 4-5 other DJI products over the years - not an expert) this is a legitimate new in box/never opened Mavic 3 Pro. It accepts firmware updates, DJI was willing to sell me fly-away insurance, it made a quick hop in my back yard, and in general seems to be a legitimate purchase.

Agreed, I think woot is legit and honestly, I don't ever believe I have seen a fake DJI drone. when there is scamming going on, it's usually "no drone" or a rock.

As long as DJI continues to offer Care Refresh for that drone model, any drone (new or refurb or used) that hasn't had Care Refresh in the past is eligible.