What's new

I'm fed up with paying B&M prices for "service" (1 Viewer)

Joined
Jul 29, 2001
Messages
49
I go into my local Paradigm dealer in Miami to get a Paradigm CC-370 to match my mains. They do not budge 1 penny from MSRP of $329.

Now, what "service" do I get for paying top dollar?

- No trade up policy

- ALL SALES ARE FINAL (printed on the receipt)

How can they justify their prices with this level of "service"? This sounds more like a pawn shop or a flea market than a "full service" audio store that all the B&M defenders refer to.

The only "service" they provide is letting me hear the speakers, but I can do that at any local Circuit City, Best Buy, Brandsmart, Sound Advice, etc, where they offer competitive pricing on their speakers.

The nearest Paradigm dealer is 40 miles away, and the next one is over 122 miles away.

Paradigm's policy of protecting these thieves by granting them their own little "realm" and not allowing ANY mail-order is encouraging this behavior.
 

Dan Hine

Screenwriter
Joined
Oct 3, 2000
Messages
1,312
To some extent I agree with you. But please consider this:
* Some of the retailers that offer brands like Paradigm, Denon, etc... get these products from shady sources and/or illegal ones. So first of all Denon doesn't really get $.10 for a product they made and then if it breaks they are expected to service a product (which costs money) that they did not make any profit on to begin with. A company is in business to make money and they do have a right to protect their products AND the authorized merchants who sell their product.
Another thing to consider is that etailers have the entire community of World Wide Web surfers as potential clients. A B&M store has their local area to sell to. Because of this the etailers can afford to sell for less because they probably sell a whole lot more. For instance, www.etronics.com sells the Kenwood 510 for $20 more than it's dealer cost. If you owned a company selling Kenwood and sold even 30 Kenwood 510's a month that's only $600 a month profit. That's probably 1/5th of what rent costs for that business.
Most local stores have to price what they do in order to survive. Sure there is some room to sway in but more often than not there isn't much.
It's really the few etailers that ruin it for the whole, I'm afraid.
Now I'll agree that your local B&M sounds rather crappy. Since every sale is final I would assume there is no in home trial period either. Are there no other stores nearby? Even one that doesn't offer Paradigm would work. Just pick a brand that the Paradigm dealer doesn't offer.
"Well, I'm really leaning toward brand X over at store Y..."
See if that changes their mind.
Best of luck to you!
Regards,
Dan Hine
 

Barry Barnes

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 31, 2002
Messages
85
I hear ya. I'm definitely getting spoiled by the "Internet Direct" products that are popping up. I used to work on the retail level and I KNOW how much markup there is on retail audio stuff. Some times as much as 400% by the time it gets from the factory thru the distributor and to the B&M store. Try about 1000% on cables and interconnects compared to their actual manufacturing costs. It's a total rip off. The people who make the most cash are the manufactuers at the factory level. Of course, they also take the most risks...
The deals we are seeing on Internet direct stuff is often much better than I used to be able to buy comparable goods wholesale. Some of the products I've bought lately I've even been able to hear before I bought thanks to in home auditions from owners of the products. Ah yes... The internet community is wonderful thing... As long as your not the competition... :D
 

EricK

Second Unit
Joined
Jan 22, 1999
Messages
287
Real Name
Eric
Susana,

Try going in there with cold hard cash...that will 99% of the time sway a B & M dealer to take the deal. MSRP of $329? How much would you be willing to pay? $275? If so, walk in there with $275 and flash it at the guy, tell him you want the Paradigm center, you have $275 no less no more. He either is hungry for a quick sale or he will not take the deal and lose an easy profit.

(BTW speakers are usually marked up anywhere from 50-100%...therefore at MSRP of 329 the dealer should be raking in about approx. $165 profit off you at full retail)

Eric.
 
Joined
Jul 29, 2001
Messages
49
* Some of the retailers that offer brands like Paradigm, Denon, etc... get these products from shady sources and/or illegal ones. So first of all Denon doesn't really get $.10 for a product they made and then if it breaks they are expected to service a product (which costs money) that they did not make any profit on to begin with. A company is in business to make money and they do have a right to protect their products AND the authorized merchants who sell their product.

I don't understand, are these counterfeit items with the "Denon" logo pasted on them? If Denon made it and sold it then they profited from it. If they were stolen then they should have a way of tracking stolen serial numbers and refusing to fix them.

I don't have as much a problem with the "authorizing" of dealers as I do with granting dealers with a monopoly within an area.

Paradigm could allow authorized dealers to sell by mail and refuse to warrantee products not sold through an authorized one. That would at least give my local B&M an incentive to actually provide a service than to just try to rake in the bucks.
 

Dave Schofield

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 30, 1999
Messages
401
I thought of going that route (ie taking cash in with me) but I figured they'd trip me up with "well, I can give it to you for $275, but I have to add sales tax on top of that" and I would stupidly pull out my credit card :frowning:
 

Dan Hine

Screenwriter
Joined
Oct 3, 2000
Messages
1,312
Susana,

Allow me to clarify. Perhaps illegal wasn't the best or even accurate word. But most (not all, I admit) of the Denon equipment that sells for very cheap doesn't come from Denon of America but rather Denon of Japan or elsewhere. So the original sale is not helping Denon of America pay for their overhead (technicians, reps, advertising and so on) so even though you are buying a Denon product the American leg is not getting anything from it.

But as I said before, your local store does seem to be pushing the limit of authorized retailer and stuck up retailer.

Regards,

Dan Hine
 

Samuel Des

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 7, 2001
Messages
796
Just wanted to mention that the Denon turnatable I was looking at from my Authorized Denon dealer is actually $1 MORE than MSRP. Guy wouldn't budge. Final sales yada yada. Plus, he's just an a$$-hole
 

Dave Schofield

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 30, 1999
Messages
401
I inquired once when looking at some Paradigm equpiment how much the dealer would be willing to bargain and he said "we feel that MSRP is a fair price", to which I replied "If I paid MSRP for DVDs I'd be paying $35 a disc..." He didn't budge, so I bought the split loom tubing I came in for and left.
 

Bhagi Katbamna

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 1, 2000
Messages
870
He didn't budge, so I bought the split loom tubing I came in for and left.
You still bought something from that guy, I wouldn't. Paradigm(or Denon or Marantz) isn't the only audio company in the world. Unfortunately, you have to have a matching center. Try audiogon or audioreview classifieds.
 

Scott Garmon

Auditioning
Joined
Feb 23, 1999
Messages
12
If you want to avoid paying MSRP for Paradigm, you might want to consider buying used Paradigm products from private sellers who list their equipment on web sites like Audio Review.com or from reputable dealers like The Stereo Trading Outlet (TSTO.com) who sell high quality used equipment.FWIW, TSTO currently has a CC-350 on sale for $189 (Link Removed). The CC-350 sounds almost identical to the CC-370 (I listened to both and couldn't hear the difference) and should match your mains.
I bought my whole Paradigm Monitor Series ensemble from these guys as used products and saved around 40% versus buying them new. All speakers were in mint condition in their original boxes with all manuals. Don't delay - the Paradigms usually go pretty fast.
 

Shayne Judge

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 8, 2000
Messages
137
Susana: I was going to try and send you this via email, but couldn't. Anyways, I have my CC-350 up on ebay auction under the username belash. That $189 price at Stereo Trader seems attractive also. Good luck with whatever you choose.
 

Robert_Gaither

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 12, 2002
Messages
1,370
I have to agree with Susana that Denon as a corporation still makes money and should repair it since they are still under the heading of one company. I personally don't like the price fixing I see done with various products (PS2, Nintendo, etc) and it seems to contradict the reason to buy B&M full retail pricing if I was going to be treated like I was buying from a pawn shop (at least there you can bargain the price). I would advise buy elsewhere and telling that dealer that you not only bought it elsewhere, but email Paradigm that you don't think you were treated as a customer and was treated quite rudely.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top