@bbyer I agree with you. This is a problem for US dealers, although I suspect they really don’t care too much about it! Also, remember that the EU dealer is still making a nice profit at the EU retail price..although I also suspect they are not making quite the ’Killing’ that the US reps and dealers are looking to score.
Now OTOH, if something goes wrong with the cartridge, which although unlikely ( although not impossible, as I stated above, my Lyra did need to be returned to Japan for work under warranty) the US rep has to stand by the product. With a cartridge, I would have to believe that the cost to cover warranty is still pretty minimal...and certainly not thousands of $$.
Another point that I have not made...in the US- the question becomes how many ’middle men’ are involved in the cartridge business...compared to other markets? Nonetheless, the point/question in my OP still stands.
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@dover Very interesting post. The Air Tight PC1 you mention is a good example of this pricing strategy. Now maybe this cartridge was so under priced at its inception and that the market demand was so huge after the review, that this lead to a change in the pricing. We have to believe that market demand drives pricing...and that the price now asked is apparently in line with said demand. OTOH, IF folks were unwilling to pay the current asked price, and the only price that sufficient demand for the PC-1 was at $2000...then I question whether this cartridge would be selling at its current price. Or, maybe the demand is so low, that the distributor feels that they need to absolutely make a killing on each unit sold in order for it to be practical. Either way, presumably the distributor knows what they are doing---or not?? |
@bbyer Another excellent post! One that i totally agree with. The dealers that i have had long time relations all are willing to talk price, but I wouldn’t bother them either with the scenario that you brought up. Maybe a lot of these folks are losing a lot of $$ due to the pricing differential that is evident on cartridges from country to country. I do know of one a’phile who buys and sells cartridges on a frequent basis, none of which retail for anything less than multi thousands of $$ here in the US. He is absolutely doing two things, one is buying off-shore...and two, is not paying anything like what the US dealers are expecting... |
@chakster Great points...maybe. Kind of depends on whether you believe that as cartridge prices increase performance remains the same, past a certain level. IME, that is not always the case, some of the more $$ cartridges do sound better than their cheaper brethren. OTOH, if you are one of those folks who are happy with the performance of their thirty year old cartridge and its veiled performance, then I can see how saving a lot of $$ is beneficial. |
@lohanimal I think what you states applies far more to gear like amps and speakers than it applies to cartridges. Same goes for cables, reputed to be the biggest profit source in high end audio.
BTW, are there actually any “charlatan lawyers”..? |
@rsf507 Nope, But it is usually known as a 'Wallets Big'...LOL. ;0)
PM if you need more. |
@mijostyn. Is there anywhere in my OP that I stated that this distributor is a brick and mortar dealer? |
@chakster Actually what’s your problem? My prior thread...not post, has nothing to do with this thread. Read my OP again, this time without your preconceived idea. |
@vortrex I can tell you are the exact customer that the agent should keep away from! You already know it all......:0( |
@chakster As someone else has pointed out, the cartridge in question is $8k more than the price in Japan...which IF you read my OP...a little slower, you would see is what I stated....but no, you just have to jump to conclusions. Your understanding of my posts is faulty...and you continue to want to try and debate my meanings and put words into my mouth, I’m done with you.
@vortrex I really dislike it when people come in public forums and insult entire professions with typically no knowledge of what the profession entails or what value they bring to the consumer! Your statement about real estate agents and car dealers shows me your ignorance. As an example, I recently sold a property and my agent was able to not only make this complex transaction easy for me, but also allowed me to realize tens of thousands of dollars over my expectations. To say that her experience was invaluable would be an understatement. |
Ralph, I generally agree with your post. However, in this instance we are talking about a cartridge...and not any other type of gear. The rep for this particular cartridge adds $8k to the retail price in Japan to arrange for the shipping and future servicing (if any...and with cartridges how often does this occur...although I personally did have to have warranty work done on my Lyra.. but I still think that is pretty unusual).
The more interesting thing is that in this case, the rep came out with threats against all of his off-shore competitors...because he was sure that they were under selling him. ( which I am 100% sure is correct...and that’s because they don’t have the same business plan as this guy...which IMO...is simply to fleece the consumer to the absolute max). |
@rauliruegas I tend to agree with you --customers should buy where the price is right! However, this is exactly what the US distributor does NOT want you to do. By having the ability to actually shop the merchandise and therefore shop the price, takes away from his ability to control his margin...and he wants to insure that he has a HUGE margin!
This fellow is not the only one with this business plan; currently, it is quite prevalent with a lot of distributors of high end gear in the US. |
