New xiaoimi yi camera on the horizon

[c4rc4m]

Wonder what the UK price will be then, around £180?

 

[kamkar]

I think more, i fear it will lean itself up against the gopros and garmins, but on the lower side.

 

[kamkar]

Should go on sale around April 1 i hear.

 

[Mighty777]

On Gearbest it is marked to cost about 574 CHF (more or less the same in USD). That is crazy expensive!! It will certainly be a good deal for 299 (as rumors said), but more than twice the price of the Xiaomi 4K, or 50% more than the GoPro 5, no way! You do not get any assistance with a Xiaomi product (I love them, I have both the Xiomi Yi and the Yi 4K, but I do know that if I have a problem and they are under warranty, I cannot go to a local distributor, as I would do with a GoPro, and I have to ship it back to China...which is damn expensive and take a lot of time....). I hope the price (which is even discounted of 41%....crazy!) on Gearbest is a mistake, and the real one when they start selling is much more reasonable, otherwise will certainly be a flop!

 

[Deleted member 24437]

A Gitup responder on another forum said he talked to people from Yi at ces and he said they indicated it would sell for $ 299 US dollars

 

[Mighty777]

A Gitup responder on another forum said he talked to people from Yi at ces and he said they indicated it would sell for $ 299 US dollars

I know...but when I look at Gearbest which is one of the official reseller for all Xiaomi products and I see a price which is the double, then I get worried....

 

[jokiin]

Gearbest which is one of the official reseller for all Xiaomi products

is there a list somewhere of official resellers?

 

[c4rc4m]

If they're going to grow the business, they need to get themselves official resellers in each country that are going to provide back up support. Expecting people to buy direct from China and have no backup if anything is wrong, is only going to get them so far.

 

[jokiin]

They claim to have sold a few million cameras so far

 

[Mighty777]

They claim to have sold a few million cameras so far

Yes, and indeed I personally bought both the Xiaomi Yi and the Xiaomi Yi 4K, but I paid something like 80.- USD for the first one and 200.- for the second one (both online via Gearbest). The first one was good, the second one was a bit more risky (also because I had to pay Import Duties in Switzerland which brought up the price of another ~15/20%) but everything went well thus far (i.e. I do know that warranty, if there is any, is useless....as I cannot imagine I resend it to China....).

However, if now the Yi 4K+ sells for 400-500 USD, there is no way I will buy it....simply too risky to buy something so expensive and knowing that there is no guarantee....

By the way, perhaps not everyone has seen the glorious marketing file video of the new Yi 4+ (please do not misunderstand me: I do believe Yi 4K+ is a great camera, and will almost certainly buy it if the price is right, but the marketing video is a lie, and I would not have expected that from Xiaomi....):

 

[Mighty777]

By the way....here another video posted by the guy who realized the famous video which has circulated at CES 2017 and shows the new camera. This guy (I beleive a Swiss or a German video editor) also explains the story behind (it was a prototype, and mainly the video were to show the 60k capabilities, and not really the stabilization....as all video were shot with gimbals....in this second video you also see clearly the gimbal toward the end....):

 

[c4rc4m]

They claim to have sold a few million cameras so far

TBH I don't doubt it especially in their home and adjacent markets which are huge.

However, for people in the EU nations, I think customer service probably tends to be a bigger issue, with most wanting the assurance that if something goes wrong on £200 worth of camera, they have a local dealer they can take it back / ship it to and get a refund or an exchange. What many I think will find less acceptable is having to send a £200 camera back to China without ever knowing if they're going to see it again, and having the costs of International Insured Postage plus the hassle of customs if it is returned, and of course if it isn't fixed, having to send it back again at more great expense.

 

[kamkar]

It is indeed problematic buying in China if stuff break down, i am pretty sure if my new phone broke down it would almost cost me the same 200 dollars to ship it out there as i paid for the phone.

Okay just looked and it seem like the cheapest i can find is 70 dollars for a little phone to china ( no tracking or insurance ), you do not want to hear what the highest prize is, i am sure it will take that a few days of me accepting that as a fact though i sort of knew already.

And then when the parcel get out there the company have to pay customs too.
So yeah in general Chinese companies need to get out of there ASAP, at least for customer care and warranties.

Just looked for a prize on a 2 Kg parcel and 50 CM long - 15 CM tall and 20 CM deep OMG how the hell did the company i worked for afford to airmail pallets of transmissions we made ( estimated 4-500 kg for every pallet ) all the way to china

Its a good thing Danes are so used to getting screwed over, cuz IMHO that BS is reason for a revolution where heads will roll.

Also make me wonder how the hell the company in China that sold me my large PTZ IP camera was able to do that for free sending that the other way around the world would cost 5-6 times more than i paid for the camera.

 

[kamkar]

O just to add to your Danish knowledge, it will cost me around 91 USD to go from my home town to our capitol Copenhagen with public transport, thats about a 300 KM drive in train ( if those are working that day or can manage the whole drive without breaking down )

I could get a round trip ticket with a airliner to London for half of that, for the same prize i could also fly to Malta, and thats 2300 KM as the crow flies.

There is something rotten in the state of Denmark.

 

[Matt_V939]

Well, YI cameras are available on amazon in europe (as well as in USA), I have seen Yi trying to streamline & control distribution (not available e.g. on Bangood anymore) and having "international" versions:.
Of course they are more expensive than those purchased directly from china...but then you have 2 years warranty (and you pay VAT)....I would never buy a Yi+ for 500 $, sony with optical stabilization are cheaper.
299$ makes sense (also considering you must (it is a "must have IMHO) add 30$ for the "official" waterproof case....

 

[Mighty777]

O just to add to your Danish knowledge, it will cost me around 91 USD to go from my home town to our capitol Copenhagen with public transport, thats about a 300 KM drive in train ( if those are working that day or can manage the whole drive without breaking down )

I could get a round trip ticket with a airliner to London for half of that, for the same prize i could also fly to Malta, and thats 2300 KM as the crow flies.

There is something rotten in the state of Denmark.

Yes, it is true: you can find Yi 4K on Amazon in Europe (just checked the Amazon.de and it is available). However, on Amazon it cost 270 € while directly from China (on Gearbest) is ~180 € ....and I am not sure there is a better customer care if I buy it from Amazon...at the end it is not Amazon selling it, it is still Yi via the Amazon marketplace :-(

 

[kamkar]

I like Amazon.eu, help me get things i cant get here or things thats much more expensive here.

So the great question is EU upping to Danish levels on some things, or is the Danish society model a failure and we in turn have to cut back on some things.

Chinese companies should focus on this, cuz if they dont no one here will sell their products as Chinese sellers is undercutting and so no money can be made by a EU shop.
Its also partly why i shop outside of .DK as our sales tax is high, so just shopping elsewhere save me a few % on the prize, and then adding to that free shipping just sweeten the deal.

You will not get anyone here to admit it or even recognize it, but the Danish model is failing as out main products are all some that any one can just "copy" at will.
we cant compete on wages and what else we have anyone else can do too, dont for a minute think its only Vestas that can make windmills, like other companies they too will get snatched up like Siemens for one done with many companies here, and then that happen its good bye intellectual property and bye bye Danish jobs.

 

[c4rc4m]

I couldn't even find the Yi4K+ on amazon.co.uk. However the older Yi 4K is selling for £237 reduced from £289!!!

I think for me it's looking more and more like a Vico unless Yi get UK distributors ie proper shops with full warranty backup and bang good pricing. As it stands, in the UK from my perspective, Yi look high priced with no customer service. Personally, I'd rather buy a different brand with good service back up than risk a Yi at a stupid premium with a real risk of losing it all if it thing goes wrong.

 

[kamkar]

I am sure the yi 4k+ will make a awful dashcam, maybe not so much the footage it will make, that will probably be just fine.
But for all other aspects i could not see myself use a action camera as a dashcam, maybe journey cam now and then but never day to day driving documentation.

 

[Matt_V939]

Yes, it is true: you can find Yi 4K on Amazon in Europe (just checked the Amazon.de and it is available). However, on Amazon it cost 270 € while directly from China (on Gearbest) is ~180 € ....and I am not sure there is a better customer care if I buy it from Amazon...at the end it is not Amazon selling it, it is still Yi via the Amazon marketplace :-(

Sold by european shop=2years warranty (and you can return). Yes, you pay VAT. Up to you if you want to have better service & warranty and you'll get undetected through customs.