Dealership greed ?

Terry

How is it worth £55 (let alone £80) for a 17 mile trip? Cab fares are unbelievable in my view.

On the Naim prices, given that copper and aluminium have prices have gone up hugely (copper doubled in price between 2005 and 2007) in the last few years, it seems that they have absorbed a lot of the costs. Add transport costs rises both for raw materials and finished goods, and the lower value of the pound and one wonders how the prices don't go up more.

Denon's prices just went up 25 - 30% last week (different models have gone up by different percentages). Expect Panasonic and Sony to go up by similar amounts shortly. I hear tell that Yamaha and Onkyo have resisted so far but will also follow suit in the next weeks.

While the pound is weak, all prices will be going up, and by a similar amounts. While Naim's pricing holds, you're in luck, but if the pound stays weak Naim's prices will have to go up too. The cost of their casework (Dutch IIRC) must have doubled in the last year alone.

Frank,

It's not so much the material costs that are currently driving price increases that are bad. It's a regular 3-8% increase per year, no matter what is happening.

Obviously, the market is tough out there right now, as people make decisions on what to do with their money in the current environment. Holding prices can help people decide to buy.

But, it would be good to see some inivitive marketing around manufacturer deals and offers.

How about a manufacturer supported trade-in program ? Offer to support a second-hand price to the retail price, if the customer is buying a newer model ?

May not make as much money as a sale, but in the present environment, sometimes selling at lower profit can be better than not selling at all ?

Roy.

Roy -- Naim have done tradeins in the past -- wasnt there one for CD players a few years back?

I dont know how successful (or profitable) it was.

I suspect in todays climate, no manufacturer or dealer chain is going to want to hold too much pre-owned stock, specially a manufacturer.

And there are plenty of online places where you can easily make a sale, in contrast to previous times.

am i misunderstanding something or is this thread quite pointless? things cost what they are worth. if you dont think they are worth that much dont buy them... i dont see the point of moaning about it. i have in the past discussed hi-end hifi prices and if they were/are over the top. an example of this is if you look at cars, a ferrari its still a car....

is there any other point? i personally dont know of more than a hand full of dealers who are in a healthy position. most are struggling to stay open!

quote:

am i misunderstanding something or is this thread quite pointless?

It is quite pointless but then that is the point of a good few postings on this or another internet forum.

!

Chris

Roy,

Would you prefer a Naim that held its prices 'in order to compete' and then suddenly raised those prices by 25% when the material costs rise significantly? I would not.

Naim's usual price rise is 5%, and not necessarily across the board. Considering a) the rising manufacturing costs and b) inflation (4% in the last few years alone), Naim's prices have not been going up much.

quote:

Symbiotic relationship is what they call it in biology.

Strictly speaking, symbiotic relationships do not need to be mutually beneficial. A good example of this is parasitism.

quote:

Originally posted by bec143:

quote:

Symbiotic relationship is what they call it in biology.

Strictly speaking, symbiotic relationships do not need to be mutually beneficial. A good example of this is parasitism.

Just to clarify: Parasitism is not akin to symbiosis.

A symbiosis is a close association of organisms which are dependent on each other, or at least derive certain mutual benefits, e.g. hifi dealer - consumer.

With parasitism, on the other hand, the host does not benefit from the association, and is usually harmed by the parasite's obtaining of nourishment, e.g. human - tapeworm.

I am happy with Naim charging whatever they wish for their goods as I'm sure their accountants have set their prices in line with both their business expectations and historic sales experience, it is then up to me and every other prospective buyer to make a decision as to purchase their goods or not. Price is not the only factor to consider when contemplating a purchase and factors such as after sales services, upgrade path and the existence of a resale market may well outweigh price alone when it comes to parting with the cash.

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Originally posted by Juergen M:

quote:

Originally posted by bec143:

quote:

Symbiotic relationship is what they call it in biology.

Strictly speaking, symbiotic relationships do not need to be mutually beneficial. A good example of this is parasitism.

Just to clarify: Parasitism is not akin to symbiosis.

A symbiosis is a close association of organisms which are dependent on each other, or at least derive certain mutual benefits, e.g. hifi dealer - consumer.

With parasitism, on the other hand, the host does not benefit from the association, and is usually harmed by the parasites obtaining of nourishment, e.g. human - tapeworm.

Symbiosis is a close ecological relationship between the individuals of two (or more) different species. Sometimes a symbiotic relationship benefits both species, sometimes one species benefits at the other's expense, and in other cases neither species benefits.

Ecologists use a different term for each type of symbiotic relationship:

Mutualism
-- both species benefit
Commensalism
-- one species benefits, the other is unaffected
Parasitism
-- one species benefits, the other is harmed
Competition
-- neither species benefits
Neutralism
-- both species are unaffected

quote:

Originally posted by munch:
bec,
My dealer has a Degree in Biology.
Cymbiosis.

Well said!

quote:

Originally posted by bec143:
Ecologists use a different term for each type of symbiotic relationship:

Mutualism
-- both species benefit
Commensalism
-- one species benefits, the other is unaffected
Parasitism
-- one species benefits, the other is harmed
Competition
-- neither species benefits
Neutralism
-- both species are unaffected

I stand corrected in view of your detailed definition of symbiosis. My humble Concise Collins dictionary was obviously not up to the task. Must check my OED Online.

quote:

Originally posted by bec143:

quote:

Originally posted by munch:
bec,
My dealer has a Degree in Biology.
Cymbiosis.

Well said!

Yes let's stick to the mutualism references please

Kind regards,

Peter