I too was fortunate. I acquired a RTB2004 from Testforce (Canada) and was delighted with the experience. Expected delivery 6 weeks.
My view on the marketing strategy, and my buying decision.This special offering approximately 70% off the retail price was designed to incent early adoption of the RTB2004 by folks
like us. Retail prices are determined by market forces. I confirmed this is in an informal manner by searching for "Equivalent" scopes by the other Tier 1 suppliers. The "fully loaded" retail price ~$6500 (US) of these scopes is consistent for this capability & feature set. Companies may differ in the feature mix and there are some trade-offs within each brand but generally they are comparable.
All new scopes need marketing support upon market entry. Keysight choose to have a "scope month" and give away scopes and generate buzz that way. R&S sold ~200 scopes with a discount of ~70% to create their buzz.
Based on the marketing information, online manuals, datasheet and interaction with a company rep here on the forum. I believe this scope meets my most demanding needs. It just makes sense to acquire if the price is right for me.
I look at it this way. I bought a $2080 (us) lottery ticket, with a 100% chance to win a desirable prize worth $6500 (retail). In the short run, the prize has an expected future value of more than I paid ($2080+ all other costs (tax, shipping, sales expense), classic zero downside decision.
As a pure business decision, it is a no brainer.
Take the deal! Even more so if you have little negotiating power with the vendors. For me, the retail price is a rigid wall that does not move
(much) unless the manufacturer offers an incentive. I know that corporate and institutional buyers simply use "list price" as a starting point and perhaps enjoy the dialogue with their dedicated sales rep on the golf course, alas I miss those days.
In terms of Tier 2 Suppliers they typically are 20%-30% cheaper as an offset for lower levels of offered support; documentation, access to engineering support, training materials, etc.
Even though you get the capability & feature set from tier 2, you are much more on your own. In some regions this can be offset by a dedicated and ethical distributor, this was not my experience. Having personally suffered a few times with well meaning yet unsupported technical staff, I am done buying from tier 2.
PS
As for the notion that this introduction price sets a new "retail price" going forward. It does not, just look to the European pricing.
or do we believe Keysight must continue giving away scopes at the rate of 5 per day indefinitely?