What happend to car audio? My little rant

[kr15 5,000+ posts]

The prices are not very fun to see, but for me, it came down to paying strangers who I did not trust touching my car. So now I do all my own work, as do many people on this forum.

this

I went into my local shop the other day. The had just started selling Fosgate Prime, which is straight up trash. They have the nerve to charge 159$ for a single prime sub. Those are like 100rms or some **** like that. Example # 2, they sell CVRs for 199$ a piece. Example 3, a Memphis 1000.1 was 849%

...so no way in hell will I ever pay those prices. The also no longer stock legit wiring, which is a huge turnoff. They expect you to pay 3$/ft for 4 ga that is really about a 8 or 10ga. Lastly, install prices are in the 100s. Fucc that. My installs are not perfect, but Ive done all my installs myself and have never had any issues...

Quit *****ing about it...We are in a recession, one would be a fool to expect customers continually get raped when the unemployment rate is drastically high, and many with jobs have been getting hours cut

 

[galacticmonkey 5,000+ posts]

So youre complaining because some kid who just wants some bass in his ride doesnt want to spend $2,000 on a Zapco amp, Zapco sub, custom box, and custom amprack that takes up the entire trunk?

If your customers want to buy Sony, sell them Sony. I dont see what difference it makes to you.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

$1/watt is retarded these days,

lol

That's because SQ doesn't get you the ladies...

lol

 

[twistedchild420 5,000+ posts]

So youre complaining because some kid who just wants some bass in his ride doesnt want to spend $2,000 on a Zapco amp, Zapco sub, custom box, and custom amprack that takes up the entire trunk?
If your customers want to buy Sony, sell them Sony. I dont see what difference it makes to you.

Award this man

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

Edit: On a side note: Though not necessary' date=' I'm a firm follower of neat installs, not foam and wires everywhere...Cosmetics, to me, are important. Just a pet peeve of mine.[/quote']Do you build your own boxes? JW

Mainstream **** ***** compared to the small online company's ..you probally sell shitty pre-fab boxes and 1500.1 amps for 750$ and sleep like a baby at night....GTFO ***....start selling your old lady to accommodate your shop losses

I lol'd.

That's because SQ doesn't get you the ladies... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/naughty.gif.94359f346c0f1259df8038d60b41863e.gif

lol, it's true.

Go market your SHOP! have great specials! dont have a 300% mark-up. and dont bull **** on here saying your markup is not that high. Also set up local Shows! thats the problem! not enough shops have shows! let the local kids come out and get hooked! show off your install skills! its all about doing good business.

Fixed that for you.

I sometimes have to wait 2 months for people to pay me for work that I already performed. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

lul

For example I bought that new JVC KD-AVX77 and they first quoted me $599, but then I showed them the average pricing on the internet and got it down to $480.

$600 for anything JVC is lulz.

Well I must be doing it wrong because it's gotten me neither, lol

Apparently so. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Lastly, install prices are in the 100s. Fucc that.

If you want to pay for fabrication skills that you may not have yourself, is it not fair to compensate someone for their time?

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

lol


lol

Anyone notice how all the SQ guys on this site are on a fucking high horse?

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

Anyone notice how all the SQ guys on this site are on a fucking high horse?

yes

 

[twistedchild420 5,000+ posts]

SQ guys pee sitting down

 

[galacticmonkey 5,000+ posts]

Anyone notice how all the SQ guys on this site are on a fucking high horse?

Of course.

 

[Bumpin' Goalie 10+ year member]

Do you build your own boxes? JW

Sure do.

And for my customers.

 

[Havoc Evan 10+ year member]

Well, once again this isn't about my shop or any other shop for that matter, its about the degradation of the quality of work and products in the 12v industry and this thread is pretty much destroyed, but just a rebuttal to the pre-fab remark i make 90% of my enclosures. It would be stupid not too, shipping mdf around is ridiculous when you have a table saw. I also rarely use mdf because it swells badly with moisture, i use birch, around here it costs about the same as mdf, isnt effected as much by the elements as mdf and is about half the weight.

Devin im not trying to discourage people who dont have alot of money from a system, just a system they cant power, a factory battery and alternator with a strand of 1/0 and an hc600 is not enough to power a 2kw amplifier properly, they would get better results with something smaller they could power. As far as if they want sony why not sell them sony well, anyone who just sells crap for the fact that it sells is just like walmart, i dont want a cheap quality product in my store because it will die, and them im responsible for it, id rather just not sell it at all. (that's going back to my shop which im trying not to do but i am trying to reply to peoples posts)

 

[quest51210 10+ year member]

i worked at a high end shop called custom sounds a few years ago. there are a few in san antonio, austin, and st louis...they sell JL, Alpine, Focal, and Exile is their "entry level" brand. of course they sell entry level on all their lines period but Exile was their new thing at the time and discounted to an extent to get it out there.

for every "enthusiast" that walked out the door wanting a discount because they saw it online or ebay we had 4-5 customers spending full retail on W7's and 1000/1's. high volume shop, nba players, young professionals, etc...

anything from a deck and four to full blown $40-50k in audio on a daily basis. 70% of our installers/salesmen drive corvettes, escalades, bmw's, lexus, etc. i drove an HHR, but it had 4 miles when i got it and it was paid off cash on day one...i made that money my first year there. business is still the same for them and as far as i am concerned they just managed to tap into the right market and deal with the right customer base to support their business.

one salesman gus lozano averages $1Million in sales out of one store for the last 10 years. dude owns a $300k house, escalade, 2 vettes, and in san antonio $300k goes a long way.

 

[RLJ676 10+ year member]

Most shops don't add any value. A lot I talked to as a kid in the 90's didn't know ****, but there was no internet like now. You went in to a few places, asked around, and learned that whatever brand they were selling was the best. A year later when they had a new line, it was the best. I just got back into this, and the shops I've been to now......they don't know ****. I've asked about the big online brands, they've never heard of them. Big 3, never heard of it. You have to know your competition, they don't. They carry either cheap crap or RF/JL expensive big brands, but seem to stay alive selling them. I was told RF is still making everything in the US though......still true?

I still had my basic amp install done at a shop because I was lazy. They installed my stuff I had bought elsewhere, no complaints. I thought that was cool. I'll go back to them for certain things, but won't be buying a RF amp (or Boss) as that's about all they carry.

I am willing to pay more for US products, and it does matter to me. However, paying several times the cost is tough to swallow for US assembly of foreign components.

Overall, the internet has made it possible for me to get a system that way outperforms what I had 10 years ago, but at less than half the price. Had I gone to a local guy, I'd be paying about what I did in 98 for something comparable to 2 eclipse TI 10's and a 600 W PPI amp.

 

[misfit138 5,000+ posts]

Sure do.
And for my customers.

Pics or it's a lie.