Without reading the entire thread I would say that greedy or not, staying competitive is difficult to do.
Offering Member discounts is a great way to attract customers when first starting out. Now that Ed has grown to the size they are, there are much more costs to deal with. Advertising alone is a big one. The more you make, the more you have to spend to keep making it.
Want to grow? Gotta spend money. The discount they offered was very generous, but took away from profits. They are probably now to a point where they make good money with our without the member discount, and by dropping it, they don't loose enough customers or orders to justify keeping it. Dropping the discount allows their profits increase, which allows them to keep more in their pockets and invest more in to the business. Perhaps into R & D, giving us all better products (provided that is their goal). More money for employees means better moral, less turnover and less money wasted on training new employees.
Extending the warranty is a great move. It cushions the blow of the member discount and is a nice distraction for loyal members to focus on and point out to haters. Hate or love, it all generates commotion which encourages people to think about and remember the Ed brand, thus, helping to improve brand recognition and drive sales and bring in more loyal customers.
Knowing that most people are not going to keep an amp for 5 years, let alone 18 months is a standard. Just like when Hyundai took their warranty to 10 years.
This is why comapnies put out new products every year. We always want bigger, better, and brighter and will sell our old Nintendo for an x-box any day!
a 5 year waranty Sound great but will you ever use it? Most likely not, especially since any amp that has a manufactures defect will break much sooner than the warranty implies, they really take very little risk but come out looking like heroes.
What they have done is a superb business move for the stage of the game I belive them to be at.
ANT
http://www.secondskinaudio.com