[UberNewb]

Quote:

Originally posted by mjg HeadRoom is overpriced, and they take too long to reply to emails. I tried going to them for my 650s, but they didn't play ball : P

I'm suprised. HeadRoom has always answered my emails promptly. If I send one during the day I usually have a reply in a few minutes. You can also call them if you have any questions, toll free. They beat every price I've seen on what I bought from them. And they gave me sterling service when a problem arose that was in no way related to them.

I can't imagine anybody doing any better than they have for me.

 

[arnaud]

Beware with AA and such, they seem to be on back order for several weeks.

I know that $40 is important for many here. Still, based on all the benefits we get from the Head-Fi forum, it's disappointing to see that many will not support our sponsors for the sake of saving a few $$$.

YOU, HD650 buyer, you were able to put $350 aside for a pair of ... headphones. Is that such a big deal to secure 10% more and contribute to the "survival" of this community??

Here is a repost from an other thread:

I ordered my HD650s from Meier Audio and am now pleased for several reasons:
- I supported Head-Fi by dealing with a sponsor
- They shipped the next morning
- The Oealbach cable I got with was then 50% off

cheers,

Arnaud.

Edited for spelling.

 

[Welly Wu]

Arnaud's got a point...much to my wallet's chagrin.

 

[UberNewb]

Arnaud has a great point, and a great CD player too

I am going to be purchasing some flat pads from Todd The Vinyl Junky soon, and a couple of CD cases from Slappa.

Hey, I get new stuff AND I support HeadFi!

 

[rsaavedra]

Well I think you have a point, and I do like our sponsors a lot. But let's keep our feet on the ground. Headroom just told me they can't match these prices of AA right now. Any market is a competitive world, and you can't expect any company to win in the long run unless bringing competitive advantages across their offerings. If they provide excellent customer service the others might too, so in the long run they won't be able to compete just based on that, prices have to be competitive as well, among many other things. And I don't think a 10% cheaper price is anything to take lightly regardless of price point. Well, just my opinion.

 

[arnaud]

Quote:

Originally posted by rsaavedr But let's keep our feet on the ground.

I think it is indeed the matter here. I don't believe headroom is trying to rip people off here. They're probably just trying to survive. AA can price low because they probably have a higher sale volume than Headroom.

Eventually, if we all see this exclusively as a $$$ issue, then all the great things happening around head-fi will surely fade away. A small headphone audio company, with its feet on the ground, cannot be competitive with these high volume audio sellers...

I am not involved with Headroom. I guess I am speaking in general for all our sponsors. These are small businesses, don't expect them to do miracles and try to see the direct and not so direct benefits of dealing through them rather than an anonymous vendor who could not care less about Head-Fi.

cheers,

Arnaud.

 

[rsaavedra]

Quote:

Originally posted by arnaud I don't believe headroom is trying to rip people off here.

I don't believe that either, never had that thought.

Quote:

They're probably just trying to survive.

Don't think so. The HD650's is just one item in their large catalog of products they sell. Don't think their total profits depend too much on the profits they decide to expect from selling these particular cans.

Quote:

Eventually, if we all see this exclusively as a $$$ issue, then all the great things happening around head-fi will surely fade away.

I respectfully disagree there. If head-fi's existence will depend entirely on members being willing to pay more to sponsors for headphone products known to cost less somewhere else, then there's simply something wrong in this business model.

Cheers,
Raul

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

I could get every meal I eat out 15% . . . actually make that 20% cheaper, all I have to do is not tip.

 

[UberNewb]

I'm about to spend a big chunk of money with HeadRoom. I don't know if they are going to be the cheapest place to buy what I'm going to buy... but I do know that if I have any problems I will be taken care of.

If I pay a samll premium, I consider it a premium well spent.

I know I sound like I'm a walking advertisement for HeadRoom, but I'm not. I have just recieved amazingly good service AND pricing from them, and I want to pass that on to as many people as I can.

 

[rsaavedra]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tyll Hertsens I could get every meal I eat out 15% . . . actually make that 20% cheaper, all I have to do is not tip.

In this same line of rhetoric, not paying taxes would be a similar way of saving some % in everything you spend, only breaking this other social convention can produce more serious frownings.

I'm in no position to argue on this or to assess business practices, there's nothing here to argue as a matter of fact. But I can comment on something.

In the restaurants realm, I think there's no competitive disadvantage for any waiter to not expect "tips" because it's a social convention everyone tips. That applies to restaurants all right, but as far as I know that doesn't apply to online retail stores. Head-fi sponsors do have great service and take good care of their customers, granted. Hey but let's be reallistic. Who says huge online retail stores necessarily have bad customer service, or don't take care of their customers? I've had great experiences with huge online retail stores, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Audioadvisor (though I don't know how "huge" the latter is).

But then again, I'm writing this thoughts from the comfort of being a simple customer... And even though that's not much credential, don't underestimate how the saying goes: "The customer is always right"

 

[arnaud]

Quote:

Originally posted by rsaavedr In the restaurants realm, I think there's no competitive disadvantage for any waiter to not expect "tips" because it's a social convention everyone tips.

I think what Tyll meant is that he's gotta feed his employees...

Quote:

Originally posted by rsaavedr Who says huge online retail stores necessarily have bad customer service, or don't take care of their customers? I've had great experiences with huge online retail stores, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Audioadvisor (though I don't know how "huge" the latter is).

Nobody said that those stores don't care about their customers. Of course they do! That is, at least until you drop your money! They would not mind letting you know afterwards by an anonymous email that, unfortunately, your product is backordered for 2 months. But let's assume that does not happen too often (poor you all who ordered your HD650s through AA though

).

What we are saying is that these stores could not care less about ... Head-Fi, this wonderful place where you and I can argue for ever and never reach an agreable conclusion

cheers,

Arnaud.

 

[rsaavedra]

Quote:

Originally posted by arnaud They would not mind letting you know afterwards by an anonymous email that, unfortunately, your product is backordered for 2 months.

In my case I placed the order in AA knowing the 650's were backordered for at least 2 weeks.

Quote:

What we are saying is that you could not care less about ... Head-fi

Not sure why you say so. I do care about Head-fi, I actually enjoy these forums a lot! That doesn't mean I agree with the expectation of having head-fi members be willing to spend more on head-fi sponsors just because they sponsor head-fi. I think that is an unreallistic expectation, and if that's the business model behind Head-fi, I think it's fundamentally wrong. You said it yourself, they have great service and so and so forth. That's a competitive advantage. They are nice people, that's a competitive advantage too. But clearly having higher prices, that's a competitive disadvantage. Plain and simple.

Edit: ah noticed you edited your post, you meant to say "those stores couldn't care less about Head-fi", no wonder...

 

[gpalmer]

One more vote in favor of Headroom. The fact that they not only offer sterling customer service and support this forum means I always buy my headphones from them when I'm buying new (4 so far).

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Fine, commerce is hard ball. I accept that. You do what you can get away with. But american consumers are by and large adolescent fools. They flock to WalMart and bitch about loosing jobs to China. That's stupid. We have a culture of gluttinous consumption, and it let's us think that the normal process for buying something is simply to scrounge for the cheapest price.

Sennheiser recognises that to sell premium product well and service customers well it costs money and they need to do something to protect quality vendors. THey came out with a strict sales policy for 650s that says you're not allowed to automate price quotes lower than $449.99. They came down hard, everybody clamed up for a couple of weeks and then they start to sneek in lower pricing.

THE REASON THEY CAN MAKE A LIVING OFF LOWER PRICING IS THAT THEY DON'T REALLY GIVE A **** ABOUT THE HOBBY OR THE PEOPLE IN IT.

Heck yeah, I want to make a living, and I want to grow HeadRoom, but I want to do it in a win-win-win way. It's a subtle balance; I can't get too greedy, I have to put in the work, I have to actually care about the quality of products in this catagory and try to lobby headphone makers to make better cans, I have to buy $50,000 in test equipment to develope a measurement program. B&H, J&R, AA, Circuit City, etc do you ever see ANY of them here EVER! This is a friggen community and those guys NOT ONCE have given Jude a dime; NOT ONCE posted.

In a way I pay taxes here by supporting this community and helping to do the things that a commercial venture can do to contribute to a community. FINE, call Jamey tomorrow and ask him for the AA price; I just emailed him to give it. But he might be on the phone to Sennheiser finking on AA cause I told him to do that, too.

The internet is a frontier and it's live or die, quick and the dead, etc ad nausium. But if you want this little town to grow past mud sidewalks you better decide to shop locally . . . even when it costs a bit extra. Or you can say bye-bye to better products and hello to translucent purple plastic crap.

And it's true as a nation, too: unless we decide to buy fewer thing of higher quality, and unless we decide to live a less gluttenous lifestyle, our economy will crumble under the loss of jobs and rediculous personal debt.

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

I want to add, that as venemous as this post is, it's really not pointed at you, rsaavedr, this issue boils in my blood continuously and sometimes I just gotta let out a little steam.