I purchased my Sonus Faber Olympica Nova V speakers about eight months ago, before the Trump tarrifs. When I looked at reviews, everyone said that they cost $16,500. Yet all the dealers I could find were selling them at $18,000. Clearly, the speakers had gone up in price. I also purchased at Moon 280D at the same time. The reviews said that it cost $3,000. All dealers were selling them at $4,000. They too had gone up. I think it's the nature of the beast, and tarrifs don't help.
In regards to @bigtwin saying that manufacturer, wholeseller, and retailer all doubling the price, that doesn't make sense to me. I was never in audio retail before, but I spent many years in other types of retail. The first thing that is obvious to me is that all dealers list the same price on Sonus Faber. I see no discounts online. The only thing my audio dealer could do to give me a lower price was give me a good trade in on my old system.
If I am correct and Sonus Faber sets the retail price on their products, I doubt that they would set a price that doubles their cost price. BTW, I don't think my dealer dealt with a wholeseller. My speakers were on a ship from Italy when I purchased them. I had to wait about a month to receive them. Back to Sonus Faber setting their retailer's price, it would make no sense for them to set a high retail price.
Also, we have to make the distinction between gross margin and net margin, after all costs are paid. That involves the cost of selling an item. Retailers need showrooms, product to show, etc. But I would guess they work on less than a 50% gross margin, which means that 50% of the retail price is gross profit. They're not like a shoe retailer that keeps backstop of every size of shoe. My Sonus Faber retailer didn't even have the Olympica Nova V to show me. I listened to the Nova III and decided I wanted the extra woofer. I would think a $5,000 to $10,000 gross profit on a pair of $18,000 speakers would be plenty. Many car dealers don't make that much on a much more expensive car.
