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Counterfeit Audioquest Cables

I just wanted to put out a general query in regards to how people feel Audioquest is handling the issue of counterfeit cables. Personally, I am a huge fan of Audioquest and their products but I feel there could be a little more room for transparency on their behalf... No pun intended...

I don't mean to sound like a total heretic or a paranoid conspiracy theorist but I don't feel like my suspicions would be totally misplaced if I were to speculate that Audioquest is not only benefiting from the existence of bogus copycat look alikes but that they are deliberately allowing it to happen if not entirely responsible for it in the first place.

It is undeniably an effective way to dissuade consumers from private sales and coercing them into paying full retail prices for any of their products. It's also hard to ignore the steady decline in classified ads for Audioquest products on the various audiomarts.

Also, to the best of my knowledge, the AudioQuest Authentication Process also does not require them to explain their findings thus granting them authority to summarily judge a cable's authenticity.

In my humble opinion, a company as innovative as Audioquest could certainly divine a method to apply serial numbers to their products. That way, everything could be traceable and consumers could register their products. Not to mention that Audioquest could rebuild some of the lost confidence in their brand name.

Am I totally out of line here or perhaps missing something obvious? I would love to hear more points of view...
pontifex

Showing 3 responses by zd542

zd542
5,339 posts
 
"The sum total of that marketing strategy is intended to bewilder the consumer, such that they only thing left to do is assume that their cable which they charge X for is better than a competing cable which is lesser in price. Cable companies are notorious for this type of marketing strategy, and I find AQ to be one of the biggest offenders in this regard."

Can you give me an example of what you are talking about? If you go to AQ's web site, they always show cross sections of their cables showing exactly what materials they use and how the cables are assembled. There are cable companies that do seem to be ambiguous about what they are doing, but I don't think that applies to AQ. They show you exactly what they are giving you.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"You would think a company of that size would have serialized cables, especially at the higher end, but then that might help the second hand market, which is not in AQ's interest."

Its just the opposite. Having a good used market has a huge effect on the new market. Most people don't have unlimited resources. If they can't sell their old cables, they probably won't be buying new cables. There's more than enough examples of this. Look at companies that make other types of audio components that are not counterfeited. The most successful companies always have a very strong used market. It adds a tremendous amount of value to the brand. A perfect example is Bryston. Do you really think that having a 20 year transferable warranty costs the company money? After all, a warranty like that will definitely help the used market for their goods. Who wants to buy something you can't get rid of? Honda cars have the highest resale value, Chrysler does not. Do you think Fiat could have bought Honda instead of Chrysler? A healthy used market for a companies products directly effects the overall health of the company.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"03-13-15: Rlwainwright
>>Do you really think that having a 20 year transferable warranty costs the company money? <<

Yes, it does. It may not be a lot of money, but having a very long warranty DOES incur additional costs for the company."

I read an interview with Stuart Taylor, and when asked about the warranty, he said they make more money because the 20 year warranty is in place, not less. Its very rare that they actually get a piece back that fails from something covered under warranty.

"Once again, what the heck does this have to do with the discussion at hand? You would be well advised to think a bit more carefully about the words you commit to this discussion...

-RW-"

Sorry, but I say whatever I want. I don't really give a rat's ass if you, or anyone else has a problem with that.
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