Klipsch at Crutchfield.com

[kenratboy]

Just a thought: I like Crutchfield.com and I would really like them to carry Klipsch gear. If a lot of us wrote to them, do you think that might persuade them to offer Klipsch? Is there any reason that Crutchfield might not carry Klipsch besides the fact that it may not be in their best business interests? I just want to see what all of you thought, Crutchfield has never failed my in the last five years and I would like to get my Klipsch from someone who actually deserved my money. I listen at Good Guys and buy else ware. Good Guys are mostly blood-thirsty (or money-thirsty) and unless I drive a few hundred miles, they are the only place in Reno I can buy Klipsch. Anyway, does anyone have any thoughts? I know I am probably babbling and just wasting your time, but anyway...

[Malcolm]

I like Crutchfield, too. But, there is probably a good reason on their part, or Klipsch's, why they don't carry Klipsch. My guess is that Crutchfield doesn't see it as sufficiently profitable, or Klipsch is protecting its local dealers. I think its probably the latter. There aren't a lot of authorized internet dealers. I doubt an email campaign would make either of them change their business model.

I find your experience with Good Guys in Reno interesting. I've dealt with them in California and always found them willing to deal. If you haven't tried, remember, everything is negotiable. Sometimes it depends on the store manager and sales people. A few would rather lose a sale that earn less than full commission. But most would rather get something than nothing. If they won't deal in Reno, I guess your best opportunities are going to be in Las Vegas, Sacramento, or Salt Lake. Or, you could take a chance and buy from an unauthorized internet dealer with the chance of winding up with a defective product and no warranty.

[justin_tx_16]

i agree... i asked them once why they did not and he just said.. well i don't know!

sure would be nice though........ i get like a 5% discount there... something like that.

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-justin

I am an amateur, if it is professional;

ProMedia help you want email Amy or call her @ 1-888-554-5665

Klipsch Home Audio help you want, email support@klipsch.com or call @ 1-800-KLIPSCH

RA# Fax Number=317-860-9140 / Parts Department Fax Number=317-860-9150

[kenratboy]

When I lived in LA, I had fun going into audio shops that were Krell, B&W, Cary tube, and, you get the point, dealers. They new I was DEFIANTLY NOT going to buy a thing. I would actually spend one or two full hours in there and they were as nice as could be; can you say free refreshments? To be fair, I would dress up a little to confuse them into thinking I might actually buy something. Anyway, when I was buying a $300 CD changer at Good Guys, my Team Member (god, I hate that term...) would leave me for a few minuets at a time to see if someone was looking to buy something more expensive than me. No apology upon return, he was not just answering questions. Honestly, I have found a few good people there, but when I am paying full price for something, I just expect a little courtesy and dare I say knowledge and honesty. What are your peoples experiences with Good Guys and Circuit City like? Circuit City has really treated my well. I have probably spent $5,000+ at Circuit City and about $600 at Good Guys, and thats for stuff both stores had. I hope someone from Reno reads this (there is at least one I know of) and can give me some input.

Ken

[Malcolm]

Your comments about the "team member" made me remember the one bad experience I had at a Good Guys, where just the opposite happened. I was trying to buy a $2500 TV. Couldn't get anybody's attention without being rude. The "team members" were busy explaining in painful detail (much of it inaccurate) HDTV to people who obviously weren't interested and weren't going to buy. I went elsewhere.

Guess it all depends on the store and sales people. My experience with Circuit City is the opposite of yours. Its not that they won't deal here. But its just so much work to get them down to that final price. Actually, for appliances and most electronics, my favorite was Wards until they went out of business. I could just walk in, tell the sales person what I wanted, get a good price right off the bat, and be on my way.

I, too, would like courtesy, knowledge and honesty in my sales person. Courtesy and honesty should be givens. I don't, however, expect much in the way of knowledge from a salesperson at a mass merchandiser like Circuit City or Good Guys. The pay is too low. The turnover is too high.

I'll agree that there is nothing like a good audio "shop." Many years ago, while making the decision to buy my first set of Klipsch speakers, I spent hours listening to complete albums with various speakers at one. The difference in employees from the mass merchandisers is usually that they are there because they know and love audio, not because they just need a job. Of course, you may wind up paying a bit more for the same merchandise.

[Mikekid]

Ken, I have had good and bad experiences at both stores there. Some salesmen say some pretty far out things to get you to buy. But, I have seen good ones at both stores as well.

Hit and miss I guess.

Last time I bought Klipsch was at Wild West on south Virginia quite a while back. The salesman was very knowledgeable and wasn't pushy at all.

I don't know why Wild West quit selling Klipsch??

I tend to listen to the sales people talk to other people first......then I stay away from the B.S'ers!!

Take care

Mike (Out there in Lassen county)

[kenratboy]

Mike (Mikekid),

Yes, I have been to Wild West. I went in about a year ago when I was looking for a new TV and they were neither polite nor impolite. There were about eight salesmen in there and all of them were huddled around the sales booth or whatever you call it. Anyway, One guy gave me the bare treatment (Hi, can I help you?, etc.) and went back to the sales booth. The store had lots of good stuff, but was, in my opinion, not worthy of selling it, but the good ol dollar always wins. Anyway, they have some awesome sale ads a few times a year, and I think they still sell Klipsch, but I was rather under whelmed by the place. I can appreciate the fact that you said that you went there a while ago, so I am DEFIANTLY not attacking you, but they are about the same as Good Guys as far as Im concerned. Maybe I will go back and see if they have some decent people there now. The place I went to in LA, the guy who I was with had been in the audio business for thirty years and never had to read the card to give me information on products. Does anyone know a good Klipsch dealer in Nevada/Northern California?

[BigBusa]

I have found the crutchfield catalogue to be a great reference when checking specs on items. I'd never buy from them because their prices are not in line with other internet companies. Matter of fact most $500 and up items at crutchfield can be had for at least $100 less elsewhere.

Maybe the service makes up for that big price difference? I dunno.

[JohnA]

Crutchfield has the highest prices going. Sometimes they are above MSRP. I will buy car audio from them, especially if it is on sale, because their techs are knowledgeable and that carry a great set of harness adapters so you don't have to cut up your factory wiring harness.

I don't care if they carry Klipsch because it'll be priced too high.

John

[justin_tx_16]

Just got an email from Jerry from Crutchfield...

quote:

---

Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 14:45:19 -0500

From: advisors@crutchfield.com / Block Address / Add to Address Book

Subject: RE:

To: klipschter@yahoo.com

Hi,

Thanks for your e-mail. It's great to hear from you again!

I am sorry we did not have what you were looking for today, but I

really

appreciate you taking time to send us your recommendation on Klipsch.

Because catalog and warehouse space is limited, we have to be selective

regarding the products we carry. We look for products that offer

exceptional value as well as strong appeal to our customers, so your

feedback is valuable to us. I've forwarded your e-mail to our product

manager, and we'll re-evaluate the Klipsch line with your comments in

mind.

Thanks for your e-mail, and please let me know if you need anything

else.

Jerry

Product Advisor

1-877-474-7138

---

we email a lot LoL!

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-justin

I am an amateur, if it is professional;

ProMedia help you want email Amy or call her @ 1-888-554-5665

Klipsch Home Audio help you want, email support@klipsch.com or call @ 1-800-KLIPSCH

RA# Fax Number=317-860-9140 / Parts Department Fax Number=317-860-9150

[Mikekid]

Hi Ken.

I was speaking of Wild West about 1994, when it was in a little shop just past the casinos on S.Virginia.

Pretty nice people then. I have been in their newer store and I don't like it as much at all. Didn't see any Klipsch and the prices seemed high. Gotta pay for that fancy store somehow I guess.

I don't know of any GOOD dealers near us currently. A few years ago, I went into a shop in Redding that had a lot of the Klipsch line on hand and they would hook-up whatever you wanted to listen to if it wasn't allready. They liked Klipsch obviously! Nice people too.

I just can't remember the name of the place......(I don't go to Redding much at all)

If I remember, I'll let you know.

Take care

Mike

[Bitterhops]

I've had a mix of experiences at both places. I went into one Good Guys about an hour before closing one night to try and finally decide on which set of speakers. The sales guy disappeared about 5 minutes into me playing my King Crimson test CD. About 45 minutes later I went to the register and told them to get me a pair of the RF-3's. As the person from the register and I were back getting the sku# for the speakers, the original sales guy came scurrying up and took over. I had been in the same place the day before and one of the guys who seemed to do all the manual labor around there(the ones in the Good Guys "casual" shirts) had actually spent about half an hour with me talking about the stuff he had and about music in general. I was kicking myself when the sales guy asked me if I had gotten that person's card or name.

A couple of weeks later (last week) I stopped in the same store to check on the price of the Yamaha RX-V800 receiver. I saw an ad with that receiver bundled with the RF-3's, the RC-3's, and I think the matching surrounds and sub, with a big screen TV. There were not any breakouts in price for the indivdual items.

Lo and behold, they had the receiver marked down to $375 as an open box item. There was only one left in the store, and someone else was trying to decide between that and the Sony. The salesman was just telling him that they couldn't find the manual or anything else for it. I piped in and said that the manual is available on-line as a .pdf file at the Yamaha site, and started giving him compare and contrast no the Sony and Yamaha stats. Another guy came up and asked if he could help. I said I wanted the Yamaha receiver, but I was waiting for the first person to make up his mind. This sales rep actually stood with me and talked about the receivers. When the guy decided to take the Yamaha receiver, I asked the sales rep that I was talking to if he could find another "open box" deal anywhere in the Portland area. He got right on the keyboard and found one at the next closest store. He called over there to have someone actually go over to the receiver and inspect it for condition. We had them hold it, and then he asked them to check for the box and manual. They found the manual, remote, and antennas for it, and I paid for it at the store I was at. Another guy came up to look at the one on the shelf, and he was trying to be critical about a few cosmetic items with the sales rep that was with him. I mosied over and said that it was sold already anyway. The sales rep with that guy got a little pissed, and then got even more upset when he found out there weren't any more in the metro area.

I had the receiver hooked up that night. I finally got it hooked up "correctly" yesterday. D'oh!

The only other store in the area that carries Klipsch is Magnolia. I went into one nearest to home, and really didn't like the "feel" of the place or the sales "team". I was demoing my CD on the only Klipsch speakers they had set up, a closeout run of the KG3.5's, and a rep came in and EJECTED my CD and tossed it aside while he took a CD from his pack to demo a set of speakers for his pidgeon. I flew away.

[justin_tx_16]

I only know of two real HT stores around where I live. Tweeter and The Home Theator Store. WHen you walk into the Home THeator Store you feel like you have just walk into a car dealeership lot, people are hounding you trying to sell anything. you can haggle prices there and winmost of the time, got our tv marked down $450! and everything is setup as it would be in a home, well, a $500,000 home

tweeter is a more down to earth place, nice salesmen and great stuff, they have Klipsch, The HT Store had B&W. I prefer Tweeter for sound and the Home THeator Store for TV's but Tweeter is the best to me.

I buy all of my car audio from Crutchfield... and just a little HT stuff.

------------------

-justin

I am an amateur, if it is professional;

ProMedia help you want email Amy or call her @ 1-888-554-5665

Klipsch Home Audio help you want, email support@klipsch.com or call @ 1-800-KLIPSCH

RA# Fax Number=317-860-9140 / Parts Department Fax Number=317-860-9150

[kenratboy]

Ill have to try some practice haggling. I will go in there, and see how much I can take them down. Then leave. Like Mike said, there is no Klipsch within a few hundred miles of us in Nevada or Northern California, except for Good Guys (WTF, there are over 15 million people here!) Anyway, I would love to know how much the stores pay for stuff. My Good Guys is always a ghost town, with hundreds of thousands of dollars of over priced gear waiting to go home with me, so Ill see how much damage I can do to their bottom lime. He, he, he!