Is it possible for a high end manufacturer to overprice their goods?
Having just read the interesting and hyperbole laden review by RH of the new Rockport Orion speakers in the latest issue of The Absolute Sound, one thing struck me..
is it possible in the high end for a manufacturer to overprice their product ( doesn’t have to be a speaker, but this example comes to mind)? I ask this, as the Orion is priced at $133k! Yes,a price that would probably make 99% of hobbyists squirm. Yet, the speaker now joins a number of competitors that are in the $100k realm.
To that, this particular speaker stands just 50.3” tall and is just 14.3” wide…with one 13” woofer, one 7” midrange and a 1.25” beryllium dome ( which these days is nothing special at all…and could potentially lead to the nasties of beryllium bite).
The question is…given this speakers design and parts, which may or may not be SOTA, is it possible that this is just another overpriced product that will not sell, or is it like others, correctly priced for its target market? Thoughts…
Yes indeed. This is unacceptable! Everyone should get the audio system they deserve at the price they can afford to pay. Everyone should be rewarded by their need, not their wealth. Wait ....🤦♂️🤦♂️ |
I don't see what the big deal is, the wealthy can afford more expensive cars, houses , boats, food, and many other things. Obviously most of these super expensive pieces of audio gear are not overpriced, look at Dan D'Agostino audio, their relentless amplifiers went up in price about $100,000 since it's inception, so they must be selling quite a few of them. |
@thyname you obviously misunderstood what I wrote, and that's the kindest way I can put it. Don't try too hard, it might be too complicated for you. |
In business they have a similar set of equations that we used to calculate the price point that maximized revenues. Of course we had to have a demand vs price curve.
There’s not a single major company on earth that doesn’t understand the demand and price relationship. I think it’s fair to say that some of them will go to extraordinary lengths to ramp up demand. It is said that Big Pharma was making $1000 every second during the most recent p(l)andemic. With that kind of money they could afford the greatest PR campaign in history, and they did.
Luckily we audiophiles are still seem as relatively small fish compared to what happens in the art world. The fairly recent sale price of Cy Twombly’s Untitled fetched $46, 437, 500 USD back in 2017. Most of us would be reluctant to pay $50 for what appears to be slapdash broad red paint stripes on a canvas if we saw it in a thrift store. Encouraging a few well placed friendly ’journalists’ to whip up demand for high priced audio is kids stuff in comparison.
Here are some more surprising examples of what demand can do to price.
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In the U.S., the share of our population that fit the demographic for being in the middle class has been shrinking for decades and is now below 50%. Poor people do not buy expensive audio systems and America is a country loaded with poverty and near-poverty. Kids today are not doing as well as their parents, economically speaking. Not even close. So manufacturers have been more and more targeting the wealthy. When prices for components hit the mid 5 to 6 figure range, price has little to do with cost for most of those items-- like a $100,000 amp. They are accepting the sad reality that there will be fewer and fewer customers for the high end-- so they raise prices WAY UP to pad margins and live with fewer and fewer sales. A race to the bottom that feels like up! |
