Good price/place to buy MP2-NV?

[jackassman]

So does that mean you did or did not save up for one?

[kevinc]

I want one of those suckers too.
Throw in the eq2-nv and I`m in heaven.
You should try Mercenary Audio. They probably have it as cheap as any body else.

Kevin

[De chromium cob]

Originally posted by kevinc
You should try Mercenary Audio. They probably have it as cheap as any body else.

Kevin

I find that they're about 15% more than the cheapest price on average.

[mr.gefell]

www.mercenary.com

[muddy]

i think you'll find that this is one piece you will NOT catch a break on, pricewise. you could originally only buy it from merc, as it was one of their signature pieces, if you will. i don't claim to know what the story is, but i'd imagine it's out of deference to the man that helped shape the piece that no one undersells his price. or it could be contractual. i don't know. so, unless you find one used, ya might as well buck up & pay da man da $2150, 'cause that is what it costs.


ml

[MIKEHARRIS]

im sure your local dealer will work with you...if you are paying for support...ya mite as well get it

[Meriphew]

Try www.pacificproaudio.com - ask for Garth.

[Dave Martin]

Does Nathan Eldred sell 'em?

Of course, I'm still a Mervenary shopper when given a choice; I don't mind paying for the support, experience, knowledge and attitude.

And the T Shirts...

[Fletcher]

Originally posted by De chromium cob
I find that they're about 15% more than the cheapest price on average.

Not that I doubt you... but I'd be rather intrigued to see a couple of examples of that. We really do try to stay rather competative [hence the beef with Neumann/USA a few months ago], "15% on average" would be pretty impressive to say the least.

We're pretty diligent in our efforts to stay competative while offering superior service and support.

Oh, and 'Muddy'... neither that piece, nor any of the "Mercenary Edition" units are ever "exclusive" to Mercenary Audio... none of these units have ever been a 'house brand' kind of thing.

All the 'Mercenary Edition' seal means is that our staff was involved with the manufacturer to insure the usability of the units in a wide variety of applications. We've actually provided that service for a whole bunch of years... a couple of years ago we thought it might be a good idea to be credited for our input... nothing more, nothing less.

I reckon I should also mention that Mercenary doesn't make dime one in "royalties" for our input. Mercenary's entire 'compensation package' is the little yellow seal on the front of the unit(s) and the knowledge that we gave a little something back to the industry.

That's not to say that we may not charge for our consultation services in the future... but to this point, we haven't.

[NathanEldred]

Originally posted by Dave Martin
Does Nathan Eldred sell 'em?

Yes we sell them here at Atlas Pro Audio, along with some other fine dealers. Here's the Great River dealer page if you need options:

http://www.greatriverelectronics.com/dealers.html

[muddy]

i wasn't really suggesting that the pieces were exclusive to merc; hence my disclaimer, "i don't claim to know what the story is." i just remember that originally, as far as i could tell, the "merc" pieces were only available at merc (of course, not any more). what i was kinda suggesting was the possibility of some kind of "gentlemen's agreement" re the pricing of the merc edition pieces, considering the fact that without you, there'd BE no "merc edition!" and because i know you're pricing to be generally fair, i smell a rat when i see any serious undercutting of those particular pieces. well, it's kinda bad form, as, to the outsider who would not be privy such machinations, it seemed as if you'd laxed up on being the only reseller of a "merc edition" (which would certainly be understandable. they ARE partially your creations! and it looked, again from the outside, that this was the manufacturers' way of thanking YOU.)


ml

[CV7]

I bought mine from Merc. and didn't find too much of a price diff. from dealer to dealer.

[kato]

Originally posted by CV7
I bought mine from Merc. and didn't find too much of a price diff. from dealer to dealer.

Merc is the way to go. I called every dealer on Great River's dealer list and found the quotes to vary very little. Two were slightly cheaper, everyone else was same as Merc. YMMV, of course.
Mysteriously, the 2 low-ball dealers in question are no longer on the list of GR dealers.

Kato

[tommyd]

Jax,
My .02 worth. I've bought stuff from both Mercenary and Atlas Pro Audio. I can say without a doubt you can't go wrong doing business with either one. While price is ALWAYS a consideration when I purchase stuff, it's not the ONLY one. In the past I've spent some time on the phone with folks at Mercenary, and Nathan at Atlas, and not only did I get the info I needed at the time I left the conversation with a very strong sense that if I needed service after the sale from either of these two companies I'd get it in boatloads! This has been my personal experience, but I guess I'm saying the lowest price isn't always the most important factor in the decision.

Support your fellow Gearslutz!!
TommyD

[RyanR]

I've done quite a bit of research on this piece lately, and it is basically $2150 everywhere because GR is telling the seller's to sell at that price, and no lower.

If you find a new price for lower, it probably means the seller is low balling GR. I know sellers that would like to sell them for less, but they don't because they don't want to get on GR's bad side and possibly not be able to carry GR's products. But there are seller's who don't care out there . . .

[Jax]

Originally posted by Meriphew
Try www.pacificproaudio.com - ask for Garth.

I've bought ALOT of stuff from Pac Pro Audio, but they don't carry Great River. Apparently they had trouble finding an agreeable business relationship with one another. Don't know if it has to do with pricing.

[CV7]

Thats definitely a great price Kato, wish I had picked one up back then.

[Bernard]

Anyone compared 2.5 to the 3's. Are the 2.5 accurate enough?

[RyanR]

Originally posted by Bernard
Anyone compared 2.5 to the 3's. Are the 2.5 accurate enough?

Errr - wrong thread?

[Bernard]

[Fletcher]

Yeah... the 2.5's are a bit more of a 'feel good' kinda thing... at least on the bottom [the mids and top are spot on]... the 3's are overall [at least for the way I work] a whole lot more accurate... whatever "accurate" actually is.

[RKrizman]

Originally posted by RyanR
I've done quite a bit of research on this piece lately, and it is basically $2150 everywhere because GR is telling the seller's to sell at that price, and no lower.

If you find a new price for lower, it probably means the seller is low balling GR. I know sellers that would like to sell them for less, but they don't because they don't want to get on GR's bad side and possibly not be able to carry GR's products. But there are seller's who don't care out there . . .

Yeah, I don't get that. The same deal is popping up with some other gear I'm looking into. Seems like it should be the retailer's choice to sell at whatever price he wishes. The manufacturer gets the same either way, right? And the more the retailer sells, the better for the manufacturer. So really, the whole deal protects the retailer.

What's the difference between this and price fixing, which, as far as I know, is illegal.

To answer my own question, I suppose if the supplier says all the retailers have to sell at a certain price or they don't get the business, then it's not collusion (i.e. illegal price fixing) on the part of the retailers. Seems like a loophole, but that's capitalism for ya.

But my experience in retail is about nil, so what do I know? Maybe Fletcher could enlighten us, assuming it's anybody's business but his.

-R

[davemc]

I do not know why you guys are complaining, the one place that brings them into OZ sells them for US$2850(if you take GST and stamp duty off).. They have none for you to test drive and you have to pay a deposit and then he will order you one from GR, so allow 2 weeks GR in OZ

Otherwise I could go straight to a US store and get one in 3 days via fedex and save myself around US$600 inc fedex.

[Dave Martin]

I doubt either collusion or a minimum sale price (at least for Great River and most other boutique manufacturers - large companies are a different kettle of fish...). I would gues that it's something along the lines of Dealer cost is X amount ; retailers are going to mark it up x percent, to cover their own expenses and make a little profit. It happens that all the dealers are marking the gear up by the same percentage. There's a formula for that sort of thing, after all.

Large companies can do business with large retailers; When GC or Sam Ash says, "We'll take 3000 units but we will only pay 85% percent of dealer cost", they can in turn sell the aforementioned units cheaper than a small retailer. I suspect that an order of even 300 units at once would kill Dan and eveyrone that works there.

[RyanR]

Originally posted by davemc
I do not know why you guys are complaining

I'm not trying to complain at all - I think we can all agree that the less you pay for gear, the more money in your pocket, and that's a good thing. If I want a piece of gear and I have to pay $xxxx to get it, then that's my own decision - the only thing I can complain about is my own damn gear lust.

[RyanR]

Originally posted by Dave Martin
I doubt either collusion or a minimum sale price (at least for Great River and most other boutique manufacturers - large companies are a different kettle of fish...). I would gues that it's something along the lines of Dealer cost is X amount ; retailers are going to mark it up x percent, to cover their own expenses and make a little profit. It happens that all the dealers are marking the gear up by the same percentage. There's a formula for that sort of thing, after all.

Yeah, you're right. Furthermore, it's not really the consumers business why any company prices their products the way they do.

[RKrizman]

Originally posted by Dave Martin
[B]I doubt either collusion or a minimum sale price (at least for Great River and most other boutique manufacturers - large companies are a different kettle of fish...). I would gues that it's something along the lines of Dealer cost is X amount ; retailers are going to mark it up x percent, to cover their own expenses and make a little profit. It happens that all the dealers are marking the gear up by the same percentage. There's a formula for that sort of thing, after all.

The question is whether the retailer has the option of discounting the product, and if not, then why not. Formulas are only guidelines. When all the retailers are selling the product for the same price, to the penny, and not budging, then something seems amiss.

-R

[kato]

Originally posted by Dave Martin
... It happens that all the dealers are marking the gear up by the same percentage. There's a formula for that sort of thing, after all.

It sounds like they made a mutual decision not to undercut one another. Anyway, it's also good for the buyer because the gear keeps it's resale value. And you don't have to feel the guilt of putting the best dealers out of business.

RE: my purchase and price checking. Once I got a ballpark figure, I started throwing nearby prices at dealers to see how they would react. One salesperson said, "Well, we used to sell it at that price but then a dealer on the east coast found out, called us up and chewed us out for it."

I said, "And that dealer would be Fletcher." (not asking.)

She was shocked; asked how I knew. Clearly she wouldn't have told the story if she thought I knew who Fletcher was. I said, "He maintains an online presence in a couple of forums."

But really I was thinking "•••••, do you not own a computer?"

Kato

Also, for the record, I don't believe in getting the lowest price at any cost except when my regular dealers do not sell GR gear. My nightmare is a world where all the ultra slutty gear pimps are out-of-business and replaced by replicant sweetwaters and musicians friends. I don't really want to contribute to such a world...

[NathanEldred]

Originally posted by RKrizman
The question is whether the retailer has the option of discounting
the product, and if not, then why not. Formulas are only guidelines.
When all the retailers are selling the product for the same price, to
the penny, and not budging, then something seems amiss.

Of course the retailer has the option of discounting the product(we do here every so often at Atlas, what other dealers do is up to them on an individual basis), however, over the years it became quite apparent that a lot of retailers were game to cut their margins to the bone in the hopes of attaining "high volume sales" (and the important point here being that volume sales is a quick way to go out of business as a small reatiler). As many manufacturers saw what was going on they did two things, the first was to cut the available margin to the dealers, the second was to establish a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price), which pretty much sits at where the dealer can make a reasonable margin for this stuff... and is a guideline for where the product should sit in the scale of pricing, except when the item has been discounted to death everywhere and the manufacturer is trying bring up the margin (an example being what happened between Mercenary and Neumann).

The other thing that has happened is that many manufacturers who work with the small "boutique" retailers want them to stay motivated to continue to represent their products. When one of the discount retailers gets involved they will move a higher volume of units, which means that the shops that actually provide advice, won't. It's the smaller shops that provide the initial information on the product from which the discounters benefit. The discounters can be some new guy with the lines that will be given to anyone with a check book for the 'buy in', or the large and famous discount retailers. In either case, when the phone stops ringing for the best price on an item, the phone stops ringing and these big guys don't care. The manufacturer either has to take out full page glossy advertisements to keep interest in their products, or go out of business. Most small manufacturers can't afford the $12,000 a month it takes to wage a full page advertisement ad campaign, so out of business they go. And for me, if stellar companies like Great River or Pendulum or Soundelux go out of business, it's a detriment to the entire industry, including engineers, studio owners, and retail stores alike.