Rifle Scopes Why are Steiner Military scopes street prices so de valued?

[AndroCorpInd]

Steiner Military 3-15 and 5-25s MSRP is right there in the ball park of all the Top tier big dogs (S&B, Premier or TT, Hensoldt, Kahles) but they never sell for what the others do.

Seems their street price is always WAYYY less than the others and I'm not sure why.
Re sale value of the others mentioned seem to stay elevated yet I see people here struggling to sell Steiner 5-25s for 2k. Is it because their produced here in the US?

I've owned a couple Steiners and looked thru the others and to be honest I couldn't tell the difference.

 

[TallShot]

Decent question.

I don't have any ideas at the moment.

 

[bkw1911]

They had good resale price till the announcement of the new tx line which is much cheaper with the same glass and a few cool features. Since that announcement it seems the resale on them has dropped $4-500. Same with the vortex razor 5-20 was 2k and now people are lucky to sell them for 1300 with rings since the announcement of the gen2.

 

[Pusher591]

Steiner hasn't been in the tactical game long, while their scopes are top tier they aren't S&B top tier or they haven't built that reputation YET!!

Also, with the release of the new T5X around the corner and its substantial price drop compared to the German made Steiners is a big part of it. I think people are dropping the price on their currant Steiners just to get as much out of them while they still can. That's just my thoughts on it though.

I like the Steiners and I'm not some super Snipery, competition mad man that I can really tell the difference in them all that much as far as glass goes. If looking for a huge step up in glass compared to the Night Force NXS line and you want/need FFP, the Steiner fits that catagory.

 

[jsimonh]

They had good resale price till the announcement of the new tx line which is much cheaper with the same glass and a few cool features. Since that announcement it seems the resale on them has dropped $4-500. Same with the vortex razor 5-20 was 2k and now people are lucky to sell them for 1300 with rings since the announcement of the gen2.

^This. I'm happy with mine, best scope I've owned so far. BUT the soon to be released USA Steiners have shot the resale value all to shit. The listed price isnt what most people pay, just give a few of the SH vendors a call and you can get a way better price. Wasnt planning on getting rid of mine but the new Vortex sure perked my interest. Not gonna lose money selling my Steiner to try a Vortex though....

 

[sandwarrior]

They had good resale price till the announcement of the new tx line which is much cheaper with the same glass and a few cool features. Since that announcement it seems the resale on them has dropped $4-500. Same with the vortex razor 5-20 was 2k and now people are lucky to sell them for 1300 with rings since the announcement of the gen2.

^^^^this.

The Same thing happened for a little while with Swarovski. Their excellent PH line was devalued when they came out with a whole new line that "made them obsolete" Come to find out, for glass it's pretty hard to beat Swarovski. They didn't sell ANY tactical scopes to civilians is why you didn't see too much of them around here. The scopes they did make definitely centered around the average hunter (with deep posckets) and was probably most user friendly in those areas where hunters needed supreme optics the most. Look for a Swarovsky PH now and you'll find prices pretty much up there where they were before.

 

[hk dave]

Probably has to do with the release of the T line but I still prefer the M line myself.

Would be hard pressed to give mine up.

 

[AndroCorpInd]

They had good resale price till the announcement of the new tx line which is much cheaper with the same glass and a few cool features. Since that announcement it seems the resale on them has dropped $4-500. Same with the vortex razor 5-20 was 2k and now people are lucky to sell them for 1300 with rings since the announcement of the gen2.

That makes senses somewhat but even before the release of the TXs they weren't selling anywhere even close to MsRP. I purchased a new 4-16 from euro optic at least 6 months prior to the TX ever being mentioned on here for $1400 shipped and what an AWESOME scope that was but it MSRPs double that. I'm just wondering what's the freaking point of ever even posting those crazy numbers on them if they will never sell one close to that number. Perceived value is one thing but it's a little ridiculous.

 

[skeeterIII]

I bought a 34mm (model 5312) tubed Steiner recently for $1100 new when it lists for about $2300. True it is a discontinued model but I am not aware of other top tier scopes dropping that much when they are discontinued. Maybe i am wrong? Someone please tell me if S&B, Kahles, etc drop that much.

 

[LOCOBEAR]

This is what happens when a Manufacturer decides to launch a new product at the same price or much lower. The Steiner T5XI 5-25x56-Pre-order MSRP is $1899.00 way below the existing MSRP $3k+ of their existing Military 5-25. I really don't know what Steiner was thinking when they did this since the new line clearly could have come in at a higher price point and still gain the attention it has with the T5XI 5-25. Now they and their dealers are stuck with product they practically can't give away, not to mention consumers who want to resell their used ones. Look at S&B for instance, they launch a new line in the 3-27 at a substantial price increase and while their new prices are almost untouchable for the average Joe it caused their existing line to keep it's value for used scopes, even going up in price at retailers with their existing PMII 5-25. I believe their intention was to come up with this exaggerated pricing and eventually settle to a more reasonable price while their existing PMII 5-25 never decreases in value. I'm sure this is not the only reason why Steiner is in this situation but I believe this is a big part.

 

[skeeterIII]

The last thing I need is an "exaggerated pricing" when I buy a scope. That may be fine for S&B but for the money I can not see a big enough difference between the S&B and the Nightforce ATACR to justify the BIG price difference.

This is what happens when a Manufacturer decides to launch a new product at the same price or much lower. The Steiner T5XI 5-25x56-Pre-order MSRP is $1899.00 way below the existing MSRP $3k+ of their existing Military 5-25. I really don't know what Steiner was thinking when they did this since the new line clearly could have come in at a higher price point and still gain the attention it has with the T5XI 5-25. Now they and their dealers are stuck with product they practically can't give away, not to mention consumers who want to resell their used ones. Look at S&B for instance, they launch a new line in the 3-27 at a substantial price increase and while their new prices are almost untouchable for the average Joe it caused their existing line to keep it's value for used scopes, even going up in price at retailers with their existing PMII 5-25. I believe their intention was to come up with this exaggerated pricing and eventually settle to a more reasonable price while their existing PMII 5-25 never decreases in value. I'm sure this is not the only reason why Steiner is in this situation but I believe this is a big part.

 

[LOCOBEAR]

Many have been questioning the huge difference in pricing between the 5-25 and 3-27 with no real answer.....so far.

 

[LOCOBEAR]

I bet they were thinking they could sell a great scope at a great price. Which is a pretty good business model.

I'm sure in the long run, that philosophy will outweigh a temporary devaluation of some of their higher end scopes.

Would like to hear if existing owners of Steiner scopes agree with you.

 

[LOCOBEAR]

They may not be happy about it, but it is what it is. Steiner is going to do what they think best to develop a good product and a successful business model. I am sure the idea of pricing it higher was floated around.

I sincerely hope it becomes a trend throughout the industry that companies find a way to build a high end scope without the high end price. The consumer is the winner in the end

Don't get me wrong I will be happy as well but a successful business model should not include damaging the relationship one has with existing customers and there can be a way to please both while creating a new trend. They have done well and supported the shooting community as well as one can and I appreciate that as much as anyone. Just thought it was a little surprising they came out with a new line at the same quality of their existing line at such a low price point. Honestly, I don't believe they will stick with that price but we'll just have to wait and see. Looking forward to August

 

[EasyGravy]

Steiner being the "newer guy" probally thinking of getting this first american line out at very "decent" price to get them out there. Kinda like stack'em deep sell'em cheap.
All it would take is to sell a great scope at a below competitor price, be that under $2500. Times are tough and economy isnt that well and lets be honest most of these scope are beyond what the average person would spend. I think this might be the reason the new Razor 2 and Steiners are getting so much talk.
At these prices the average joes can afford a nice piece to play. Or at least get some of your "pro gunners" hand be downs.

 

[0311@LAR]

Kind of echoing the above post a little bit, I think Steiner realizes that they will sell a Metric Shit Ton of the new model scopes at $1900. So if it devalues the other model a little bit, it wont matter. The new scopes will probably more than make up the difference.

 

[BCP]

Well say you have a MAP price of 2699 and a wholesale cost of 1600 to the dealer. People will discount them.

 

[Irokcrawl]

Would like to hear if existing owners of Steiner scopes agree with you.

I plan on keeping my older 5-25x56 so I could care less about the value. I dont see anything in this hobby as being a true investment. Its been optic sitting on top of my go to match rifle in most cases when the S&B 5-25x56 has sat on a buddies gun for a while, even if Im not running the Steiner there the S&B get skipped over for a March. Personally I like the Steiner better at this moment and I got it at a pretty discounted price so If I do decide to sell I wont be loosing much there anyways.

 

[steve123]

Concerning the new TX5i line... We all hope this newer line of scopes will retain the overall quality of the older M5Xi line!?!? Wait and see I guess.

I hope they don't dumb down the quality to Burris level and get rid of all the bugs before production. As long as they are at least as reliable or I should say as well done as Bushnell's higher grade tactical line they should be a big hit.

From what I can ascertain just by reading here on the Hide the initial bugs from the first Gen M5's made some of us leery to spend the money on them vs some of the other higher end scopes.

Steiner should build into their scopes 10Y parallax, if March and S&B can do it so can they.

 

[finbox]

If you could own a hotel chain would it be Ritz Carlton (S&B), or Marriott (Steiner)?

Hint: Marriott owns the Ritz

Just becouse a company asks for top $$ for their products, has great resale, etc. like S&B does not mean its making money.

It's all about profits and if Steiner can make more money with a cheaper scope they will.