Snake
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2003
- Posts
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- 17
Quote:
Then would you like something different?
Almost all Bose discussions are from the perspective of consumers either disgruntled at Bose or simply annoyed at the Bose Corporation.
Would you prefer that I add a different perspective to a Bose discussion? One of an ex-Bose retailer?? I'm sure you will find the discussion somewhat enlightening...yet, at the same time, ALL too familiar (just read the consumer post here, they've got the Bose company pretty much pegged when it comes to their methods if you can believe it!)
Bose is indeed more interested in marketing than products. For example, Bose VIOLENTLY defends both a dealer's authorized selling district AND the price that dealer charges for Bose goods. Want to know WHY Bose products are so overpriced? Because Bose will 'terminate' any dealer that does not stick to the MSRP / MAP of its goods. They can't do it openly for that would be a violation of the Sherman Act, but Bose has it's ways - as a dealer, you'll find your shipments close down to a TRICKLE if you have the nerve to advertise a Bose sale in your district without express permission from Bose first.
...which usually comes with all the regularity of the ski season in Hades.
If you've ever opened up a 901 you will find the product's cost based on construction materials no where near the asking price. Nine 4" drivers in an injection moulded plastic frame, with top and bottom MDF veneered panels, simply isn't worth that much, sorry. The Bose mystique is one of a carefully controlled marketing plan, and as a dealer I was expected to roll with the plan lock, stock and barrel. Advertisement copy had to meet strict qualifications or, much more preferred by the company, a simple cut/paste of Bose ad copy from the dealer’s advertising guide flysheets. Yes, Bose supplied the ad copy in pre-made designs and ideally Bose preferred you use them instead of writing your own.
All this, and much more, present an interesting plan from Bose as a whole, considering that they actually expected us to honestly say "Bose is great!" when we had B&W 802s', 801's and 808's; Celestion SL-600 and SL-6's; ProAc's and numerous other truly excellent performing loudspeakers just a few yards away. In my later years when someone asked for a Bose demonstration I turned the system on...and left the listening room, closing the door behind me. I couldn't stand listening to them for just one more second. Actually, at that time the 301’s were the best sounding (special note: that was the second up from the BOTTOM of the line) and not ‘terrible’, so at least I didn’t grindge in horror while I played them. 301’s actually weren’t too bad and not terribly overpriced for the (modest) performance level they attained, so I wasn’t *too* unhappy with selling them.
But don’t get me started on the price/performance ratio of 901’s…
If you do not wish to hear subjective observations do an objective review: one need only do a spectrum analysis of the typical Bose loudspeaker frequency response to discover a response curve significantly underperforming versus the product's price competition. Add in the cost of the construction materials versus MSRP asked and you will find a product that is a tremendously poor value in almost any audio market. If customers had their hearts set on Bose we sold it to them. But, if a customer came in with an open mind and actually asked us “What do you think of [this] Bose product”…we, easily presented them with other products that gave (a) greater performance at (b) a lower price. Every single time. And note that we actually made MORE money when selling a Bose product because it was almost always very close to full MSRP thanks to the strict Bose dealer policies while with the alternative products we were able to discount to our heart’s content (we had a well-known reputation in our area for discounting quality products). Our Bose profit = approximately 30%, while others = 15% or so after the discounting, and therefore we made less money per box moved. So by NOT selling Bose we actually lost margin…but we BELIEVED in the quality products we were selling and took the lower profits if we believed the customer would be happier (yes, there ARE dealers like that!).
Eh, I could go on for a while longer but I think you get the drift. Yes, astute customers (like those here) realized that Bose is simply "poor value"...and, as a dealer, we not only concurred but we put our money where our mouth was and made lower profit on a sale if the customer had an open mind to try alternatives over Bose. Some times the customer was set on Bose and that was that, the Bose sale was written up and done - they got what they wanted. "Customer is always right" and all that. All it takes to decide pro or against Bose is to trust your own ears.
| Originally Posted by synaesthetic /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wish the mods would just ban any discussion about Bose. It never goes anywhere, never reveals any new information, always degenerating into a furious, masturbatory flurry of insults and diatribes on how much Bose sucks. I realize that this would preclude us from discussing any Bose products, but that doesn't really happen here anyway. I can't even describe the Bose threads as discussion. Maybe one or two insightful comments. I am not defending Bose or putting Bose down. I could care less about the company or their products. I'm just sick of clicking on a thread and seeing posts bashing Bose that are just so juvenile. -.- |
Then would you like something different?
Almost all Bose discussions are from the perspective of consumers either disgruntled at Bose or simply annoyed at the Bose Corporation.
Would you prefer that I add a different perspective to a Bose discussion? One of an ex-Bose retailer?? I'm sure you will find the discussion somewhat enlightening...yet, at the same time, ALL too familiar (just read the consumer post here, they've got the Bose company pretty much pegged when it comes to their methods if you can believe it!)
Bose is indeed more interested in marketing than products. For example, Bose VIOLENTLY defends both a dealer's authorized selling district AND the price that dealer charges for Bose goods. Want to know WHY Bose products are so overpriced? Because Bose will 'terminate' any dealer that does not stick to the MSRP / MAP of its goods. They can't do it openly for that would be a violation of the Sherman Act, but Bose has it's ways - as a dealer, you'll find your shipments close down to a TRICKLE if you have the nerve to advertise a Bose sale in your district without express permission from Bose first.
...which usually comes with all the regularity of the ski season in Hades.
If you've ever opened up a 901 you will find the product's cost based on construction materials no where near the asking price. Nine 4" drivers in an injection moulded plastic frame, with top and bottom MDF veneered panels, simply isn't worth that much, sorry. The Bose mystique is one of a carefully controlled marketing plan, and as a dealer I was expected to roll with the plan lock, stock and barrel. Advertisement copy had to meet strict qualifications or, much more preferred by the company, a simple cut/paste of Bose ad copy from the dealer’s advertising guide flysheets. Yes, Bose supplied the ad copy in pre-made designs and ideally Bose preferred you use them instead of writing your own.
All this, and much more, present an interesting plan from Bose as a whole, considering that they actually expected us to honestly say "Bose is great!" when we had B&W 802s', 801's and 808's; Celestion SL-600 and SL-6's; ProAc's and numerous other truly excellent performing loudspeakers just a few yards away. In my later years when someone asked for a Bose demonstration I turned the system on...and left the listening room, closing the door behind me. I couldn't stand listening to them for just one more second. Actually, at that time the 301’s were the best sounding (special note: that was the second up from the BOTTOM of the line) and not ‘terrible’, so at least I didn’t grindge in horror while I played them. 301’s actually weren’t too bad and not terribly overpriced for the (modest) performance level they attained, so I wasn’t *too* unhappy with selling them.
But don’t get me started on the price/performance ratio of 901’s…
If you do not wish to hear subjective observations do an objective review: one need only do a spectrum analysis of the typical Bose loudspeaker frequency response to discover a response curve significantly underperforming versus the product's price competition. Add in the cost of the construction materials versus MSRP asked and you will find a product that is a tremendously poor value in almost any audio market. If customers had their hearts set on Bose we sold it to them. But, if a customer came in with an open mind and actually asked us “What do you think of [this] Bose product”…we, easily presented them with other products that gave (a) greater performance at (b) a lower price. Every single time. And note that we actually made MORE money when selling a Bose product because it was almost always very close to full MSRP thanks to the strict Bose dealer policies while with the alternative products we were able to discount to our heart’s content (we had a well-known reputation in our area for discounting quality products). Our Bose profit = approximately 30%, while others = 15% or so after the discounting, and therefore we made less money per box moved. So by NOT selling Bose we actually lost margin…but we BELIEVED in the quality products we were selling and took the lower profits if we believed the customer would be happier (yes, there ARE dealers like that!).
Eh, I could go on for a while longer but I think you get the drift. Yes, astute customers (like those here) realized that Bose is simply "poor value"...and, as a dealer, we not only concurred but we put our money where our mouth was and made lower profit on a sale if the customer had an open mind to try alternatives over Bose. Some times the customer was set on Bose and that was that, the Bose sale was written up and done - they got what they wanted. "Customer is always right" and all that. All it takes to decide pro or against Bose is to trust your own ears.
