HeadRoom Clearance Sale

[Jamey Warren]

Hello Friends,

HeadRoom is having a clearance sale.

Due to changes in distribution methods, HeadRoom can no longer afford to carry Etymotic Research products. Luckily for you, there is a bit of savings to be had while supplies last. Please call our sales staff at 1-800-828-8184 to place an order. Pricing is as follows. Standard shipping is $10. No returns are accepted except for defective products.

ER-4P Sold Out
ER-4S Sold Out
ER-6i Sold Out
ER-6 $79.00
Ety-com Sold Out

Because of poor forcasting on my part, we have a few too many Sennheiser HD201's and are offering these at $20 to head-fi members. Call our sales department and let them know you saw the sale on head-fi to order these. Returns in as new condition will be accepted for this product.

Thanks for your support!!

If you have any questions feel free to post them here or e-mail me, jamey@headphone.com

Cheers,
Jamey

[markmaxx]

Come on Jamey If you are going to throw a sale give us something to get us excited about. $4.95 of the price of 201s not alot to get excited about. The ETYs now thats a great price!

You guys are cool losen up a little. make it $15.00 for the 201 and I will buy 6 sets! For real! They are great gifts. This seems like a good way to get rid of a little extra stock. Happy new year.

I know this will cut drasticly into Tylls cool shirt budget. Company first.

Order Date: November 28, 2005 7:45 PM (this is from my old Headroom order)

Billing Address Shipping Address
Mark Ferris
XXXXXXX RD.
Lovettsville, VA 20180
540-XXX-XXXX
Mark Ferris
Item Price Quantity Total
Sennheiser HD 201 $19.95 3 $59.85
Sennheiser PX 100 $49.99 1 $49.99
Sub Total: $109.84

Shipping
FedEx Express Saver $0.00
Grand Total $109.84

[episiarch]

It sure makes me sad to see that HeadRoom, my preferred vendor of such things, is dropping Etymotic's outstanding product line.

I know it's a business and you have to do what you have to do, but Etys bought from you got me back into Head-Fi after an absence of many years. I bought them on your site's recommendation, and that recommendation was spot-on. They remain my reference sound, period, across all forms of headgear. If they're gone from your site, some of my faith in you as the go-to guys unfortunately goes with them. I'm not saying that to be unkind, it's just the regrettable truth.

If the distribution situation changes enough in the future to allow it, I hope you'll consider picking them up again.

[Nenso]

Can't you drop the HD201s a bit more? I'm a poor high school student who wants new cans =\

[warpdriver]

It's you guys that turned me onto Etymotic earphones. The praise you had for Etymotics made a big impression with me when I was first getting into high end headphones, and I knew that I had try a set eventually.

Those are some great prices on the Etys.

[grawk]

Wow, that's loyalty from ety...I'll never buy another one of their products.

[n_maher]

I agree it's a major shame to see Headroom have to drop Etymotic. My path to hi-fi headphones and Head-Fi can be directly traced through that relationship. Just 4 short years ago I bought a pair of Ety ER4Ps after finding Ety's website and the accompanying link to Headroom.

P.s. Hmmm, I think I'll take a pair of HD201s off your hands .

[blessingx]

And let me pipe in an say after trying about five different cell phone solutions, the Etycom is easily the best corded one I've found. A no-brainer at this price.

[1badmf]

if the HD201s were a little cheaper I would buy some for gifts as well. Too bad the ER6i worked too well at work. People kept throwing things at me to get my attention. Good job Headroom!

[VictorS]

Wow -- a dark day indeed. Are you also clearing out Ety consumables?

[Eagle_Driver]

How sad. I've first heard of Etymotic through Headroom. But now, Etymotic is apparently going to a factory-direct-to-consumers-only sales model, which means that it will cost resellers exactly the same high MSRP to buy the Ety products as they charge consumers directly.

[Tyll Hertsens]

Originally Posted by Eagle_Driver

How sad. I've first heard of Etymotic through Headroom. But now, Etymotic is apparently going to a factory-direct-to-consumers-only sales model, which means that it will cost resellers exactly the same high MSRP to buy the Ety products as they charge consumers directly.

I don't think that's correct. Etymotic has long been willing to sell direct to the consume from there web site, but have always maintained a price too high to really compete with he resellers. The problem occurred when Ety switched from selling directly to the retailer and brought in distributors. At that point margins were significantly reduced and credit limits had to be renegotiated with the disties. Also, it meant that there were lots more quantity pricing deals that could be done between distributors and large retailers that was out of Etymotics control. To me the mistake Etymotic made, if any, was take on a distribution model without significantly stricter and more complex controls on pricing. These controls are difficult to come by and it's not surprising that Etymotic fell into a rats nest of difficulties. This experience with Etymotic is exactly why I can't be too hard on Grado for not adopting a different business model: change is risky and there are real possibilities of screwing it up, or getting screwed up due to circumstances beyond your control.

I think the real problem here is that all this comes at a time when Ety is also dealing with intense competitive pressures on the headphone side of there business. I believe Etymotic has one of the finest headphone development brain trusts in the business, and it would be sad if the chaos of competative commerce kept them from being able to develop and deliver new generations of IEM product. But, the world plays hardball, and not-so-nice things happen....all the time.

[Vicomte]

Ah, I was wondering why Etymotic products were removed form the site.

Any chance on discounts on P/S converters?

[Jamey Warren]

Originally Posted by Vicomte

Ah, I was wondering why Etymotic products were removed form the site.

Any chance on discounts on P/S converters?

Sorry, we're all out of converters.

[episiarch]

blessingx just posted a link to an interview at MacWorld with Etymotic's founder Mead Killion that seems in partial confirmation of Ety's shift in emphasis to the less specialized and more volume-oriented outlets:

Scott McNulty: So on your website you can order all this stuff?

Mead Killion: Yes, and from Amazon.com and from J&R New York.

No mention of specialty retailers, just the big boys. Well that's disheartening. I'm sorry you folks don't carry them any more, but if their focus is on the mass retailers and given what you've said, it's understandable.