1. Home
  2. cables
  3. 1394080731

Fake RRP on cables. A Joke

I would like to address the Fake RRP that is rife among cable makers. I would say that the practise is unethical and makes the legit companies look bad. Some companies gives 50% off straight away, others ask you to make them an offer.

Some of these companies put the rrp of their products at 300-1000% of what they really sell for. I am not arguing at what they really sell for, what i am annoyed about is that the real sale price is a secret!!!!!

How do we judge what the second hand value of a product to be. For example a cable is rrp of 10k, but sold at real market price of 2k new. It is then advertised secondhand for 2k or nearest offer. I see these examples a lot.

How can we have more transparency!!!

A lot of discussions on the cable forum is so confusing, because the participates are sometimes comparing product A which is really sold at 2k while product B is RRP of 10k but sold at 2k. People in the discussion will say the comparison is unfair, but the Thread starter is afraid to reveal their real purchase price.

Why are we afraid to reveal on the forums what the real purchase price of these cables are? We are suppose to help each other. Or do we really think that we are the only ones that got that 90% discount !!!!!
leicachamp
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
03-06-14: Leicachamp
Some threads on the cable forum can go on for pages and pages, where the participants kind of keep to them selves the purchase price. When asked, the usual answer is " contact the manufacturer/company". It seems they dont want to hurt the company by telling the truth, or they believe they were the only ones that got that "special price" But who are we kidding?

LOL! They are not protecting the company by not revealing the price they paid, they are protecting their own investment. Joe Blow gets a brand name cable at a 50% discount brand new, if he tells you what he paid for it, what chance does he have of selling it without a huge loss? The secrecy aspect is just a matter of protecting ones investment. It's really not rocket science. Normally you will find that very few people are willing to expose the value of an asset they purchased just so that a future buyer can potentially get a better idea of the true value of the asset, thereby driving down it's value.
leicachamp OP
87 posts
 
JMC

I agree with you that most are protecting their investment, but i guess many off them may think that they were the ONLY one with that special price and that revealing it will upset the company.

I know because i have been caught twice before where i thought i got the worlds best price/bargain, only to find out when i tried to resale that the joke was on me!

i got the cable for 75% thinking i can not lose much when i sell. HA HA
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Well that's how you learn Leicachamp.

Out of curiosity, did you tell everyone on the forums that you bought the cable for 75% off before trying to sell it? I'm sure that would have made selling it even harder if you did.

There was another thread a while back where the OP was upset because a manufacturer of an integrated amp which he had purchased, decided to forego the dealer network and sell direct, lowering the "new" price by 67%. He was obviously not very happy with the decision, because now brand new units were selling for less money than he paid for his unit on the used market. I doubt he'd be able to sell that amp without taking a huge bath. That's part of the frustrating side of this hobby. Try to focus on the happy side. ;^)
leicachamp OP
87 posts
 
Nope i did have to. Never discussed about the cable at all. The same cable maker is still selling cables on Audiogon now!
sonic_genius
528 posts
 
Excellent subject and post. The constant 50% off list price sales I see from some cable suppliers really devalues the product IMO. Everyone likes discounts but this reminds me of when the car companies were offering $5000 rebates. If the product is worth the asking price it should not be on constant discount.
More to discover