[Jorg]

This question is based on a simple fact. Some manufacturers (f.e. Grado) keep the price the same for years. There is that thing called inflation and I wonder how can they keep that price for so many years if not sacrifice the quality of the products.

Please someone explain me.

 

[aeriyn]

Grado probably has long-standing arrangements with the suppliers of their materials. Your best bet to find this out would be to look at an older set of Grados and compare them to a "comparable" newer set of Grados.

I know that Sony has been cutting corners quite a bit as of late, especially in the low to mid-fi range.

 

[allenf]

Also the exchange rate: being paid in GB£ and buying goods in US$ is an excellent place to be in right now

 

[breez]

There is also a thing called progress which may enable them to manufacture things and materials at a lower price than before.

 

[acs236]

I would expect that a smaller company, like Grado, with relatively few products (like Grado), would plan out their pricing strategy very well. They probably set prices taking into account the expected life of the product, inflation, etc. For example, I am guessing that they set the price of the SR-60s thinking that they'll make a larger profit at first, but still make enough profit to justify continuing the model for X years. When they stop making a profit, say hello to the SR-65s.

 

[jpr703]

Probably a product lifecycle thing. Typically you keep your prices high at first because you're not selling a lot of units and you need to recover some costs associated with launching a new product. As time goes on, you get your processes ironed out, start selling a larger number of units and have more leverage with your suppliers. You can then sell for the same price, or sometimes even less, and still make the same (or larger) profit.