Numerous British sources are reporting that Nikon UK has raised the price of the D4 and D800, apparently due to a "systems error."
Okay. How the heck did a "systems error" persist for more than 45 days? Well, because you promulgate it, that's how. The only question is whether this was caused by mismanagement or by intentional postponement. Neither are the measure of an organization that's on top of their game.
The change Nikon is making isn't trivial. In US dollars it amounts to a price change of US$778 on the D4. A British purchaser will now be paying the equivalent of US$8394 for a D4. Let's see, US price is US$6000. The UK 20% VAT is US$1200. Not sure what UK duties are on cameras these days, but I doubt it's another 20%. But even if it is, you'd think that Nikon UK would know what that number is and wouldn't promote a wrong number right up to the day they start shipping product.
The net overall price increase just made measures out to a bit over 10%. Hard to figure how you miss by that much and not notice it somewhere in your organization the first week, let along the second, third, fourth, fifth, right up to the 11th week.
But wait, they did it twice. The D800 was also changed in price this week by Nikon UK. So six weeks after its price was announced, we suddenly have a realization on Nikon's part that their numbers are wrong?
UK Nikon users are noticeably (and understandably) upset at the moment. Many who haven't yet received their cameras don't know exactly what they're going to be charged (though Amazon UK has a relatively clear policy of matching the price quoted when ordered).
In the UK Nikon has now messed up what otherwise should have been a successful launch. Moreover, what they haven't done is be forthcoming to Nikon users. You don't change product price by 10% without making a statement to users, up front and no later than when you make the change. PR 101 says this is a major credibility issue for an organization, and that they will continue to suffer from upset users spreading the word. Nikon UK needs to step forward to make it clear what happened and why, clarify what price people will pay for their preorders, and vow to fix whatever problem caused this so that it doesn't happen again.