That's right, it's only $899 now, but on July 1st, the price of a new Bugaboo Cameleon jumps $80 to $979.
And a new Frog hops a whole $130, from $629 to $759.
So if you're in the market for a Bugaboo, your money-saving clock is ticking.
But some things won't change: the Bee will stay right where it is at $529, and the Cameleon being sold by some total scam artist on Amazon for $1,500 will still be insanely overpriced. Does anyone police this stuff?
Buy a Bugaboo through Amazon US before July 1st, and DT makes several fewer dollars! [amazon]
Buy a Bugaboo from DT Sponsor JoggingStroller.com before July 1st, and DT gets a cut of a lower sale price! [joggingstroller.com]
Do you know whether the accessory prices will also jump?
Any feature/accessory changes to go along with the price increases?
Just a thought but I'm wondering if there's a marketing lesson on price points that's being played out here. In the days since we bought our first stroller (2006) there has been a significant increase in the number of players in the Bugaboo price range than there were. Back in 05/06, if you wanted to spend top dollar on a stroller you bought a Bugaboo. That's no longer the case. There are now many options in the $700-900 territory. (I've noticed that Uppa Baby might even be outpacing Bugaboo on the Upper West Side.) Perhaps the price increase is an attempt to move up toward the upper end of the range to try to reclaim the feeling of exclusivity. An attempt to make sure that a Bugaboo is presented when a customer wants to see a store's "top" stroller rather than a Bugaboo along with 3 or 4 other options.
I think you're right about the price point dynamic, but I see it playing out the other way. I.e., when everyone else entered the Bugaboo-created premium niche, they mostly priced themselves around $100 or so below the Bugaboo [except for Orbit and Stokke, of course]. That eventually put downward price pressure on Bugaboo, especially when the economy was turning down.
I have to think that Bugaboo's price drop was an [over] reaction to the retail shock of last fall/winter, coupled with a pretty big management shakeup in the company.
That said, you're absolutely right, too, that the premium market dynamics have shifted, and it's no longer just Bugaboo and the rest. What's also funny, though, is that UppaBaby has raised their prices, too; they started out wanting to be a mid-range Bugaboo alternative, but they've been pricing the same stroller up closer to the Frog.
I must say I'm partial to the used Bugaboo BAS in the practical all white color up for $1800 on ebay right now.
Ha, I tried to talk my husband into that style while we were in Genius Jones, but there was no way he was going for those all-white tires (or paying more for the headache of keeping that fabric clean).