Pioneer 640 getting scarce - Page 2

I don't quite understand all of the surprise with the Pioneer 640 running to the end of its life cycle. It has been common knowledge for a while that Pioneer was getting out of the standard definition DVD recorder business - especially here in North America. And as a result the 640 would be its last DVD recorder sold here in NA.

Pioneer had a very bad financial year in 2005 and 2006 was a year of reorganizing its business. Heads rolled. The standard definition DVD recorder channel was down sized right out the door. I've posted the Pioneer financial results in the past which contained company comment confirming this.

Here's another report from almost a year ago:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=aVSISYhJsnLw

quote -

The company has stopped making low-end DVD recorders sold mostly in Europe and U.S. because of falling prices, it said in its earnings statement in April.

No mention of ATSC tuners being the culprit.

Pioneer still sells the $3,000+ DVD recorders in Japan for example. But here it was time to get out of Dodge.

edit - I should add that there may be some rebadged Pioneer product coming out. Very similiar to what JVC did. JVC's comsumer DVD recorder is a combo unit made by LG. So Pioneer may do something similiar. But it will be nothing like what has been sold in the past.

Elec Warehouse just advised they will *not* be receiving the 15 Pio 640s later this month.

Mfr told dealer "They are all gone."

Electronic Warehouse was just informed they will not be getting the shipment they had expected. As the fellow told me, e-mails were just sent out to all the people who had back-ordered them.

According to the fellow, they (authorized resellers) were told the cut-off date was March 1st, that even if a 640H was already here is a warehouse, it could not be sold after this date. As he put it, any 640H still available will be selling for, "A pretty penny, probably from an unauthorized dealer," making it an expensive item given it has no warranty (his comment, but not a direct quote).

I ordered what must have been one of the last units from B&H. I placed my order through their web page at around 9:30 PM on Sunday, 3/4, and it came yesterday. So... they definitely shipped units after March 1st.

Theron

There is another authorized dealer (CDW) *claiming* they will receive their last shipment (49 units) on 3/12. They have only a few units not already sold.

Since Elec Warehouse cancelled my order, I decided to order 2 Pio 640s from CDW. What do I have to lose?

http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...px?EDC=1130909

For those of you that may not know CDW, they are HUGE. A Fortune 500 company, I believe. Their last shipment being 49 pio 640s, while Elec Warehouse only had 15 on order.

I just gave them a call and they have 50 640Hs on back-order from people. The fellow said they *think* a shipment (not necessarily just 640Hs) will come in on the 12th, but more likely the end of next week, beginning of the following.

From what the fellow said, he sounded less certain about being able to fill back-orders or even getting 640Hs in than the person you must have spoken with.

If someone wants to take a gamble, though, one can place a back-order. If CDW's last order was for 49 though, it sounds as if not all current back-orders will be able to be filled (if they do get 640Hs in).

I spoke to 2 salesman (2 calls), and both said 45 of the 49 had been sold.
This includes my order for 2. This was at 3:55pm today.

I asked the salesman (George) to call their Pio rep (Dee Sproule) and confirm the 49 units were in transit.

My call was just under two hours after your call. Although your salesman made more of an effort to look into things than mine, it looks like one person is on a waiting (or fingers crossed) list given there were 50 orders when I called--and you note only 49 are on their way.

Update:
CDW advises they have sold 51 Pio 640s, and they only expect 49 units on 3/12. Any orders placed going forward would only be filled if earlier orders cancel.

The CDW salesman said:
Some of the 51 orders go back to early Jan. Some of those people may have given up on CDW filling those Jan. orders, and purchased their units elsewhere. Hence, some of the 49 units *may* free up.

I know. Its unlikely. But where else can you place an order for a Pio 640 from an authorized dealer?

Finally, its not clear the 49 units are already in transit to CDW. And if not, I would not expect Pioneer to ship them this late in the game.

What are your thoughts about picking up an older Pioneer model on ebay?

E

garyjo: I am #51. Although I do not need one considering besides a 640H, I have a few 520Hs (that I love--the chapter mark button on the remote), I decided to get one for my mother.

Last summer when my mother came for a few visits at my summer cottage, she was VERY impressed by the chase play, pause, commercial jump abilities of my 520H and 531 (exchanged for the 640H). She does not watch a lot of TV, but did find watching via the 520H much more enjoyable.

At Christmas, when I asked, she said she was not interested in one. Recently, however, she mentioned missing some of the features of my DVD recorders. So... I do hope some of the people ahead of me in the queue no longer want one.

BTW, I was surprised the they charge tax on the shipping charge as well as the 640H. The S/H was VERY reasonable, but I can not recall paying tax on this before.

It depends on the model , condition (etc.) and if you have satellite, cable, or antenna.

I do know people who have purchased 520Hs from eBay and remain happy with their purchases. This is within the past 6 months. As I recall, the 520Hs have held their value better than any car.

Thanks for the advice. I have had the 420H for a couple of years and I love it and use it daily. Just wondered about getting a second machine.

cie3: My first Pioneer was a 420H. I was lucky enough to get one from Costco when their liquidation of them was announced here. It was because of that (wonderful) machine, which I still use, that I ordered my 520Hs. Oh, I also returned my HDD Panasonic less than a week after receiving the 420H.

In case you do not do this already, check completed auctions for the 520H (or 420H is you can find one). This will give you a good idea how much one in a condition you want will probably cost you.

Great. Will do that. Did a search on Froogle and there seems to be some sellers that have the 640s but they seem very, very sketchy from readers' reports on eopinions.

I got mine from Costco too! I was one of the last. I refreshed the page just after completing my transaction and the item #/product disappeared from the site. Think I was very lucky!!! My 420H has performed beautifully!!! It's my favorite toy.

Elizabeth

Lets hope for the best.

I think you have a shot at one of those 49 units.
Assuming Pio has already shipped them.
That is my biggest concern.

Same here. Given the other authorized reseller, noted earlier on this thread, expected to get machines in then justgot a message from Pioneer they would not be coming, I have to admit I'm not feeling very hopefull.

Some REALLY risky web dealers are advertising the 640H for considerably less, but I'm an authorized dealer only type when it comes to Pioneer products.

You said earlier that some of the 49 back orders were placed in January. I would expect a person to call and cancel if he/she was no longer interested [i.e. found one elsewhere, bought another brand].

CDW customer base is primarily businesses. It would not surprise me if many on the "list of 51" ordered their Pio 640s from a "second source" rather than wait on a list since Jan. And when CDW contacts these businesses to advise their Pio 640s have been received, several will advise CDW to cancel those orders.

My greatest concern remains "Will CDW get a shipment from Pioneer?"

Noticed Pio 640 on Flea Bay bid at $399, with a day to go in auction. This may be our first Pio 640 >$500.

It didn't take long for word to spread.

Maybe I wasn't clear, but that is my main concern, too.

ngohit,
I just got off the phone with CDW, cust ser (Karen x30120), after cancelling my order.

CDW ordered 49 from their distributor, but are only getting 4 next week *at most*.
There are going to be a lot of unhappy people.

I wonder if we can find some pio 640s in Canada? Any ideas?

Here in Canada it's getting pretty scarce too. Future Shop has removed it from their website. BB still shows it as out of stock (will ship when available) but I doubt any new stock is coming. You can however still find a few 543s in stock at some BB stores according to the website.

ACPewty, Thx for the heads up. Called BB.CA and they said the same thing. Namely, it is unlikely they will see any more units.

I checked back with Elec Warehouse to inquire on status of unit. They are now advising no new orders being taken.... but they are working on getting some Pio 640s for accepted orders. They volunteered they have some 300 orders, and a few of them may be filled. Seems like a lottery to me. There may be some lucky winners.

Regarding 2/28 deadline:

Retailers (B&H) CAN ship units.

Manufacturers cannot!

Well, you guys got me pretty freaked out about disappearing units, so I just got back from Best Buy picking up a spare Toshiba XS35. They had 2 left, one had a slightly bashed box but the other looked like it had been opened and resealed, so I took the bashed box and am keeping my fingers crossed it was well protected.

It's not the Pioneer, but units are still out there-- if your goal is just to get a HDD DVR, it might be worth checking into. (I know there are pretty major functional differences, my goal isn't to start a Pioneer vs. Toshiba thread) Since ALL of these units, from higher end manufacturers, seem to be disappearing it may be worth a shot to get one soon instead of wait and have the supply dry up. (you could always get an XS35 and return it in 30 days if you find a Pioneer)

Thx for the suggestion. If I cannot get a pio 640, I am considering the Tosh xs35 or the Pan eh75vs. Both units are recommended alternatives, and disappearing as we speak.

Any other alternative units worth considering?

BB.ca does have the 543 in stock. It is identical to the 640, except it has an 80Gb HDD rather than 160Gb. You can upgrade the HDD if the size is important.

I was surprised to learn BB.ca and Future Shop will not ship Pio 543s "over the border".

I was told by BB.ca cust serv my options were: they would ship to a Canadian address, then I would be responsible for reshipping units to the US; or
visit a BB.ca store and purchase units from store inventory.

BB.ca said they will not even ship purchased units to BB.ca stores for customer pick up.

They suggested buying a global warranty to cover any Pio 543 purchased in Canada and brought into the US.

Did I understand them correctly?

Are there any Canadian retailers willing to ship Pio 543s "across the border"?

Something adding to the scarcity of 640Hs is the number of units originally intended to go through the channel which, instead, Pioneer exchanged for defective 531/533/633H units (2005 models with TVGOS). I have no idea how many 640Hs Pioneer distributed this way, but it definitely resulted in a less than anticipated number available for distribution to resellers (authorized or not).

As a fellow U.S. citizen, I do not know. I suspect the problem would be that an authorized reseller in Canada is only 'authorized' in Canada. Even if the machine, contents, box are identical to those sold in the U.S.A., Pioneer could tell by the serial number if it was a unit sent to the U.S.A or Canada.

A global warranty would allow someone to get warranty coverage through a U.S. service center instead of paying an arm and a leg sending it to one in Canada (where it would be covered).

BTW, when I do searches, my only results are for U.S. based companies.