Audio Reference Dumping Stock

[tkr001]

Now they are moving it appears Audio Reference are dumping stock at not much more than 50% of RRP. This has stuffed the value of my Primare which I am trying to sell! With this behaviour I will NEVER buy any brand they represent. They may gain in the short term but they have now made hifi equipment like used cars, worthless.

 

Rant over.

[a poindexter]

er , i feel your pain but .... i would have been none the wiser if you hadn't pointed it out . cheers for the tip dude:rolleyes:

[eRaS1553552749]

I noticed that you were trying to sell your amp, but I wonder how many people knew about the AudioReference sale anyway. Either way, I found Terry great to deal with, and I managed to score a good deal

 

Sorry for you luck.

[nixon76]

I was wanting to sell my BelCanto a while back, but BelCanto brought out cheaper models with higher spec, totally stuffing the value of my unit.

 

I used to have a BMW mini, and sold it (back to the dealer) literally days before a new model came out - selling it those few days later would have killed my one's value.

 

Swings and roundabout, swings and roundabouts....

[tkr001]

 

nixon76;127414 wrote:

I was wanting to sell my BelCanto a while back, but BelCanto brought out cheaper models with higher spec, totally stuffing the value of my unit.

 

 

Bringing out a new model isn't quite the same as selling the current model at nearly half what you sold it for previously.

 

Anyway sold it for next to nothing and will move on.

[Terryh]

 

tkr001;127405 wrote:

Now they are moving it appears Audio Reference are dumping stock at not much more than 50% of RRP. This has stuffed the value of my Primare which I am trying to sell! With this behaviour I will NEVER buy any brand they represent. They may gain in the short term but they have now made hifi equipment like used cars, worthless.

 

 

 

Rant over.

 

Sorry that you feel affected thiis way, however we offer to trade our own brands if buying again from us, so if you came back to us for another amp then we would of course seek to support the difference to ensure you got good value in any exchange. We do care about our clinets on going experiance.

When I look a current items actually selling on Trade Me it appears that the drop in value on 2nd hand gear is a lot greater than the special relocation discounts we have on temp offer during our moving stage so I am not so sure that we have actually affected the price you might have got to in any case, but I accept you have a concern, sorry. After the move most items will revert back to stadard pricing so any effect is very temporary.

Terry

[Terryh]

 

tkr001;127405 wrote:

Now they are moving it appears Audio Reference are dumping stock at not much more than 50% of RRP. This has stuffed the value of my Primare which I am trying to sell! With this behaviour I will NEVER buy any brand they represent. They may gain in the short term but they have now made hifi equipment like used cars, worthless.

 

 

 

Rant over.

 

Sorry that you feel affected thiis way, however we offer to trade our own brands if buying again from us, so if you came back to us for another amp then we would of course seek to support the difference to ensure you got good value in any exchange. We do care about our clients on going experiance.

When I look a current items actually selling on Trade Me it appears that the drop in value on 2nd hand gear is a lot greater than the special relocation discounts we have on temp offer during our moving stage so I am not so sure that we have actually affected the price you might have got to in any case, but I accept you have a concern, sorry. After the move most items will revert back to standard pricing so any effect should be very temporary.

Terry

[nixon76]

 

tkr001;127415 wrote:

Bringing out a new model isn't quite the same as selling the current model at nearly half what you sold it for previously.

 

 

 

Anyway sold it for next to nothing and will move on.

 

Sorry yes - not the same thing. I guess I was trying to say that some things in life beyond our control mean we win or lose in certain situations. Here you lost , but next time hopefully you'll win ...like the time I purchased a CD Single (remember those!) and the guy at the till rang up 99c rather than $9.99 Score!

[Antipodes1553552706]

Questions, maybe for Nixon76 rather than the OP...

 

1. When a manufacturer makes an improvement to the design of a product and wishes to include it from the next production run, how would you prefer it is done? Communicated to everyone and a distinct version is then recognised, or not communicated?

2. When a manufacturer plans to make changes to the line-up, that will result in new models, how would you prefer the change to be handled?

 

We find ourselves in these situations regularly, and it would be helpful to me, and maybe others, to know what you would prefer to happen. As a manufacturer, I have no desire to trap any customer, but what do you do if you receive an order and you know that you will be announcing new models in the next month or so, but are not ready to announce those models yet, due to the fact that details are still being decided?

 

We currently do our best to handle the transition through upgrade offers etc, but it always results in some angry emails whenever we launch new models, and so if there is a way to keep everyone happy we would find that helpful to know.

[nixon76]

Antipodes, on another thread I posted a link to a review in some AVI ADM9.1s - the .1 being a revision/improvement as per your first question. Here is some text from the review:

 

 

 

No offense to the current ADM9 owners, but you now own a pair of inferior loudspeakers. You can blame Ashley and his business partner Martin at AVI for that one.

 

Whether or not you communicate the fact or not is irrelevant in a harsh way. Whether a new item/range etc is physically released, or is just announced equates to the same things, and the same effect on second hand values. This can only be avoided by only telling a few select people that changes are coming, but you can get yourself into trouble there.

 

IMO pre-release communication is a friendly thing to do (and it builds hype ), but you'll still piss people off who where just about to sell....but that can't be avoided.

 

In terms of releasing new product lines, the best thing you can do is do it on a regular cycle. People then know if they buy something just after it's released they've got X months/years before they know the next version is going to kill their resale/perception of the item. Often as the cycle goes on the price gets cheaper as well, so even though they know a new version is coming out, they get to choose the between the classic about-to-be-replaced-but-cheap and wait-for-shiny-and-new-but-expensive options.

 

Releasing items/changes irregularly is a recipe for annoying customers IMO.

 

But it's almost comforting in a way that human nature means that whatever you do, someone will find fault with it .

[Ernie1553552694]

There will always be someone who gets caught in the wrong part of the product life cycle.

 

Transition = customer mitigation process.

 

I wrote this while Nixon had written his post above.

[tkr001]

Guess I got caught in the crossfire so to speak. Never have been lucky. Anyway as I said earlier I will move on.

 

If anybody wants a bargain and Audioreference has what you want now is the time to spend your cash.

[joe90]

I have been in a situation in retail many times when a new model is thrust upon us only days after we have sold the current model or when the importers reduce the last of the stock to clear them out

it pains me to see this but with everyone being so guarded about their new product release dates and pricing it is an unfortunate by product

 

just a thought, how many have spent alot on a PC and within weeks it is just about worthless to resell should you want to, it just goes to show that we do place higher value on our audio systems as we expect them to hold their value longer, in reality this is generally not the case these days

in years gone by when the likes of harveys etc were not driving the market on price we and we had longer product life cycles this may have been the case, but i guess its progress, i am not happy about it but i can do bugger all about at the coal face

as our margins shrink and new models appear every 5 minutes it seems its up to the very high end to look after the brands they represent as the main stream equipment is all about moving boxes and if the importers dont they will lose their agencies, just look what has changed in the last 18 months

i will always support a seller who looks after his brand and his customers interests, if they start to do blanket discounts on very hi end then i will find another product to support, i guess you have to weigh up how many times you can take a big loss, truth is the longer you hold onto your gear the more value you get from it

remember also that just because something is newer or higher spec'd does not mean it sounds better , generally just different

even some of the high end are now substituting advances in technology for build quality

thats why most of my gear is older but sounds exceptional, i have jumped off the upgrade wheel some time ago and now i just enjoy what i have and the music it makes

 

end of rant!!

[Robocop]

Look its the same as a car its losing its value the moment its bought. Based on my experience you most certainly are not buying an asset. In these times Terry is justified in doing what he has to survive. Its unfortunate for those caught in this scenario but such is life. Hi-Fi equipment value in general at this point in time or anytime going forward is going to be lower if anything.

[tkr001]

Robocop, I don't agree, but then you wouldn't expect me to. I am not talking about normal depreciation. Lets say your gear was worth 50% the minute you bought it. If the retailer halves RRP is is suddenly only worth 25% of what you paid. As I said before introducing a new model with extra features is just a fact of life and is different to suddenly discounting the heck out of a current model.

 

I wish I knew what I wanted from the start but I think we all have to go on a bit of a journey before we know what we really like. How was I to know I would prefer valve to SS until I had a Plinius SA103 in the same room as my monos and could listen back to back so to speak. I am very happy with my system now and don't see myself changing in the foreseeable future so fingers crossed won't get burnt again.

 

I hear what you say though Radar, I have an AVR which was relatively high end when I bought it. It doesn't decode any of the new HD sound formats but at least it accepts analogue in so I will keep using it for as long as I can....

[nixon76]

Valves rule

 

[johnnyrs]

 

AudioNote;127417 wrote:

Sorry that you feel affected thiis way, however we offer to trade our own brands if buying again from us, so if you came back to us for another amp then we would of course seek to support the difference to ensure you got good value in any exchange. We do care about our clients on going experiance.

 

When I look a current items actually selling on Trade Me it appears that the drop in value on 2nd hand gear is a lot greater than the special relocation discounts we have on temp offer during our moving stage so I am not so sure that we have actually affected the price you might have got to in any case, but I accept you have a concern, sorry. After the move most items will revert back to standard pricing so any effect should be very temporary.

 

Terry

 

Hi Terry, my post on the subject was lost with the forum database corruption. In it I noted that while I could now get my speakers for significantly less in your sale than I paid, the difference doesn't matter as I've had so much pleasuer from them over that time.

 

Having said that, if you'd like to give me the difference between the then and now price and let it match the price of a Tri amp, I'd be more than happy to help reduce the problems of relocating stock. ... God loves a trier.

[Antipodes1553552706]

I think one difference with this hobby is the propensity of all of us to change our gear every 3 or 4 bath nights, and so trading losses are chrystallised swiftly. When you intend to keep the item for longer you are more likely to be philosophical about the fact the item is still as good as it was when you bought it, and will continue to be that good. The benefit you get from using the product over a period of years becomes more important than losses on resale.

 

I like the suggestion above that as you get closer to updating the product that you more heavily discount the existing line. If you think you are 3 months away from a new release, its pretty hard to announce that to the market if sales will drop to zero in the interim. Getting the price right during that interim makes sense. We can also back that up with a generous upgrade offer too - we usually offer to upgrade with a full refund on the amount paid if it is within 3 months of the new release, and with a lesser percentage refund for items bought 3 to 6 months prior to the new release.

 

The problem then comes when we clear out the trade-ins via auction, I suppose.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. They have been very helpful.

[Shane Hanify]

I get around this issue by mainly buying gear that's a few to several years old and not buying very often.

 

The few times I have bought new, it was all at clearout, at 50% off.

 

TKR, with the amount and calibre of the gear you have, I would hardly call you unlucky.

 

Cheers, Shane.

[Pete]

Quoted as above..

 

"No offense to the current ADM9 owners, but you now own a pair of inferior loudspeakers. You can blame Ashley and his business partner Martin at AVI for that one."

 

Well, this isnt entirely true. At the end of the day, (amd9 owners) you heard the speakers, you liked them and you bought them as you felt the price represented value.

 

Your speakers havent suddenly become rubbish, its just a better product was released....time and technology marches on

 

At the end of the day, personal finances are too, an up and down matter. The best any consumer can do, is purchase the best value item he can find at a price he can afford, on the day he can afford it.

 

But I understand your plight tkr001, its just one of those unfortunate situations that happen in a free market....but the positives outweigh the negatives, I think we can all agree on that

[Brian Ono]

Sometimes the new model is inferior to the existing one.The move by Kef to china must have devalued their product.

[Harvey66]

 

tkr001;127405 wrote:

With this behaviour I will NEVER buy any brand they represent. They may gain in the short term but they have now made hifi equipment like used cars, worthless.

 

You do have a good reason to be peeved but I think your singling Terry out unfairly, assuming you bought your new amps of Jason even he's been known to dump stock on T/me. In fact there's very few hifi retailers who haven't bastardized a product for one reason or another.

[tkr001]

I'm over it now, it was a good tantie though. Hope the new owner appreciates the Primare, it was a good amp while it lasted and they got it for a song.

[Terryh]

 

johnnyrs;127459 wrote:

Hi Terry, my post on the subject was lost with the forum database corruption. In it I noted that while I could now get my speakers for significantly less in your sale than I paid, the difference doesn't matter as I've had so much pleasuer from them over that time.

 

 

 

Having said that, if you'd like to give me the difference between the then and now price and let it match the price of a Tri amp, I'd be more than happy to help reduce the problems of relocating stock.

... God loves a trier.

 

Hi Johnnyrs,

Glad to hear that you, like many others are enjoying your Triangle speakers. Perahps you could give me a ring and lets see what is possible re a Tri amp, it wouldn't be able to be quite to the level you mention but we want to keep things right as much as is possible so something might be able to be looked at to get you into some lovely valves, "God loves a trier".

Terry