I don't know, but I really hate that I bought my Montage 8 in may... a month and a half before the €600 price drop! 🙁
The other german shop (MS) has still the Montage 7 & 8 in stock and their prices went up (€3499 for the 7 and €3599 for the 8).
Another Italian shop has all the three Montage models in stock, but on the website there's written that are the last 2 pieces of each model.

There may be something regional. I remember before trying to research something in Ireland that local shops were giving negative feedback about Yamaha in general (not specific to Montage). So this could be coming from either side (resellers or manufacturer). Would be interesting to learn if there's anything that can be publicly addressed by Yamaha (features, pricing, other business rationale). I would imagine this kind of thing would be better asked of the reseller as information may not be as forthcoming from the other side. We'll see.

@Manuel - Timing is everything. With technology - since it changes so rapidly - unless there is something rare/limited-run - you know that anything you purchase will quickly depreciate (including the retail pricing following a downward trend). As consumers who are aware of this - we can get caught in a trap of never buying anything because there's always something coming in a few months from somewhere. At some point you draw a line in the sand and hopefully do not look back - as there's always a premium for purchasing "early" (even if the day after your purchase is now considered "not early").

Well I just checked the webpage of another big shop in France and the Montage 8 is at €4069!

@ Manuel: yep there are absurd price differences between different shops at the moment. Plus prices change by several 100 Euros in one day. Maybe the price drops we have seen are some kind of "promotion" by Yamaha to increase their sales and now prices are going back to the old levels. But it all looks a bit fishy.

Jason wrote:
@Manuel - Timing is everything. With technology - since it changes so rapidly - unless there is something rare/limited-run - you know that anything you purchase will quickly depreciate (including the retail pricing following a downward trend).

Sorry but that's not true in that way. Prices certainly do not drop that fast. The Montage is practically still a new model/version. The last Kronos version is from 2015 and right now the 61 version costs 3400 at Thomann while the Montage 6 from last year is 2600. Needless to say, the selling rank for the Kronos is number 4 while the Montage is on 63. That speaks volumes! It could of course be different in the US but somehow I am under the impression that the Montage is struggling on the market.

My general statement holds true. There will always be consumers on the "fault line" of a retail pricing change. Time is the main determination here although other market forces (sales numbers, competition, etc) play a part. Products follow a general trend of introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.

https://marketing-insider.eu/product-life-cycle-strategies/

There's no hard-and-fast rule about the timing in terms of absolute duration for various inflection points. But a transition from "introduction" to "growth" does not seem to imply a very long timeline. Some products do "better" than others - there's no argument here about where Montage stands on this - just that there is an arc - and you have to draw a line in the sand or "wait forever" and never pull the trigger for a purchase -- since something new is always popping up.

Personally, I "milk" my old gear until I feel I've skipped enough generations to invest (and that I've recouped my investment either out of gigs, personal enjoyment, or some other metric).

I see you want to compare Montage to other products. This is a totally different track than anything I was addressing. I'm not disagreeing with your facts - just that your presentation is not related to my general economic statements about products (life cycle) in general.

Looking at the Montage on a UK on-line supplier, they only have one Montage7 in stock and no Montage8. The estimated delivery date for the 8 is December! I wonder if there's a supply problem?

Korg did something similar last year you could buy a Kronos 61 for 2600 and an 88 for 3400.
It lasted a few weeks until the price went to regular. This might be to reaction of the Montage.

Price drops are very tempting moments and for those considering to buy there always a steep level to
overcome in purchasing for as long the price stands. I had it last year regret it a bit else I would have
bot the K and M and sit doubly happy to enjoy these instruments the fullest.

Give it a few weeks to be sure industrie for instruments builders seems a bit fickle this year.
Not that it matters for consumers but its true we are sensitive for price drops and raises.

Maybe it is because theres a new keyboard comming out soon with DX and AN + awm2 synths in it callad MOnarch 🙂
That will happen but maybe not this soon.

We can fill a vacuum with any reason.

There's only one last Montage 8 in the italian shop that I usually check and now its price is €4350!!!

Previous advice to call the shop and see if you can get a reason for the inventory(qty)/pricing(changes) still stands. Shop may be more willing to turn on the rumor mill than corporate.

I don't follow the habits of music shops, but thoman.de in Germany right know doesn't have any Montage 7 or 8 in stock. They don't even offer a possibility to order one! A big austrian musicshop (klangfarbe) sells the Montage 8 for 3200 Euros!!!! The same price as the small Montage 6, tough it is a floor model. The Montage 6 is less than 2600 Euros.
As I said, I understand a discount for a model which is soon about to be replaced, but I hate such price fluctuations of almost 20%. They make me really feeling pissed of.

Sladjan wrote:

I don't follow the habits of music shops, but thoman.de in Germany right know doesn't have any Montage 7 or 8 in stock. They don't even offer a possibility to order one! A big austrian musicshop (klangfarbe) sells the Montage 8 for 3200 Euros!!!! The same price as the small Montage 6, tough it is a floor model. The Montage 6 is less than 2600 Euros.
As I said, I understand a discount for a model which is soon about to be replaced, but I hate such price fluctuations of almost 20%. They make me really feeling pissed of.

Just to mention that: All Montage versions are in stock again at Thomann. The Montage 8 is 3999, the Montage 6 is 2999 - same price I paid a long time ago.