news from the world of isux...

[02parkave 5,000+ posts]

http://www.icixsound.com/wp/?p=17 i will quote it for those who dont feel like clicking..

"Whether or not this is true is pretty unclear. If it is true and everything that was forwarded to me this is a interesting turning point for the 12v business.

JL Audio has set a lot of trends for the business. Not sure what is BS and marketing related now and what is actually worth 2 cents. If this is true I’d it’s also a huge turning point for specialty 12v as we know it.

Rumor has it. JL is going to Crutchfield. It would seem like a obvious choice especially following suit after Eclipse.

The information I was forwarded notes comments of needing the money which doesn’t make much sense to me. Their biggest customer in tweeter is apparently SOL and they need to move more product now that someone isn’t consuming it.

The biggest question about this has to seem like a strike of ironic lightning. Who doesn’t sell online? JL. Who might start selling online? JL.

I’ve been reading for years like I’m sure many others have that the sole purpose JL sells only through retail is to protect the specialty dealer. This is the mom and pop shops that built the company that they’ve now grown so far beyond that they move to a large volume mail order company over offering new programs for the dealers and expanding further on that business. I just don’t get it.

Are the specialty dealers only good as long as they provide a decent marketing direction?

I guess there are questions worth asking and others we can only speculate. It just brings up so many obvious questions. I don’t understand why they would do it.

On the other hand. Maybe just maybe it will be done with some level of professionalism where people will realize it is possible to buy online and in a store in a tightly regulated environment.

Time will tell. Will it actually happen? A big part of me shrugs it off as another piece of internet hobsnobbery. The other part of me wonders how long the marketing of protecting the dealers will outweigh the benefits of a online sales.

The state of 12v is changing with the wind. That’s for sure. JL does this and it’s certainly the end of an era and a push for quite a few others to follow suit.

Biggest questions right now if they did.

How do you train an entire sales staff with the knowledge of a specialty store?

Do you re-write and re-draft all your warranties?

Do you apologize to the specialty dealers or explain to them you want to make more money and they don’t sell enough stuff?

Who do you alienate in the process?

How many new clients does Crutchfield bring?

While I don’t think it will change much for the local customer. I think the end result is how easy it will be for a JL Audio customer to buy a JL product at their utmost ease. Locally or online? That or who can get them the bigger discount they aren’t supposed to give.

Time will tell how blurred the line between protecting long standing retail customers and servicing newer and bigger customers will continue to be. The way of business we all know is growing. When markets start changing and shrinking I expect if this is untrue JL will have one very cool badge of honor to carry around when they can squash it and protect those dealers this little rumor threatens dearly to hurt.

Either way. You can only speculate and it’s one e-mail I didn’t expect to get today. Frankly. I hope it is internet BS.

It seems like a Jekyll and Hyde Rumor. JL Audio already sells their marine gear on their own web site. Why wouldn’t they do that with their other products and have total control over their pricing structure. Someone else selling does give deniability and use of their existing infrastructure.

Interesting topic that’s for sure."

thoughts? i dont believe it, but.. its an interesting topic..

Click to read more...

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

Honestly, It's a smart move for JL. There such huge potential they're missing out on by refusing to sell over the internet. I am aware that they want to avoid internet sales due to the myriad of customer service issues, and more readily putting the products into idiot installers. However, if they do, indeed, go to Crutchfield, I think they would have fewer problems than they would with someone like CarDomain. Crutchfield is a 5-star retailer, and should be able to provide what consumers need.

 

[02parkave 5,000+ posts]

Agreed. this actually interests me a great deal. it would be quite a significant move for jl audio (and indeed, it could force the hand of other manufacturers..) i don't see it being that great a move from the brick and mortar shops eyes, though

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

the internet might provide much fiercer competition tho. Once ppl start buying JL on the net they might eventually find out other brands that we are all so accustomed to. So whether or not it's a good idea...hard to say

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

Yeah, online sales are both a blessing and a curse. I was at a shop last night demoing the CDA-9887, and in the other room, I was listening to a salesman trying to explain that they can't beat OCS.com's prices. While we're getting great deals online, the shops are getting f'd in the a.

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

but i think if they are retailed online dealers then pricing should be different than wat they can offer now.

 

[PatFitz9 10+ year member]

bad move if you are the one carrying JL, good move if you're the one buying JL. just depends where you stand. who wouldn't like JL for less money? and with the customer service history of crutchfield, i doubt anything would be lost for JL.

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

I think that if JL gets crutchfield's nuts in a vise prisewise, it shouldn't be shooting shops in the foot too bad.

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

yea, i doubt if JL will go for less money. I doubt they're willing to lose any

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

the internet might provide much fiercer competition tho. Once ppl start buying JL on the net they might eventually find out other brands that we are all so accustomed to. So whether or not it's a good idea...hard to say

Why would people beginning to be able to buy JL via Crutchfield be the genesis of people becoming aware of the "internet-only" brands so many of here are very familiar with??

Good Lord, man...how long has Crutchfield been in business? Selling tons of audio/visual gear of varying makes daily? I do not think that if Crutch started carrying JL gear that it would be the beginning of an 'awakening' of sorts for enthusiasts across the US and Canada (remembering that Crutchfield only services the US and Canada currently and nowhere else).

Just my $0.02...

 

[iagrdshaka 5,000+ posts]

it's just a rumor

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

it's just a rumor

Probably...

 

[tRidiot 10+ year member]

While we're getting great deals online, the shops are getting f'd in the a.

Considering it was me getting f***ked in the a$$ by multiple brick & mortar shops that finally made me decide to go the internet route, I couldn't care less how many of 'em go out of business.

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

no one in this thread runs JL so who cares.

 

[W8 a minute 10+ year member]

I've seen this on a couple different boards. Again, my .02...

This does not surprise me at all. Having been an installer from 1989-1996 I've seen all the major

players move their focus to the big box stores. Alpine, Kenwood, Rockford, all promised protected

territories to the small dealers. This soon changed. In fact, I remember sitting in a Kenwood sales

meeting and being told "We(Kenwood) will let the big chains sell Kenwood but the specialty shops, and

only specialty shops, will get the Excelon line" - - BS

eBay changed the world. in fact it dictates the selling price for a lot of items. Look at Kicker. I

doubt if Kicker would still be in business if it wasn't for eBay. They make good products but no one was

buying them, not at retail price. Now at eBay prices they are flying off the shelves. Kicker will tell

you they have protected territories but there's no way that 3000 amplifiers a week hit the black market

without them knowing where the leak is. How many ARC audio products do you see on eBay? None. Because

ARC actively works to make sure they don't.

The only good thing about Crutchfield is that their prices are always too high. It lets the buyer go

window shopping first and then go to the local retailer and make the purchase.

Rant over.