Luxman and Accuphase are 2 brands that come to mind as both are much cheaper in the Orient than in the US. I have not made a significant arbitrage purchase, but have monitored the issue over the years. What I find interesting is differences in US MSPR when a distributor is changed. Prices can go up or down overnight, with no change in the product ! Yet customers are left to determine the intrinsic value of the product. No wonder so many are content to buy used and online. The only caveat is gray market purchases are made without any warranty or after sale support. How much is this worth to you ? Well we can find out how much this is worth to a manufacturer by examining Cary Audio's variable pricing strategy based upon the length of warranty included in the sale. A US distributor (for example) would bear most of the cost of warranty service, and that has to be factored into prices and profit margins. It is implied that one buys a warranty when purchasing through authorized channels, and one can deduct the cost of supplying a warranty when buying through gray market.
Imported audio are you getting the same level of performance vs domestic priced equip?
Imported audio usually runs 15-30 % higher in the country the equipment is exported to vs the country of origin. This is understandable with the issues of import fees, shipping costs and distributer mark up.
I’ve gasped at times the difference one pays for the same product only because the product is being sold in a different country. If you take a domestic product at the same price point that’s not marked up with the extra costs logically you would believe the domestic product is superior since you are not looking at a 15-30 % mark up. 15-30 % is usually where you see a company offer something better
than the previous price point. This is not always the case sometimes it’s 50 % above the lesser product. If I buy a $10000. Speaker from a foreign company that sells for $7000. In the country of origin, I’m paying $10000. for a speaker that’s actually a $7000. Performing one. Take Focal audio for instance the Kanta vs Sopra are all priced about 20% apart as you move up the chain. Each step up is an improvement over the other, they say. So I’m actually paying more for less by buying foreign audio equipment here in the U.S .
The point I’m trying make or the answer I’m seeking to my question is are you getting less for your money buying foreign audio equipment than domestic ?
I’ve gasped at times the difference one pays for the same product only because the product is being sold in a different country. If you take a domestic product at the same price point that’s not marked up with the extra costs logically you would believe the domestic product is superior since you are not looking at a 15-30 % mark up. 15-30 % is usually where you see a company offer something better
than the previous price point. This is not always the case sometimes it’s 50 % above the lesser product. If I buy a $10000. Speaker from a foreign company that sells for $7000. In the country of origin, I’m paying $10000. for a speaker that’s actually a $7000. Performing one. Take Focal audio for instance the Kanta vs Sopra are all priced about 20% apart as you move up the chain. Each step up is an improvement over the other, they say. So I’m actually paying more for less by buying foreign audio equipment here in the U.S .
The point I’m trying make or the answer I’m seeking to my question is are you getting less for your money buying foreign audio equipment than domestic ?