Buying Electronics locally incl. Car Audio.

[navin]

I have talked to about 6 dealers (Sushil Anand from Marantz/Monitor Audio, Gautam Agencies for Senheisser, our friend Sam from Harman, etc...) and compared the prices to the US street prices. In most cases the US street (usually well below List) prices are only about 10% more than the price given to me wtih bill, warranty, installation, and door to dorr service. I say buying goods in India is a BARGAIN!

I got my Alpine 9833 from a dealer and the price she charged me was exactly 12.6% more compared to Crutchfield's (asuming they were offering free delivery). But her price included install (and Bill and Warranty and Door to Door service). By Door to Door I mean I did nto have to go to the distributor to get the HU & I dont expect to do to Alpine Head Office to get service. My installer will handle that. HOW COOL IS THAT!

for example just yesterday I got me a pair of Senheisser for Rs. 7750. Price from Crutchfield was $161 incl. delivery to NY, B&H would cost $170. My price included B&W and the product was deliverd persoanlly by their Mr. Trivedi to my desk. According to my maths this is a really good deal.

Given the quickly expanding range of products available in India I dont see much need to shop outside India and would never buy grey as you can never tell if it is B stock, duplicate, or worse.

[low_bass_makker]

Navin ji I agree with u and also disagree with u also. The indian prices are not 10 % more they are more than that for eg

pioneer 6850 hu in us it is prices at USD 259 (259*44=11396)

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4y3qoWL...ioneer#see_all

and in india it is at Rs 15490 u can see the cost diff.

http://www.pioneer.com.sg/storefront...?ContentId=341


like wise u can check for 5850,4850,3850,2850 also

for the amplifier it is the same check and compare ur self

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4y3qoWL...ioneer#see_all

http://www.pioneer.com.sg/storefront...?ContentId=343



for rockford fosgate the us price is USD1999 (1999*44=87956)

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4y3qoWL...0&I=575T3001BD

for india it is price at Rs 128500 now u calculate and tell the diff .




for kicker it is the same the kicker L7 12 inches is for USD399.99 (399.99*44 = 17800)
and in india it is price at near 27k



kicker eq is priced at USD 199 (199*44=8756) but in India it is for 19k
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4y3qoWL...140&I=20603KQ9


for alpine type x 12 woofer it is price at USD 499.99
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4y3qoWL...0&I=500SWX1242
and in india it is for nearly 27 k


Rest for the grey market the products I have purchase had no problem till date they all are working fine.

[navin]

Originally Posted by low_bass_makker

I agree with u and also disagree with u also. The indian prices are not 10 % more they are more than that for eg

pioneer 6850 hu in us it is prices at USD 259 (259*44=11396)
and in india it is at Rs 15490 u can see the cost diff.

Rs. 11,400 from the US does not include delivery and local tax. It would run about $275 (Rs. 12,300 @ rs. 45/$) once you factor in this cost. 12,300 * 10% = 13,600. Now ask a installer what they will sell you a Pio 6850 with B&W. 15,500 is the list price NOT street price.

[navin]

Originally Posted by low_bass_makker

for the amplifier it is the same check and compare ur self

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4y3qoWL...ioneer#see_all

http://www.pioneer.com.sg/storefront...?ContentId=343

the 5200T is $160 (the 7200M is not available). After delivery and taxes this will cost you about $170 delivered to a US address. $170 @ Rs 45 = Rs. 7650. MRP in India as per website is 7950. Street price can be expected to be lower. Point proven.

[navin]

I cant comment on the others (Kicker, Alpine, etc..) as I dont have street prices of them available.

1. consider street prices not MRP
2. factor in install and delivery and taxes.

BTW there are a few exceptions that defy this rule usually odd components at the extreme high end where volumes are small or none.

[viper]

Hi Navin,

I would tend to agree with you on this one, with the exception being the rare/special products. If someone were to stock a high end or slow moving product the most import charge you have not taken into account will be the premium he will ask for as well as holding cost in addition to all else mentioned by you which makes it way more expensive than if ordered from abroad.

A lot of people also have family & friends abroad who could carry the stuff here thereby saving on freight & duties.

Viper

PS. Check out my post on Alpine issue(something might interest you.)

[navin]

Originally Posted by viper

I would tend to agree with you on this one, with the exception being the rare/special products.
PS. Check out my post on Alpine issue(something might interest you.)

I said there are exceptions.

Waah! first my wife does not listen to me and now no one even reads my posts! :-(

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by navin

Waah! first my wife does not listen to me and now no one even reads my posts! :-(

My first wife used to do that

[panky12345]

navin ji.....u cant beat the prices at ebay or etronics.com. truly said, crutchfield service is pretty good and you dont mind paying them more because of that EXTRA MILE. but sir, the question here is buying from US and using them in India. u cannot hold crutchfield if something on your alpine goes wrong. all the service (extra mile) would go in vain. so, IMO comparing prices at crutchfield and India would be unfair, rather realistic situation would be to compare prices for a particular product from the cheapest source both in India and US AND NOT crutchfield alone.

[navin]

ebay?
I'd rather use pricegrabber if I did not care for service.

BTW the advantage of using crutchfield is that they do offer you service long after they are suppsoed to. I have returned stuff to crutchfield on subsequent trips to the US.

For example I bought an amp in Jan 2001, came to mumbai and found I wanted/needed something better and exchanged it in May 2001 for something better.

When I was comparing prices I was comparing service. Note I said for the prices I bought my product in India I get a level of service equal or better than that offered by crutchfield.

If you want to compare best prices (I have not done so) I wont be surprised if the Indian grey market can meet prices offered by the lesser reatailers in the US. If you use pricegrabber.com you will find many retailers with 4 stars and less.

[rsjaurr]

Originally Posted by navin

BTW the advantage of using crutchfield is that they do offer you service long after they are suppsoed to. I have returned stuff to crutchfield on subsequent trips to the US.

For example I bought an amp in Jan 2001, came to mumbai and found I wanted/needed something better and exchanged it in May 2001 for something better.

Navin,did u tell them that it was installed/used in India before its being returned??coz they dont offer any warranty/guarantee outside USA/Canada.

If yes,then i am pleasantly surprised would like to buy from them in future.
And if it was not used/installed and returned as it is,then they do have a policy and dont charge any restocking fee for few months[unlike other online stores].

[panky12345]

moreover, majority are those who are getting stuff via relatives....not everyone is so rich to go to US twice (or more) a year sir. and if u buy through ebay or etronics, they also offer a warranty of 1 year or so. so u can return to them as well!! i checked out pricegrabber, i wd say ebay still offer better deals (90% of the time).

[mithun]

Buying audio products from foreign countries is not a feasible idea because of the climatic differences. I had some personal experiences of some high quality products failing as soon as they are brought to India.

So it's better to stay away from foreign stuffs unless you buy it from a place which is having almost the same weather as in India or ask the supplier if it is prone to extreme climates.

Better be Safe than Sorry...

[panky12345]

Originally Posted by mithun

Buying audio products from foreign countries is not a feasible idea because of the climatic differences. I had some personal experiences of some high quality products failing as soon as they are brought to India.

So it's better to stay away from foreign stuffs unless you buy it from a place which is having almost the same weather as in India or ask the supplier if it is prone to extreme climates.

Better be Safe than Sorry...

This is the MOST WEIRD thing I could ever hear of......i have personally brought electronics more than 09 times from one of the coldest cities across the world (alaska, duluth etc) including some ICE setup and HE....but NEVER faced such a problem.

Or yes, I MAY be wrong, navin or sam would be in a better position to tell you regarding this. I reserve my comments.

[navin]

Originally Posted by rsjaurr

Navin,did u tell them that it was installed/used in India before its being returned??coz they dont offer any warranty/guarantee outside USA/Canada.

If yes,then i am pleasantly surprised would like to buy from them in future.
And if it was not used/installed and returned as it is,then they do have a policy and dont charge any restocking fee for few months[unlike other online stores].

I did install it but not permanantly I tried it by just wiring it up and changed my mind. I had informed them when I bought it along with other stuff that I am from India and am travelling to India and these products will be taken there primarily so that they shipped it to me in NY before I left.

Cruchfield did not ask me any questions when I returned the stuff so I did not reinforce that I had installed the product in India etc... at the time I returned it. I figured they really dont care. I returned it in it orignal packing and in as original a condtion that was possible. I would not expect them to take it back otherwise.