Buying audio online from the USA -- mistake?
0 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 30
Stupid brokerage fee lol...I think I would be a little more mad at the ton of taxes that had to be paid. Atleast with a brokerage fee, you are paying somebody for a necessary service in order to get your stuff.
50 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 278
I have bought several pieces both online and direct from US suppliers, and I did it for the exact same reason, not for a few bucks, but for several hundred in the difference in price. You still support local shops with accessories, wiring ect, so your not killin them, they all make good money off that, and just because you buy 1 or 2 pieces from the staes, and not your local shop, doesnt mean your gonna break em, if it does, then you shouldnt be dealin with them in the first place. We will all make out just fine in the end, and the bottom line is YOUR DOLLAR, not the shop where they have the same piece they want to sell ya for a few hundred dollars more that you can pay!
0 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 23
Wouldnt it suck to have to drive to the states for all of your competitions? Because all I hear about is people talk about buying from the states or online.. These are usually the same people that complain that there are not enough shows. I guess people dont realize that if you dont support your local shops, there wont be any local shops to hold the shows... I would think that paying a few more dollars on an item and have the piece of mind that if something goes wrong you can show up at the shop and someone will look at it for you.
Sure you can maybe save a few bucks on buying online or having something shipped from the us.. but it`ll cost you lots more to drive to shows when the closest one is in the usa.
Shop Local = happy customers = strong canadian car audio industry.
Sure you can maybe save a few bucks on buying online or having something shipped from the us.. but it`ll cost you lots more to drive to shows when the closest one is in the usa.
Shop Local = happy customers = strong canadian car audio industry.
Originally posted by Electronic Universe:
Wouldnt it suck to have to drive to the states for all of your competitions? Because all I hear about is people talk about buying from the states or online.. These are usually the same people that complain that there are not enough shows. I guess people dont realize that if you dont support your local shops, there wont be any local shops to hold the shows... I would think that paying a few more dollars on an item and have the piece of mind that if something goes wrong you can show up at the shop and someone will look at it for you.
Sure you can maybe save a few bucks on buying online or having something shipped from the us.. but it`ll cost you lots more to drive to shows when the closest one is in the usa.
Shop Local = happy customers = strong canadian car audio industry.
Wouldnt it suck to have to drive to the states for all of your competitions? Because all I hear about is people talk about buying from the states or online.. These are usually the same people that complain that there are not enough shows. I guess people dont realize that if you dont support your local shops, there wont be any local shops to hold the shows... I would think that paying a few more dollars on an item and have the piece of mind that if something goes wrong you can show up at the shop and someone will look at it for you.
Sure you can maybe save a few bucks on buying online or having something shipped from the us.. but it`ll cost you lots more to drive to shows when the closest one is in the usa.
Shop Local = happy customers = strong canadian car audio industry.
Although there are a few (or at least one) online shop that i think will be stepping up next year and hosting comps.. or at least helping..
Thread Starter
50 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 70
Well, just about two weeks ago when I first signed up on this site, I was asking about Clarion-this and Clarion-that, mainly because I had found an authorized Clarion reseller (Oxford Auto Sound on Kennedy Road) where the owner was willing to cut me some great deals on Clarion hardware. His prices were drastically cheaper than the MSRP's listed on the Clarion site.
Once I became more educated with car audio (thanks to this site as well as other audio forums), I realized that JL equipment is some of the best stuff you can buy for the money. I wanted to buy something really good off the bat in order to avoid the desire to move up to something better down the road.
JL does not list MSRP's on their website so I had to rely on eBay to give me a rough idea of how much the going price was for amplifiers and subs. I got sticker shock upon going to Kennedy HiFi ... the asking prices were positively crazy! A good portion of those prices have *got* to be a markup of some sort.
Did I really want to spend that sort of money for subs and amps ($1000 for a 500/1, $599 for a 10W6v2 ... don't forget PST and GST). No way, not when I can get the same stuff for 45% less (including all taxes & duties) ordering from the United States. If the differential was 10% or 15% tops, I wouldn't have minded. 45% and up ... you bet I mind!
Once I became more educated with car audio (thanks to this site as well as other audio forums), I realized that JL equipment is some of the best stuff you can buy for the money. I wanted to buy something really good off the bat in order to avoid the desire to move up to something better down the road.
JL does not list MSRP's on their website so I had to rely on eBay to give me a rough idea of how much the going price was for amplifiers and subs. I got sticker shock upon going to Kennedy HiFi ... the asking prices were positively crazy! A good portion of those prices have *got* to be a markup of some sort.
Did I really want to spend that sort of money for subs and amps ($1000 for a 500/1, $599 for a 10W6v2 ... don't forget PST and GST). No way, not when I can get the same stuff for 45% less (including all taxes & duties) ordering from the United States. If the differential was 10% or 15% tops, I wouldn't have minded. 45% and up ... you bet I mind!
I guess I wasn't too explicit when I was posting as to why I never pay brokerage.
I live 20 minutes from the border, so what I do is have my stuff sent to a receiving/storage place and pick it up when it arrives. Then I declare it myself. Works beautifully. Sorry if people couldn't get why I don't pay more than taxes, haha. [img]smile.gif[/img]
I live 20 minutes from the border, so what I do is have my stuff sent to a receiving/storage place and pick it up when it arrives. Then I declare it myself. Works beautifully. Sorry if people couldn't get why I don't pay more than taxes, haha. [img]smile.gif[/img]
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Posts: n/a
Originally posted by Jeremy_ESQ:
A good portion of those prices have *got* to be a markup of some sort.
A good portion of those prices have *got* to be a markup of some sort.
BTW JL will not warranty anything not purchased from an authorized dealer and they have no internet authorized dealers.
2000 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,260
^As is the way it should be imo.
call be biased since I work in the industry, but i am very biased to online retailers. (especially taking business away from physical stores.) Is the webmaster of thezeb.com going to come adjust your amp after you install it?
call be biased since I work in the industry, but i am very biased to online retailers. (especially taking business away from physical stores.) Is the webmaster of thezeb.com going to come adjust your amp after you install it?
2000 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,260
^As is the way it should be imo.
call be biased since I work in the industry, but i am against online retailers. (especially taking business away from physical stores.) Is the webmaster of thezeb.com going to come adjust your amp after you install it?
call be biased since I work in the industry, but i am against online retailers. (especially taking business away from physical stores.) Is the webmaster of thezeb.com going to come adjust your amp after you install it?
