Dealer Upgrade Programs

nile49

nile49

New member
Joined
Jan 29, 2015
Messages
192
Location
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Hi guys,

I'm just wondering what sort of upgrade programs or general courtesies on upgrades your dealers offer. I'm looking to upgrade a piece I bought new about 15 months ago from a dealer with no formal policy and want to get some idea of what might be a fair transaction for each of us.

Thanks!


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A dealer I'd buy from would credit customers 100% of what they paid minus sales tax towards new gear purchased within a year of each other. There was no set 'factor' but typically the "upleg" would be at least twice the value of the trade in.
 
Rob, that would be from an exclusive relationship that would involve 10's of thousands of trust $ in past transactions from my point of view. The devil is in the detail!.....
 
puroagave said:
A dealer I'd buy from would credit customers 100% of what they paid minus sales tax towards new gear purchased within a year of each other. There was no set 'factor' but typically the "upleg" would be at least twice the value of the trade in.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what we offer.

We take stuff in trade, even from brands we don't represent, and we also take things in consigment until they sell (either locally or through Audiogon - we help with the ads).
 
asiufy said:
This is exactly what we offer.

We take stuff in trade, even from brands we don't represent, and we also take things in consigment until they sell (either locally or through Audiogon - we help with the ads).
Click to expand...

Excellent business practices. For items such as speakers, amps and pre-amps I will only work with a dealer who will take trades as an option. I have no desire to deal over the internet selling the large, heavy or expensive items.
 
asiufy said:
This is exactly what we offer.

We take stuff in trade, even from brands we don't represent, and we also take things in consigment until they sell (either locally or through Audiogon - we help with the ads).
Click to expand...

the model works because this dealer is still in business after 30 years and offers the same program today. In the long run he kept me as a loyal customer for several years, i dropped a lot of cashish with them. It enabled me to get into the next best thing without having to sell the 'old' stuff myself, its a win-win for everyone. the dealer would flip my old gear as a demo with full warranty at a 30-40% discount. in the end he still cleared at least 20 points on the upleg even with the trade in.

Alex, I admire that you take in trades on brands you dont represent, most dealers wont touch it mainly because of warranty hassles. good on you.
 
My dealer takes stuff in on trade but doesn't offer as good a price as if I sold the item myself which is what he always recommends.
 
Mine in Boston (Goodwins High End) also allows you to trade in a piece you bought from them for full price you paid towards an upgrade item that's at least 2x the original piece. Apart from that they also take in trades towards purchases even on pieces bought elsewhere but the trade-in value is based on negotiation between you and them and often Agon blue book value is a good place to start in that front.
 
I've taken quite a few trades this year myself. It's often a win/win. I like the idea of at least 2x original purchase price. That's a trade for an upgrade, not a lateral move. Makes sense.


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I just bought a Teac UD-503 DAC a couple of weeks ago when a deal on a Calyx Femto just came up. My dealer (McCulloch Audio in Winnipeg) was willing to credit me 100% of the purchase price (minus tax) towards the Calyx Femto. I thought about it and ended up keeping the Teac for a secondary system (it sounds too nice to let go) and bought the Calyx as well. Bill gave me a deal much below the advertised price he had on it on another website. His willingness to take back the Teac has encouraged me to buy from him again. This is a great way to gain buyer loyalty.
 
I haven't received it yet as the original owner hasn't delivered it to the store yet. I am a little apprehensive about buying something this expensive without hearing it first but from all the reviews and personal testimonials I have read it sounds like an excellent DAC. It should be here possibly next weekend or the week after. Buying equipment is a little tougher when you don't live in a large city. At least it will be here before Christmas. I will definitely post my impressions of it when it gets here.
 
puroagave said:
the model works because this dealer is still in business after 30 years and offers the same program today. In the long run he kept me as a loyal customer for several years, i dropped a lot of cashish with them. It enabled me to get into the next best thing without having to sell the 'old' stuff myself, its a win-win for everyone. the dealer would flip my old gear as a demo with full warranty at a 30-40% discount. in the end he still cleared at least 20 points on the upleg even with the trade in.

Alex, I admire that you take in trades on brands you dont represent, most dealers wont touch it mainly because of warranty hassles. good on you.
Click to expand...

Jim,

Yes. Apparently lots of people don't mind doing Audiogon, but a whole other lot have been burned there, so they'd rather not mess with it. That's when we come in. We even take stuff in consigment from folks, where we do all the showrooming and Audiogoning :)

Rob,

Yes, we understood from the start that was required, because most of our brands are not as widely known as the "biggies". Take YG from instance. We came up with a campaign called "Upgrade to YG", with the brand's approval/collaboration. Basically, we feel that, no matter what you have, YG will always be an upgrade, and we'll work with people to make sure the upgrade happens.
This campaign is quite interesting, as we get the weirdest calls, people wanting to trade huge panel speakers, small bookshelves, etc... But we always try to make it work :)


cheers,
alex
 
Thanks everyone for your input and discussion. Much appreciated! As I am looking at doing a Mark I to Mark II type upgrade with little MSRP difference between the old and new units I was not offered any special discounting if I decide to upgrade.


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