is it true that paradigm does unilateral pricing??? That is what the dealer i went to today to listen to the new studio 60s... could people pm me what pricing they are getting if this is not true... he said if i bought fronts , center, surounds he'd work with me... they had the 60s paired with the new 690 and they sounded amazing...

thats how my dealer was the more you buy the greater the discount.

I have read that Paradigm can refuse to sell dealers who sell below their guidelines. I doubt they perform audits.

It seems they are learning what happens when the brand becomes devalued and that some B&M dealers are dropping the line because of the practices of low-balling by "custom"and "by appointment only" dealers.

is it true that paradigm does unilateral pricing??? That is what the dealer i went to today to listen to the new studio 60s... could people pm me what pricing they are getting if this is not true... he said if i bought fronts , center, surounds he'd work with me... they had the 60s paired with the new 690 and they sounded amazing...The salesman just contradicted himself right there. If they truly were unilaterally priced (which they are not, 100% positive) he couldn't work with you even if you bought 100 speakers. He's just trying to hold price. If that's the case, try to find another close by dealer and see if they are more willing to work with you.

-K

I've been in this business since Jesus had Electro Voice Patricians, and I've never heard the phrase "unilateral pricing."

" ...I doubt they perform audits."

There are a number of companies that do anual audits. I spoke with a dealer recently and he said that he had to meet dealer requirements annualy for one line that he carried for 10 years and part of that was showing his numbers. Can't recall 100% but I think it may have been Paradigm.

I've been in this business since Jesus had Electro Voice Patricians, and I've never heard the phrase "unilateral pricing."

WOW!...I've heard that phrase many times, and have also heard it refered to as "no deviation from MSRP" and "price fixing" ....Bose has always been the worst offender in this regard.

In Toronto, 15% off is normal, 20% if you make a big purchase, and 35% on clearouts and demos. I've seen those at more than one dealer, so any dealer that tells you they have to sell for list is lying. They may be prohibited from selling below 35% off... but 15-20% is certainly allowed.

I've got a friend on the west coast who had a competitor that also carried Paradigm delisted as a dealer because this guy frequently sold below MAP, Paradigm wouldn't likely have cared but this guy was a custom dealer with no real showroom of much consequence and very little Paradigm (or much else) on display, and my friend asked them (Paradigm) who they wanted more as a dealer , the guy with a nice showrrom and about 75% of their product hooked up or the custom "no showroom" guy.
I told my friend that he was brutal and that I was surprised he was willing to drop the line (he sells a lot of them), but he said that Paradigm wouldn't hesitate much, and they didn't.
He still has a couple of their other dealers close by.

Most high end brands are selective about their dealers, do not allow online sales, etc. Paradigm is very normal in this respect. While this leads to select dealers in a given area, they certainly can give you discounts if they choose and many do. However, their incentive to do so is less because they're not competing with discount outlets, big box stores, internet etc. All depends on the dealer and their sales/customer service & retention philosophies or the particular salesperson. Obviously if you are a long-term client or purchasing large systems rather than just a one-time customer buying one pair of speakers, then you're more likely to get discounts, logically.

Yup.

Cool yea thanks for all the help... I'm going to go audition some B&Ws maybe some focals and or energys... B&W seem interesting since there surrounds are both monopole and dipole... this is just the only paradigm dealer in my area other then one custom guy which i'm not sure how easy it will be to deal with him...

this is just the only paradigm dealer in my area other then one custom guy which i'm not sure how easy it will be to deal with him...
If he doesn't operate a real showroom with semi-normal hours, then his lower overhead may make him better able to deal.

I've been in this business since Jesus had Electro Voice Patricians, and I've never heard the phrase "unilateral pricing."UMRP is quite common among very high-end appliances and Bo$e is the only electronics company I know of that does it.

-K

since Jesus had Electro Voice Patricians,."Paul, you keep coming up with classics :D