I already picked up a radio panel from saitek, so I was thinking of adding the Multi panel as well.. but looking online there is very few out there in stock. The ones in stock seem to be way over price too.

 

Does anyone know if this is a discontinuation issue or just low stock?

 

Thanks

Does anyone know if this is a discontinuation issue or just low stock?

 

Curious and a bit disturbing. Most Saitek gear seems to be low stock or unavailable right now, though the Multi Panel is the only one that seems to have jumped significantly in price. I love mine, but I'm sure glad I didn't have to pay current prices for it!

 

Scott

Current amazon prices showing £100, with 10 in stock from 1 seller and others having several in stock...

Given its specialist nature (Niche product), I wouldnt say that was low on stock..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Saitek-Flight-Multi-Panel-Pz70/dp/B003YC04X4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347418021&sr=8-2

 

I got mine off the shelf at PC world as they had it for the same price... (Which I found totally odd for PC world)

Given its specialist nature (Niche product), I wouldnt say that was low on stock..

 

I certainly agree that I wouldn't expect large stock for a specialty item like this, but I was struck by lower quantities than I'd previously seen pretty much across the board for Saitek's gear when I looked last night. And the price - the Multi-Panel is $165.30 through Amazon in the US, considerably higher than it's been in the past, and the Pro Yoke/Quadrant was and is out of stock. Other items seemed to have bumped up in quantities available since I checked last night including the radio panel, despite the fact that I bought one , so there does still appear to be a pipeline for some Saitek products.

 

Scott

Thanks for the responses.. I opted to try for the switch panel in the meantime.. figured i'd give this a little time to see if the price comes down a bit. After the multi I was going to get a PZ46 or two, but those babies are even more expensive.

 

I can only hope that at least some of these have lasting ability.. ie: become or are compatible with other sims down the road, though it would seem fsx should be sticking around a bit longer.

The F.I.P's are not compatible with other flight sims, but the rest of the Saitek kit is, it seems.

Why the scaremongering/panic just because something goes out of stock for a bit, you start speculating about it being discontinued? Bit unkind....

 

Why not ring Saitek/Madcatz and ask them directly...?

 

I'm only saying this because as the owner of several businesses, people's thoughtless negative speculation does have an impact, and on-line, that impact is permanent.

So while today, your negative speculating about Saitek discontinuing the switch panel seems harmless to you, think what it will show in search results for people looking for a switch panel, within days, and for many years to come..

 

Not having a crack at you, just merely asking that some forethought be put into what you say on-line.

The F.I.P's are not compatible with other flight sims, but the rest of the Saitek kit is, it seems.

Why the scaremongering/panic just because something goes out of stock for a bit, you start speculating about it being discontinued? Bit unkind....

 

Why not ring Saitek/Madcatz and ask them directly...?

 

I'm only saying this because as the owner of several businesses, people's thoughtless negative speculation does have an impact, and on-line, that impact is permanent.

So while today, your negative speculating about Saitek discontinuing the switch panel seems harmless to you, think what it will show in search results for people looking for a switch panel, within days, and for many years to come..

 

Not having a crack at you, just merely asking that some forethought be put into what you say on-line.

 

I don't think its scaremongering to ask the question as to whether the "Current" model is discontinued.. this isn't to speculate that they are going out of business, but rather a hope that someone with inside information would know more. I've read of some of the driver issues, so I wondered if the lack of stock reflected maybe a version increase, not a discontinuation of a product line. Sorry if the title is misleading or frightening, this was not the intent. The main intent here was to determine if going with a higher price low stock vendor right this second would be hasty if something new comes out in the same product line. No harm in going for the latest in greatest.

After trying all of them, the radio panel is the only one I kept. My opinion, that stuff is all way over priced. It's pretty sad that you have to use third party drivers just to make it usable. Without SPAD, all that stuff would be really expensive junk.

Why the scaremongering/panic just because something goes out of stock for a bit, you start speculating about it being discontinued? Bit unkind....

 

I don't see this discussion as scaremongering at all. The panel has jumped significantly in price and seems a bit scarce right now. A legitimate question was asked and some information exchanged. That seems neither excessively negative nor thoughtless. I'd been planning on picking up the radio panel for some time, and this thread actually reminded me that it was time to go to Amazon and get one ordered, in fact.

 

 

Without SPAD, all that stuff would be really expensive junk.

 

I'm not using SPAD, (though I might for the radio panel) and my Multi-panel works pretty much flawlessly in the GA aircraft I fly, and most Saitek gear is actually at the lower end of the price spectrum anyway. I'm glad things like SPAD and FSUIPC are available to enhance these kinds of products, but that seems a positive to me more than a knock on the products themselves.

 

Scott

My point was merely one that starting a thread with a title like this, purely out of speculation was a bit unkind...

I think its the sort of thing anybody who runs their own business understands a lot more, but left me thinking "Why not just ring Saitek directly and ask?"

 

Were not seeing low stocks of it in the UK..

 

I agree with Scott though, its not "expensive junk" at all, my kit all works perfectly well, exactly as its intended to work, when using the Saitek software, but I chose to enhance that further by switching to SPAD/FSUIPC, which it has..

 

Any niche product is going to be expensive due to its lower market demands and higher manufacturing costs of making hundreds rather than millions, and flight sim equipment is costly anyway, so I think they did a great job of making something VERY entertaining, highly universal and somewhat educational, at the price point they sell it at...

 

Maybe the thread title being adjusted would be a better option here, to remove the "discontinued" part, in fairness to Madcatz?

 

Rich

I already picked up a radio panel from saitek, so I was thinking of adding the Multi panel as well.. but looking online there is very few out there in stock. The ones in stock seem to be way over price too.

 

Does anyone know if this is a discontinuation issue or just low stock?

 

Thanks

 

I guess it never occurred to any of you to check the Avsim store for quanity and price. A quick click on the link at the top of the page where you placed your post reveals a $139 price for the Multi panel and in stock. duh.

http://forum.avsim.n...view=grid&st=15

 

Ray

Maybe the thread title being adjusted would be a better option here, to remove the "discontinued" part, in fairness to Madcatz?

 

Rich, I was thinking more about the substance of the discussion than the title, but in looking at the title again I do see your point.

 

I guess it never occurred to any of you to check the Avsim store for quanity and price.

 

No, Ray I admit it didn't occur to me. I like the idea of supporting Avsim through the store and I have purchased my first download from it after a gentle reminder from Tom in a thread on the recent Milviz sale, but I didn't even know that hardware was available here. The price looks consistent with what I paid late last year as well so that's great. Your reminder, like Tom's is welcome.

 

As for the "duh" part, well... no. Do many of us need to do a better job of remembering the store as a shopping resource? Sure, but as an e-commerce site, the store still seems a work in progress. Try site search for the store and look for "Saitek Multi Panel", for example.

 

Scott

I guess it never occurred to any of you to check the Avsim store for quanity and price. A quick click on the link at the top of the page where you placed your post reveals a $139 price for the Multi panel and in stock. duh.

http://forum.avsim.n...view=grid&st=15

 

Ray

 

The store must be based outside of the USA, when u add to cart and enter address info for here in the states it says it cant be shipped here, unfortunately.

 

 

Maybe the thread title being adjusted would be a better option here, to remove the "discontinued" part, in fairness to Madcatz?

 

Rich

 

I do see your point in the title part.. unfortunately i dont think it can be changed, at least not by me.. there is no advanced edit option that I can see in this forum's options.

The store must be based outside of the USA, when u add to cart and enter address info for here in the states it says it cant be shipped here, unfortunately.

 

 

That sounds like the store needs some immediate attention to detail, doesn't it. If it is going to be competitive on the world market, I think it needs to be a little better than the competition.

 

I will send an email to the store manager and get his response.

 

Ray

I do see your point in the title part.. unfortunately i dont think it can be changed, at least not by me.. there is no advanced edit option that I can see in this forum's options.

Could always report your own post and ask to have the title changed?

 

I've looked in the AVSIM store too but find stuff is more expensive than me buying it directly elsewhere, even after the conversion from USD to GBP..