The increase in prices for smartphones is an event, although it is familiar to the Russian user, but not to say that it is so regular. Over the past 5 years, manufacturers have raised prices for their devices imported into Russia only a couple of times. Moreover, the first time was back in 2015, and the second – last month. But if 5 years ago all brands, without exception, took advantage of the opportunity to raise prices, now it seems that only Samsung decided to revise the pricing policy in the domestic market. Fortunately, the Koreans soon rolled back the prices of almost all devices to their original mark.
Samsung zeroed out and cut prices again
If you remember, in mid-May, Samsung raised prices for almost all of its smartphones, with the exception of the Galaxy Z Flip. But the rest of the flagship devices – not even the newest ones – added 10 thousand rubles in price. The only device that went up in price not by 10, but immediately by 20 thousand rubles, was the Galaxy Fold, which, after changing the pricing policy, was estimated at 179,990 rubles. The suspiciously flat numbers served as a hint that Samsung analysts did not bother too much about working out the pricing concept, but simply fulfilled someone's will from above. But, fortunately, this was a temporary phenomenon.
How much is the Galaxy S20
Prices for Samsung smartphones returned to the pre-quarantine level
I noticed this week that prices for many Samsung smartphones – at least in the official online store – have returned to April levels. Moreover, the reduction is presented not in the form of discounts, as is often the case, but as a new pricing policy. That is, you will not see any strikethrough.
- Galaxy S20: before – 79,990 rubles, now – 69,990 rubles;
- Galaxy S20 +: it was – 89,990 rubles, now – 79,990 rubles;
- Galaxy S20 Ultra: formerly – 109,990 rubles, now – 99,990 rubles;
- Galaxy S10: formerly 69,990 rubles, now – 59,990 rubles;
- Galaxy S10 Lite: formerly – 49,990 rubles, now – 44,990 rubles.
What exactly is the reason for the drop in prices, Samsung does not mention. Perhaps what happened was planned as an action aimed at compensating for the costs incurred by the Korean company during the pandemic and the depreciation of the ruble against the euro, in which the Russian office of Samsung purchases devices from the head office. And, perhaps, Samsung just realized in time that by keeping prices so high, they risked dropping demand in the already difficult times for Russians. At the same time, the price of Galaxy Fold for some reason did not return to the pre-crisis level.
Why the prices of smartphones have risen
Want to save money? Go to the gray market
However, in this case, one version does not exclude the other. That is, it cannot be ruled out that the Koreans from the very beginning planned to do exactly what they did. That is why the time interval between the increase and decrease in prices was so short – only about a month, or even less. But it should be borne in mind that Samsung could not predict the jumps in the exchange rate. Therefore, in May she had to buy smartphones at the rate of 81-82 rubles, and in June – at the rate of 76-77 rubles. That is, now we are offered to buy devices from a new batch, for which the Russian office paid less than a month earlier.
Has this made it more profitable to buy Samsung smartphones in official retail? Not at all. The reduction of 10 thousand rubles, which we have witnessed, still remains insufficient for the consumer to rush to stores for the flagships of the Korean brand. This makes no sense, given that in the gray retail, the same devices are priced at 20-30 thousand rubles cheaper, depending on the configuration, while they have the same warranty and are absolutely in no way inferior to the white models.