Hagood Posted November 12, 2001 Share Posted November 12, 2001 Well, I was just about to order the Synergy System 6 from Sounddistributors.com with the great price they gave me of $775.00 w/ a KSW-12. I felt a little nervous about getting them from an "Unathourized Dealer" however, so I thought I would give my local shop a chance to at least get close to the price. I went in to Sound Idea here in Arlington, TX really not expecting much, but they actually met the price ! I couldn't believe it - the retail was $1000.00 for the system with the KSW-10 and $80.00 more for the KSW-12. The guy that was helping me couldn't believe it either, and said I must have caught the owner on a good day. Well, I spent the weekend in the attic wiring everything up and now I am finished and enjoying it. I got the Yamaha RX-V620 Receiver and DVD-S520 DVD Player, and am very pleased with everything. My wife couldn't believe the difference in the sound compared to the HT-in-a-box systems we were originally looking at at Best Buy and Circuit City. HT is great and music excellent using the Yamaha 5-channel Stereo DSP. I just need to to a little tweeking which I think I have learned how to do because of this BB. Thanks everyone for their input and convincing me to go with the System 6 over the Quintets or the Def Tech Pro Cinema - especially TheEar and dougdrake2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted November 12, 2001 Share Posted November 12, 2001 wow wow wow wow! i think we paid like $1200 for ours! have fun with them! i have thequintets and the synergy 6's, the synergy's blow them away, to me at least. ------------------ -justin I am an amateur, if it is professional help you want email Amy or call her toll free @ 1-888-554-5665 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake2 Posted November 12, 2001 Share Posted November 12, 2001 Another happy customer - kewl. You can send the check for consulting assistance to... Seriously, glad it worked out well for you. It's especially gratifying when the wife likes it, too! Doug This message has been edited by dougdrake2 on 11-12-2001 at 06:48 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted November 12, 2001 Share Posted November 12, 2001 No doubt Jusin,the Synergy outperform the Quintets on music and HT.More detailed,more output and less coloration,the synergy are bargains. Tried my SB-2 in my music system a couple of weeks ago and WOW,for inexpensive minimonitors they sound very good.Better then many well rated(overrated)inexpensive speakers from competition I dont want to name. Hagood good to know you like the Klipsch Synergy Enjoy your purchase TheEAR(s) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seb Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 most people don't know that, but when you go to a store and make it clear that you're eithr buying at a low low price or buying online or somewhere else, the salesperson or the manager will settle for a low-profit sale instead of no sale at all! and even if they don't actually match the price, I'd spend a couple tens more to get the better, person-to-person service of an authorized dealer. i didn't know that either until I started working in such a store! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hagood Posted November 13, 2001 Author Share Posted November 13, 2001 Makes you wonder what kind of profit margin they have ?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forresthump Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 A lot more profit than you think. They can give you a 25% discount & still have a 50% markup over their cost from manufacturer in most cases. Auto 10% discount is horse hockey for most of the service (not) you get. Should be an automatic 25% off. The Net is good! ------------------ go forth & hump the world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 Unless its factory "direct"(ahem TV pockets better profits "directly" LOL no problems with that)like SVS and HSU,oh and CinePro.I will never buy from online stores. Online places are just well paid distributors with no know how.They will not get one cent from me. TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forresthump Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 EARS why would you need to pay for Know How? Hell, you seem to know everything already. Makes no sense. ------------------ go forth & hump the world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 forresthump, Yes I know audio,and know it quite well thank you.I dont pay for information. I PAY FOR SERVIVE If a product breaks I want it to be replaced on the SPOT.I will not wait for some murky,lousy online place to send it back.All who have problems end up paying for shipping and ALL have to wait. NOT ME Plain and simple And look at all the ProMedia speakers with problems purchased online!ONLY MORE TROUBLE,MORE WAIT Nuff said TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 DUH It was I pay for SERVICE LOL TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLIPSCHHOG Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 You're right TheEAR It's all about the service. Anyone who buys from an e-tailer is just asking for trouble one day. They are nothing more than GLORIFIED DISTRIBUTORS that make their money by the rampant incompetance of the average consumer. It is nice to know that this bb has a good knowledgable base of audio fanatics to point the new guys in the right direction. As long as the local shop is their to give you good advice, doesn't pressure you into buying something you don't want, gives you competitive pricing, and service after the sale you should buy from them. Support your local a/v retailers! ------------------ LSU PAINTBALL- We'll cover you with our balls! Paintball players do it 'till their balls break! 1 Pair KLF-30's Sonic Frontiers SFL-1 Pre-amp Carver TFM-45 Amp Teac AD-4 CD Player ***Needed VPI HW Series Turntable*** Anybody Sellin'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 Everytime I see posts talking about the "high margins" that dealers make, I wonder if the poster has ever worked at a management level in retail. Taking forresthump's comment that "...They can give you a 25% discount & still have a 50% markup over their cost from manufacturer ..." that would mean that if a dealer's selling a pair of speakers for $1,000 list, then their cost is $500. ('cause if they discount it 25%, or $250, then they're selling it for $750, a $250 profit on the $500 item, or 50% markup.) Is making $500 on the sale of a $1,000 set of speakers unreasonable? Let's see... if I have those speakers in inventory for 6 months prior to sale (not at all unusual for a fairly expensive pair of speakers at a dealer who carries a large and varied line), and I'm paying 12% in interest to finance the cost of inventory (not unusual for a small business that is typically using unsecured credit - the bank's not gonna take La Scala's as colateral for a loan ), I've got $60 in interest charges. That leaves $440. If I pay $15 / ft on my lease (which is really, really cheap around here), and I have small store, say 4,000 sq ft, I'm paying $5,000 per month in rent. Add in electric, heat, telephone, other monthly bits, I'm probably up around $6,000 / month. I have a technician, who I probably pay something in the area of $45K if he's any good (again, this is cheap around here.) With benefits, that's another $4,500 per month. I have to pay myself a salary, let's be conservative, I want to make enough to live fairly well but not get rich on this... say $80K (which is less than I'd make doing just about anything else.) That's another $6,700 per month. So far, we're generating $17,000 / month in costs. I have salemen, who probably get a small base plus a commission on each sale. If their base is, oh, $24,000 and I have two of them, that's another $4,800 month fully loaded, more or less. Now I'm up to about $23,000 per month. If my salesmen made NO commission, I'd have to sell 52 pairs of those $1,000 per month just to break even, and we haven't talked about the cost of maintaining a repair facility, inventorying spare parts, test equipment, interior furnishings, advertising and a gazillion other things. If the salesmen make a small commission, say 10%, my profit per speaker drops to $340, and I have to sell 68 pair per month to break even. Why did I bother with this? It just bothers me when a retailer is critized for charging a reasonable markup to cover the cost of providing the service he's offering. Does that mean that everyone should pay that price? No, I don't mean to imply that there's some moral imperative to shop at the dealer... I bought my DVD player over the Web, 'cause I didn't need the services a dealer would offer me when I bought it. But if you DO appreciate the opportunity to listen to speakers before you buy them, to take home and try out an amp before you commit to purchasing it, to returning a pair of speaker cables and trying something else if the one's you got don't work too well in your system, then for goodness sake don't ***** about the price the dealer has to charge in order to keep his doors open. Ray ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Ray's Music System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 Do not throw Ray a "hanging curve ball"; he has the experience, resources and time to sweat the details more than most people on the forum. Ray, You keep us all honest and well informed. Thanks Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forresthump Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 Ya garrison I feel soree for the little retail shop too. But if they cant offer value service for that markup then it's survival of the fittest. I think the norm with alot of klipsch dealers is to hide behind that exclusive agreement instead of really compete. kinda monopolistic anti-competitive stuff. just saying it's good to have the net prices to keep 'em honest ------------------ go forth & hump the world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 forresthump, I agree. If they can't offer service that justifies the price difference, then they can either (a) learn how to do a better job and begin offering service that DOES justify the difference, ( start droping prices in a hopeless attempt to compete on a price vs price basis only, which no brick and morter retailer is going to win, © hook up with manufacturers who's anti-compeditive policies are SO constraining that someone looking to buy the damn widget HAS to go to this dealer (luckily there are fewer and fewer of these manufacturers these days, something about that "survival of the fittest" thing that seems to keep working no matter what the circumstance), or (d) give up and go to work for KMart. ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Ray's Music System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 KLIPSCHHOG, Man you said it well "GLORIFIED DISTRIBUTORS" yes that is what the online "retailers" read distributors who slash prices and bastardize the market are. I have no respect for online places,if they go bankrupt I say "GOOD RIDANCE". As I said I will not give these distributors a cent from my pocket.These worms destroy real retailers with knowledge,plus you cant even listen and compre!The online retailer is for the blind buyer who loves to send his defective trash in and then cry like a baby when he has NOTHING. HA HA (Am I harsh YES I am,truth hurts does it not?) You want to pay the least? Good,now suffer with the least service and the longest waiting times.You asked you shall be served.There is a justice and one day it gets ya. Ray, Bravo,well written.Someting most on this board should read. TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hagood Posted November 14, 2001 Author Share Posted November 14, 2001 All I know is that I am sure glad I bought from my local shop instead of the internet. I have already been back up there several times for advice - you sure can't get that from an internet store. Hey, and if you do a little haggling, and they meet or even come close to the internet price, you have a win - win situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted November 14, 2001 Share Posted November 14, 2001 Ray is good to enlighten us on the real world. However, what he says goes for anyone in the retail business I'd think. So this is not unique to the audio field. Unfortunately, the landlord and the electric company, charge fixed prices long term. When a buyer comes in and asks for a discount, the landlord and electric company don't lower rent etc. in the interest of closing a deal. Business and competition are, naturally, good things. On the other hand, I can see a problem if a potential buyer goes to a retail dealer, sits in the showroom, gets a demo, asks questions, and then turns around and goes to an internet dealer for a better price. The mark up might seem like easy money. I don't think it is. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted November 14, 2001 Share Posted November 14, 2001 quote: Originally posted by TheEAR: forresthump, Yes I know audio,and know it quite well thank you.I dont pay for information. I PAY FOR SERVIVE If a product breaks I want it to be replaced on the SPOT.I will not wait for some murky,lousy online place to send it back.All who have problems end up paying for shipping and ALL have to wait. NOT ME Plain and simple And look at all the ProMedia speakers with problems purchased online!ONLY MORE TROUBLE,MORE WAIT Nuff said TheEAR(s) Now theears This is not always true. While it might be true a high percentage of the time, there are online dealers who do want to provide service to their customers. I don't know how good OneCall is but I did purchase my Sony STR-DB1070 from them. The first unit worked fine except for the analog inputs. They didn't work at all. I was so concerned that I'd be screwed as far as a replacement. I called them, explained the problem and they gave me a RMA and told me to return it. They said they'd ship another on right out to me. They did charge my card for the second one but when they received my faulty one, they credited it back immediately. No shipping charge! I had the replacement receiver BEFORE I even sent the first one back! In one day! They shipped it FEDEX! I felt that was pretty good service from an online merchant. I'm sure this isn't always the case however. ------------------ Bob Lindabury SPEAKERS Fronts: Cornwalls (2) Center: KLF-C7 (1) Rears: RS-3's (2) Sub: AudioSource SW-15 Rear Center: Umm...any suggestions? AMP: Sony STR-DB1070 6.1 MISC: Hafler DH-200 Amp;Yamaha C-50 Pre-Amp; Nakamichi 482 Cassette Deck; Technics SL-1410MK2 Turntable; Sony DVP-S360 DVD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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