Dear all,
Long story short, I lost my Mavic so I've been trying to buy a new Mavic (body only) for a while now. After bugging DJI support for the longest time, they finally added the body only to their website as seen in this link below:

http://store.dji.com/product/mavic-pro-aircraft-excludes-remote-controller-and-battery-charger?from=search#/?_k=2ek603

The problem is that they are selling the body only for $899 USD!!! That is CRAZY. Who in the hell is going to pay $899 USD for a body only??? The customer is better off just spending $100 more to get a brand new Mavic + RC for $999 USD.  Also, they are selling the 'body only' WITHOUT a battery charger (seriously???).

To make things worse, the 'body only' has an estimated shipping time of 15-20 business days and the Mavic + RC has an estimated shipping time of 3-5 business days.

What's funny is they are also selling the RC Remote only for $299 USD as seen HERE.
So..... $899 for the body only and $299 for the RC Remote only... hahaha you're out of your mind DJI!

Ok here is what I mean about DJI lying. Do you remember the Mavic Pro Keynote that they did back in September 2016? (The one where they said the body only would sell for $749). If not, let me refresh your memory. Please go to the YouTube link below, which is the Mavic Pro Keynote announcement (fast forward to 20:05). He basically said the Mavic without RC would cost $749 (not $899).

I would like to hear everyone's thoughts about this. End of rant.

Sorry about your frustration, OP. DJI has the discretion to set or change the price of its products at anytime without prior notice, before the customer actually pays for it.  It's just normal business practice.

DJI-Thor Posted at 2017-2-17 00:01
Sorry about your frustration, OP. DJI has the discretion to set or change the price of its products at anytime without prior notice, before the customer actually pays for it.  It's just normal business practice.

True Thor,
but you must admit,  the Matrice 600 launch was off the chain plain FALSE!!!
For all the good products DJI brings.  Some are just off.

DJI-Thor Posted at 2017-2-17 00:01
Sorry about your frustration, OP. DJI has the discretion to set or change the price of its products at anytime without prior notice, before the customer actually pays for it.  It's just normal business practice.

True, but I mean... you don't see big tech companies like Apple (or Samsung) doing this with their products when they announce them at the keynotes. They usually tell you the price for 32GB, 64GB, 256GB iphones... etc., release the products, then over time they decrease in price (not increase).

Dean Sonetirot Posted at 2017-2-17 00:53
True, but I mean... you don't see big tech companies like Apple (or Samsung) doing this with their products when they announce them at the keynotes. They usually tell you the price for 32GB, 64GB, 256GB iphones... etc., release the products, then over time they decrease in price (not increase).

It actually does increase, the official iPhone's price in UK, 2016,  and in Japan in 2013

DJI-Thor Posted at 2017-2-17 01:00
It actually does increase, the official iPhone's price in UK, 2016,  and in Japan in 2013

Come on Thor - that's because the English pound suffers because of Brexit

"I would like to hear everyone's thoughts about this."

Well, first off I agree that it makes no sense to pay $899 for the UAV alone when you can get it, the controller, and some accessories for $999. But I'm sure DJI realizes this, and that there's a reason for the odd pricing, though I could only speculate as to what that might be.

As for "lying", that would imply that they already knew at the announcement that they wouldn't be selling the standalone UAV for $749, which I very much doubt. More likely they really intended at the time to sell it at that price and later changed the price due to demand or some other reason, such as lack of effective competition from Go Pro.

24ctDrone Posted at 2017-2-17 00:08
True Thor,
but you must admit,  the Matrice 600 launch was off the chain plain FALSE!!!
For all the good products DJI brings.  Some are just off.

When I first started researching the Mavic's stand-alone price was $795, which isn't too far off from what you say they announced at launch.  

Who knows? That may have been loss-leader pricing meant to undercut Karma sales.

Buy the combo, put the extra RC up on eBay to recoup some $, surely you can find a buyer who doesn't want to spend $300 on one.

I think 'lying' is going much too far, as that implies initial intent to deceive when the initial pricing was announced.  I can't imagine for one second that's the case.

Here's what I really, really don't like about the pricing, personally.  There are plenty of people who have a bad accident or a flyaway and are stuck with a controller and charger but no Mavic (e.g. no care refresh or completely lost in an incident).  Those are probably a good chunk of people that would be after a body-only, I imagine.  It doesn't seem like good PR to price that option in a way that could be misconstrued as profiteering from those that have already suffered a loss.  Just a thought...

You have the option of not buying

Price increase because the Karma fizzled out. No competition

"I charge what I want, mofo! "

Gopro has announce the re-release of their karma . Problem resolve, it turn out to be battery getting loose from it compartment leaving the Drome  with out power.

So your options are pay $899 for the body or buy another Mavic complete for $999. Problem solved.

That's trusting man.  Don't think they lied.  They are just growing too quick and can't keep up with it all.  For all newbies,  get the DJI Refresh!  And don't buy products in general if they don't offer support for the product.  Make sure you check first.

Three options.

One, buy the mavic for the asking price.
Two, dont buy the mavic for their asking price.
Three, start a thread and whine about the price and make petty claims about lies.

Although the OP's title is a bit inflammatory, let's still keep it civil, guys. People are allowed to voice their opinions as long as their topic encourages discussion.

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-2-17 07:14
When I first started researching the Mavic's stand-alone price was $795, which isn't too far off from what you say they announced at launch.  

Who knows? That may have been loss-leader pricing meant to undercut Karma sales.

Yea that's what I will most likely do.

Buy a new Mavic + RC for $999, then sell the "old" RC (used only 3-4 weeks so it's basically new).

BuzzCut Posted at 2017-2-17 13:06
I think 'lying' is going much too far, as that implies initial intent to deceive when the initial pricing was announced.  I can't imagine for one second that's the case.

Here's what I really, really don't like about the pricing, personally.  There are plenty of people who have a bad accident or a flyaway and are stuck with a controller and charger but no Mavic (e.g. no care refresh or completely lost in an incident).  Those are probably a good chunk of people that would be after a body-only, I imagine.  It doesn't seem like good PR to price that option in a way that could be misconstrued as profiteering from those that have already suffered a loss.  Just a thought...

Yes! Exactly! You hit it right on the money. I already paid a lot of money for the Fly More Combo, then lost my Mavic body (and ND filter, 1 battery, and a nice 64GB memory card to make things worse).

DJI needs to realize that there are people who need the body only. It really makes no sense why they would price it at $899 (only $100 less than the Mavic + RC).

Even worse... DJI support didn't allow me a 15% discount to purchase a new one. SIgh....

24ctDrone Posted at 2017-2-17 15:04
That's trusting man.  Don't think they lied.  They are just growing to quick and can't keep up with it all.  For all newbies,  get the DJI Refresh!  And don't buy products in general if they don't offer support for the product.  Make sure you check first.

I purchased the Mavic in the US over the Christmas holidays, then brought it back to Thailand with me (where I now live and work).

Unfortunately, Thailand is not one of the countries that DJI Care supports.