[Peterg2]

Just a couple of points that I have discovered.

1. The $599 is the MSRP and Hififarm is intentionally keeping it at the MSRP for a reason. The street price will be probably in the area of $549 but could even dip to roughly $500 depending on one's negotiating skills with a particular store. The days of $350 or even $400 are history.

2. Any person buying in the US will have to purchase from an authorised distributor of Sanibel. Totallywired in New Zealand for example or any other foreign sales offices will not be able to sell to anyone in the US. Territories are being clearly demarcated and someone say in Canada could not buy from the US either (that is the territory of the Canadian distributor and their authorised resellers). There is going to be a far stronger brick and mortar presence and far less of an internet sales presence.

Peter

 

[Sovkiller]

I just emailed Perreaux complaining about the raise in prices, and asking for an explantion why the same product duplicate the price, so far they had read the email but nothing else, no answer from them.....

 

[Peterg2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller I just emailed Perreaux complaining about the raise in prices, and asking for an explantion why the same product duplicate the price, so far they had read the email but nothing else, no answer from them.....

I would believe the reason is that Audio Advisor completely dominated the market in terms of sales in the United States and they did not set up much of a distribution network for sales in brick and mortar stores, if at all. With Perreaux having some much more higher-end items which apparently did not get much in the way of sales or exposure under the old arrangement the business model has changed. For the higher end items to be sold I would guess there is required to be a far greater brick and mortar presence and with brick and mortar stores having obviously higher fixed costs the gross margin is required to be larger.

I believe the exact same pattern is being followed in Canada and I would guess the MSRP for Canada will track very closely with that of the U.S.

Call it a maturation (I know it sounds odd) of the method of doing business with brick and mortar sales offering far greater sales potential than internet sales to hobbyists like ourselves.

Peter

 

[plainsong]

Sov, did you point Perreaux to this thread when you complained? It looks like they're doing to the US what Grado did to us. I agree that they need the presence in the stores, and that means a higher price, but to discourage internet sales entirely is also a bit overkill. Sure, you're attracting more customers to come and listen to your stuff, but how many others are you missing out on? Perhaps, like Grado, they aren't interested in growing. What a shame.

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

they need the presence in the stores, and that means a higher price, but to discourage internet sales entirely is also a bit overkill.

This always seems to be a 'Catch-22' situation. If I were to audition something at a B&M store, and I decided I wanted the item, I'd definitely purchase it from that B&M store, even if the price was higher than an Internet-based store. But that's just me.

Unfortunately, there are too many people who would take advantage of the local store for the audition, and end up purchasing the same product online at a lower cost. I am of the mind that such B&M's will eventually fail to exist if such practices continue. Or you get the protectionist-type vendor models of the Perreaux's, Grado's, Arcam's, etc.

It seems impossible to have both. Small, local, boutique B&M's can't compete with Yahoo storefronts, unless they just don't actually stock the item, and have to order it for you. But then you don't have the in-house auditioning capability, which then negates the advantage of the B&M, which then...

 

[Sovkiller]

Well I just received an answer from Martin Van Rooyer, I was asking for a place to get a better price (similar to the AA one) this is his letter, he gave me his authorization to share it with you guys, there is still hope to get a better is not the same as AA, if we could arrange some kind of a group deal with the current distributor, of course we may need a good spokesman, I'm not qualified enough for that, as my English is at best "fair".....but if someone is interested in rule a group buy for the Perreaux, I will get one myself for my bedroom setup if the price is tempting enough:

"......Hi Al,

Thanks for your email enquiry and nice to hear from you.

I am afraid that that may indeed prove tricky. Fundamentally we are a high-end manufacturer and our brief time with Audio Advisor was not the right fit for our company. To their credit they are very well known for their excellent work in close out sales etc. Buyers prefer to look and feel the product and a retail environment is always best for this to occur. Two significant events have changed since working with Audio Advisor. Importantly the US exchange rate has shifted dramatically, thereby forcing our company to seek a higher $US value for our products and secondly we are once again working with a distributor "Sanibel Sound'.

My honest advice to you is to call him up and see if he can do anything to help you. Please explain to him that you were one of the first buyers of the product and have been instrumental in ensuring that the product has sold well on account of all the positive things that you have said on www.headfi.com. You never know 'Steve Davis' from Sanibel Sound may be willing to strike up a special 'Headfi' accomodation price with you guys?

It's worth a call.

Steve Davis
Sanibel Sound
540 721 1076
steve@sanibelsound.com

All the very best.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Martin van Rooyen - Managing Director
Perreaux Industries Ltd
Postal: PO Box 47-413, Ponsonby, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Physical: 2 Kingsland Terrace, Kingsland, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 9 815-5452
Fax: +64 9 815-5981
E-mail: martin@perreaux.com
URL: www.perreaux.com
---------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Steve Davis]

Hello headphone people. This is Steve Davis from Sanibel Sound. We are the new Perreaux distributor and have been watching with much interest everyones comments. I also own a retail store Hi-Fi Farm. I know this is going to cause some tension as we are working both wholesale and retail. I am prepared to offer a special deal to all Head-Fi members in the U.S. If you set an account with HiFiFarm you will receive a special price coupon to purchase the Perreaux headphone amp.Please mention when signing up or send an e-mail requesting the coupon. It will be a permanent price for all people from this site. I know this is not a place to sell product but if the moderators will allow this post I will never again use it for this type of info. I just feel it's important to help with the pricing problem . The price will be slightly higher than AA and only available to the US. I hope this will help. Regards and Good Listening to all. Steve

 

[plainsong]

If Perreaux was interested in a US online presence that would compliment the Brick and Mortar presence without strangeling it, why not approach The Headroom? The Headroom has sold competing products before, and has a stellar reputation for customer service. It would seem to be a good compromise. Sure the price would never get down to the days of AA, but it wouldn't be double either.

edit - but I read between the lines and find the reply rather sad. To me it sounds like they have their distributor and can't be bothered with good service anymore to the US. If they even read websites such as these, they'd see how popular their little amp is and setup a reputable reseller (such as Headroom) for those customers who can't reach the stores. But they're completely disconnected and don't know and don't want to know. Pity. This wasn't the service that I got.

 

[Sovkiller]

I agree, Headroom and Todd, both could cut good deals for us......