WILSON AUDIO/ cost vs. value


wilson ad; absolute sound;issue 162. page 12.... dave wilson states in his ad that wilson loudspeakers have one of the [ lowest ] profit margins in the industry. My question is should wilson make public their profit margin percentage's to back up their claims or is this more hyperbole from a high-end audio manufacturer...
aolmrd1241
Miccrojack between Zu on Zu and this thread: do you have any time to listen to your rig? lol... :)
Again, I can't argue on if the Wilson statement is accurate or not, as much as anyone else here can't, but being involved in the manufacturing of amplifiers that are in the process of changing its entire line and looking at the costs ahead and behind us so far, for things like C&C machinery, specialized booths, engineering costs, tooling, industrial design, I can tell you without conjecture it can cost close to a million dollars to bring honest products to market.

I suspect Wilson could have much more than that invested in their facilities and if one does not include all daily operational expenses, one would not be in business long, there is so much more to it than a simple equation of cost of production to retail.

So unless someone here is Wilson's accountant, we can only speculate on if Wilson's claim is accurate or not but from where I sit, I can see it being closer to the truth, than not.

FYI, I do not own a pair of Wilson speakers or have I ever, nor do I suspect that Wilson has ever used or even heard of our amps but I feel to single out a prominent manufacturer who may have millions as well as decades invested, whither or not we like the speaker and simply because some feel that an advertising statement is misleading, is simply wrong and extremely judgmental, especially without any kind of pertaining facts.

My defense is not only for Wilson but I feel it's to all honest manufacturers who have spent a greater part of their lives along with immense investments to bring products to consumers who are very happy with them, Bose and Polk included.
Drubin-
Shipping is typically born by the purchaser. The other points you raise are post production and not considered part of the production cost so they don't alter the model as I presented it.
The ads in question seemed to state that Wilson enjoys a smaller margin than other manufacturers. My figures represent an educated guess as to how that might not be true. I don't claim to know any facts and figures. However, even if the margin is any smaller than any number of other manufacturers, the volume and unit price still land him among the gentry.
None of the realities of Dave's finances really matter here as long as the assertion in the ads is correct. The numbers as I see them probably contradict that claim.
Allanbhaganinfo...very well said

Enough of this conjecture...lets listen to music
Two days ago, I phoned Wilson to request information on the Watt Puppy 8. I'm a brochure hound, I admit it. Today, I received a large folder containing a personalized letter, as well as contact information for the Wilson dealer closest to me. In the packet were printed reviews and individual catalogs for every product they sell. The last speaker manufacturer I phoned for a brochure sent a photocopy of only two reviews, and this after I had to send them six e-mails and phone them twice over a 3-month stretch. Each time, the sales rep had said "it's in the mail". Incidentally, they are in the same price range as Wilson. You can draw your own conclusions, but to me, this packet attempts to say that they value the customer as a person, not as a price. Hence the reason many people use the purchase to reciprocate the same sentiment.