After discussing extensively on the irc channel with the boys, as well as reading numerous threads, I decided to take the plunge and invest in the EAR HP4. Orginally I was going to invest in a headmaster and perhaps the Cary, but after reading that the EAR actually sounds similar to the Sugden while giving some benefits of tubes...I thought this is it...this is the ONE. I started researching where I could buy this amp from. For starters, we have Headroom. I love them, but at $3600...that is a bit expensive for me, a Canadian. Even without considering the exchange rates...I still have to consider the duty. An item like this would cost me around $500 Canadian to have shipped into the country. So at the present exchange rate...without shipping, that is $5,514.66, add $500=$6000 for an amp? Not quite...
What to do, what to do.
Next stop, EAR's homepage. They would have a listing of Canadian dealers or at least a distributor that I could contact and save myself big on import costs. I give the only Canadian dealer a call yesterday... and I am told it will cost me $5700 shipped to my door. Um....sorry??? How can it only be a savings of $300 when I don't have to import it from another country? That should be incorporated into the cost already...as I would assume Headroom had done. So once again, Canadians get shafted by their own freaking retailers. I simply don't understand the logic behind massive markup. Would not a company try to lower their costs to gain more in sales? I know this point has been discussed to death...here and at Audio Asylum extensively. Retailers/dealers and distributors always come down hard on the consumers stating that the markups help in warehousing costs...and other "hidden" costs that are not immediately obvious to us consumers. I am often told that servicing, dependability, technical know-how, all this kinda stuff, goes into the elevated cost.
Okay, lets say this is all completely true. How then can a dealer's cost vary sooo much from one Country to another, especially when the product is foreign for both? I think there is a lot of BS that happens in the market, and one has to be very keen and savy to get the best price. It is very very interesting to note some dealers offer incredible prices, at substantially lower costs and still offer such top-notch service, that I am disgusted with the others.
My point to all of this is that I can get the EAR for $3,367.82 Can to my door!!!!! That is nearly 50% what I would have to pay going through my Canadian dealer, or any US dealer. No...instead I had to track down a European dealer and get it at such a reduced price I would be stupid to pass it up.
To make a long story short, how are we supposed to support our local dealers when they really don't strive to sell us products at a decent price.
Does this amp come from Europe? Yes. Is that a valid reason for it to be 2x as much in North America? Not a hope in hell. If it were constructed in Asia, in a sweatshop, I could understand the low price. This is pretty well hand crafted in a first world nation, a G7 country no less...and at %50 of the price.
I'm fed up. This is the second time in 3 months I have been subjected to harsh North American, but specifically Canadian dealer price hikes. So much for patriotic support.
What to do, what to do.
Next stop, EAR's homepage. They would have a listing of Canadian dealers or at least a distributor that I could contact and save myself big on import costs. I give the only Canadian dealer a call yesterday... and I am told it will cost me $5700 shipped to my door. Um....sorry??? How can it only be a savings of $300 when I don't have to import it from another country? That should be incorporated into the cost already...as I would assume Headroom had done. So once again, Canadians get shafted by their own freaking retailers. I simply don't understand the logic behind massive markup. Would not a company try to lower their costs to gain more in sales? I know this point has been discussed to death...here and at Audio Asylum extensively. Retailers/dealers and distributors always come down hard on the consumers stating that the markups help in warehousing costs...and other "hidden" costs that are not immediately obvious to us consumers. I am often told that servicing, dependability, technical know-how, all this kinda stuff, goes into the elevated cost.
Okay, lets say this is all completely true. How then can a dealer's cost vary sooo much from one Country to another, especially when the product is foreign for both? I think there is a lot of BS that happens in the market, and one has to be very keen and savy to get the best price. It is very very interesting to note some dealers offer incredible prices, at substantially lower costs and still offer such top-notch service, that I am disgusted with the others.
My point to all of this is that I can get the EAR for $3,367.82 Can to my door!!!!! That is nearly 50% what I would have to pay going through my Canadian dealer, or any US dealer. No...instead I had to track down a European dealer and get it at such a reduced price I would be stupid to pass it up.
To make a long story short, how are we supposed to support our local dealers when they really don't strive to sell us products at a decent price.
Does this amp come from Europe? Yes. Is that a valid reason for it to be 2x as much in North America? Not a hope in hell. If it were constructed in Asia, in a sweatshop, I could understand the low price. This is pretty well hand crafted in a first world nation, a G7 country no less...and at %50 of the price.
I'm fed up. This is the second time in 3 months I have been subjected to harsh North American, but specifically Canadian dealer price hikes. So much for patriotic support.
