[Nights_85]

Im not sure if you guys know of it. but I dont believe its actually the retailers are deliberately selling the grados for a high price but it also has to do with the fact that grado sets a retail price and demands everyone sells at it. I got the information from when I was rather close to buying an sr225 for like 140US from an etailer (who made a rather big mistake) and they said they couldn't ship it (forgot the name of the place) because they couldn't sell it at that price thanks to grado, they offered some senns instead but by that time I had bought an hd600

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Well, sheesh, Grado has absolutely nothing to do at all whatsoever about those astronomical prices of their products sold outside the USA. It has a lot to do with the individual countries' strict, expensive tariff policies that are the law. Many European and Asian countries still have extremely high tariffs imposed on all goods from North America that date back many, many years -- and those countries still have never updated that policy! (Take this as an example: In a certain country that charges such an astronomical price for a pair of Grado headphones, a Chevrolet Cavalier [or whatever name the Chevy distributor over there calls it] costs more than a middle-of-the-line Daimler-Benz C-Class sedan! And a box of cookies that are "Product Of USA" costs more $$$ than some of Sennheiser's low-end headphones there!)

Lax and/or authoritarian governments in those countries are to blame for this mess.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally posted by Eagle_Driver Well, sheesh, Grado has absolutely nothing to do at all whatsoever about those astronomical prices of their products sold outside the USA. It has a lot to do with the individual countries' strict, expensive tariff policies that are the law. Many European and Asian countries still have extremely high tariffs imposed on all goods from North America that date back many, many years -- and those countries still have never updated that policy! Lax and/or authoritarian governments in those countries are to blame for this mess.

In Australia???? I don't think so....

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Oh, yeah, Sovkiller; Australia has had stiff tariff policies on imported products - but their government doesn't even brag about it, and they have never revised that policy.

And the USA itself has a tariff barrier on imported products, as well. For example, any truck that's classified as an import is subject to a whopping 25 percent tariff rate, versus 2.5 percent for imports classified as passenger cars. And most consumer goods such as electronics that are imported are subject to the 25 percent tariff rate. No wonder why Sennheiser headphones are relatively expensive here in the USA until very recently.

And none of us gets hit with a tariff surcharge at the checkout; the tariff is hidden in the base price of the products.

 

[Hunter_Killer]

Eagle...... you obviously missed the parts where we mentioned that the excess cost is WAYYYYYy over the import duties and freight costs. We are talking about almost twice the cost here. Its probably not Grados policy to jack up the prices but the distributors.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Yep, that "excess costs" crap too - the amount the distributors pocket for themselves, and doesn't get paid to Mr. Grado.

 

[Geek]

This is sad news

I think that restricting a distributing client as big and influential as Headroom will do nothing but hurt Grado in the long run.

Cheers,
Geek

 

[briana]

"And most consumer goods such as electronics that are imported are subject to the 25 percent tariff rate."

Considering the extremely low cost of most imported electonics in the U.S. this is hard to believe, especailly since the average U.S. tariff on goods imports was 1.71 percent in 1999, among the world's lowest. Now, it may just be the power of competition, since I know a Hyundai imported into America costs less than one purchased in Korea--which is a lessser machine since it doesn't have to meet US standards.

 

[Hunter_Killer]

Quote:

Originally posted by Eagle_Driver Yep, that "excess costs" crap too - the amount the distributors pocket for themselves, and doesn't get paid to Mr. Grado.

Well thats the point all along - the distributors have uncompetitive margins, and Grado doesnt have enough business sense to do anything about it. Grado obviously values their suppliers more than their customers.

 

[mbriant]

Price variances occur from nation to nation and sometimes from region to region in the same country for many different products, not just headphones. Think of the huge additional shipping costs involved to ship any product from the U.S. to Australia for instance. Then think of the shipping costs an Australian distributor has to pay to ship small quantities to a small population across a country as large as Australia. Economies of scale are a real factor.

There's also an unavoidable duplication of costs which come into play when a distributor is involved. For example, Grado's products come off the assembly line and directly into an onsight or nearby warehouse which distributes the product across the U.S. It costs extra for Grado to then pack and ship a distributor's order from Grado's warehouse to the distributor's warehouse. The distributor's warehouse and all the considerable associated costs to own/rent and operate that warehouse are a totally additional cost.

Another example: The gross cost to produce an ad campaign is probably the same in Australia as the U.S., but the U.S. has 10 times the market to absorb that cost. Then there's tax differences and all sorts of other cost differences. Even seemingly trivial costs like phone bills all add up. A phone call from New York to a California warehouse selling 10 times as much product is much more cost effective than a call from New York then from one end of Australia to the other selling 1/10th (or less) the amount of product. It's simply cheaper to market within a densly populated country of 300,000,000 than to a sparsely populated, large country such as Australia or Canada with 1/10th the population. There's much more involved to international pricing than meets the eye.

 

[augustwest]

Grado marketing practices basically suck. While Grado makes a decent sounding headphone, their idea of marketing practice is idiotic, boardering on preditory. . . . The value of the US dollar, as compared to international currencies is at a historic low. Meaning US manufactured goods should be cheaper than they have ever been. So there is some basic greed going on, probably by everyone on down the line.

I for one, would be glad to help anyone who wants a Grado headphone at reasonable cost to privately import them from the states for just what it costs, + shipping, and any associated costs.

-augustwest

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by augustwest Grado marketing practices basically suck. While Grado makes a decent sounding headphone, their idea of marketing practice is idiotic, boardering on preditory. . . . The value of the US dollar, as compared to international currencies is at a historic low. Meaning US manufactured goods should be cheaper than they have ever been. So there is some basic greed going on, probably by everyone on down the line. I for one, would be glad to help anyone who wants a Grado headphone at reasonable cost to privately import them from the states for just what it costs, + shipping, and any associated costs. -augustwest

Just out of curiousity, are you going to provide the people you supply with warranty service in the event that there's a problem with their headphone?

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hunter_Killer Well thats the point all along - the distributors have uncompetitive margins, and Grado doesnt have enough business sense to do anything about it. Grado obviously values their suppliers more than their customers.

You guys don't realize how much power distributors can have with small companies such as Grado. Grado relies on their foreign distributors to promote their product and operate with dealers in the country that the distributor deals in.

Distributors often deal in mutliple product lines and are decent size companies. They don't need to take on the costs of promoting the product in the country if noone is buying from them.

It is likely that foreign distributors simply told Grado that they would not carry their product line if they didn't have exclusive rights to deal in the country which they reside.

John is no fool. His business has been in the family for decades and it continues to do well. His customer service is second to none. He has to play the game of satisfying customers while keeping his distribution lines open.

An interesting comparison here is Stax. Look at how their North American distributors have to compete with Audiocubes, Eifl, and all the Japanese import companies that sell for less than half the north American retail cost. The distributor does little, if any promotion. I would put money on it that sales on Stax products in the US have been stagnant if not falling from previous years due to the little promotion that has been done. This is because it is not worth it for the distributor because they have to compete with the importers who sell for way less.

Many audio manufacturers have the same territory guidelines that Grado has set. Headroom is only pissed about it because they are going to lose a ton of sales

 

[plateau]

Grado headphones are overpriced domestically. The premise of international consumers paying a further inflated $700-1,200 usd for them is pomp and delusion. Good luck to the distrubutors.

 

[Onix]

Quote:

Originally posted by jacopo you guys should see how much do these babies cost here in Europe.... oh wait.... let me check if I can..... link|! to italian prices j|!

Oh! You are rigth. It's more than double the price for a SR-60!!!