B&W Speakers - prices abroad v Ireland

[Satrus]

That seems a bit astonishing. Um, I've occasionally noticed on websites from the continent that prices are expressed per speaker rather than per pair. Any chance that's happening here? The reason I ask is that there are some brands where Cloney struggle to be competitive through no fault of their own (details on request!) but B&W is not one of them.

That resonates with me. I was in the CANTON room at the recent High End Show in Munich and was looking 'lustfully' at some of their higher end models when I discovered that each speaker was priced individually! It seems a strange kind of practice but there you go. I very quickly realized that what I thought would cost 8k was 16k for the pair! For a moment there, I was in heaven thinking about the possibilities.

As a customer of theirs, I think Cloneys offer a very fair pricing scheme especially in view of the fact that in many cases they have to deal through a U.K. importer, for U.S. brands and those from other countries. Maybe this crazy practice will now have to be revised once Brexit get under way? I have highlighted previously that the Mark Levinson 585 integrated amplifier cost almost €1,200 less in Holland than it did in the U.K., admittedly before the recent decline in the Pound Sterling.

http://www.vinyllpcare.com

[Diapason]

Don't think Simon has ever bought anything there he just borrows stuff:)

Guilty as charged! Of course, they know that in the event of a lottery win I'll be there straightaway, so the Cloney boys are just playing the long game.

(In the interests of fairness I should say that I actually paid for something recently. Noel nearly fell down the stairs with the shock, but he made a quick recovery.)

[JFK]

Similar situation on a new AV amp from UK , price quoted for a mid range receiver in Cloneys was around 400 euros dearer than UK including exchange rate and shipping , mind you Hi fi Hut was the same and said could not match the UK pricing , I'm a Cloney fan but can't refuse that type of bargain


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[Fran]

Folks,


In the course of contact with Noel Cloney on another matter, the subject of the Saturn prices vs Cloney came up. Naturally he was very concerned..... here is his reply:

Further to our conversation last week re Bowers & Wilkins speaker prices at Saturn store in Germany, B&W have just got back to me confirming the prices shown were for a single speaker, in addition your Forum member says Cloney Audio price on CM8 s/2 was €2000,00pr – this may have been the case when the Euro Stg exchange rate was at .74 or thereabouts. Current Irish price on B&W CM8s/2 is same as UK at £1499,00 = €1699,00. B&W also confirm suggested German selling prices are virtually identical or higher than Irish pricing

There are 2 lessons to learn... one is that other markets have different pricing models - so be very aware! The second is .... give a lad the benefit of the doubt, I think most of us would like the opportunity to correct a misunderstanding or clarify something....


Fran

[Gerry D]

Delighted to see this.
I was disappointed to see that maybe the integrity of the guys at Cloney Audio might be called into question.
I was very happy to see some supportive responses also.

Personally I've bought HiFi from Noel, Ivan & Co. since the late '80's and have always found them to be very straight up Gentlemen.
They've offered sound advice, great service, good back up and occasionally I have witnessed on the spot the exchange rate calculations on my queries.
Loyalty to the Customer like that isn't so common these days.

And I'd much rather support an Irish retailer. They work as hard as the rest of us, they serve our community, they provide employment here and they support the Irish economy.
Not always easy.

I think the fact that Cloney Audio have been trading since 1966, 50 Years, says so much in itself.
Long may they continue!

[Adrian]

One minor but annoying point....Saturn do not accept credit cards.

At least the one I visited in Berlin did not when I tried to buy a camera. That was October 2014.

When I protested to the store assistant "WHo in their right mind carries hundreds or thousands of euro in their pocket to buy a camera or whatever?" He just smiled and like a perfect civil servant robot repeated the stores policy of methods of payment! I think he even got aroused telling me that.

Imagine trying to buy something hi end in Saturn....going in with wheelbarrows of cash!!!

They must use some other payment options....as very few people use cash these days...but CC are not it in Saturn.

[JFK]

Don't get me wrong , I'm a Cloney fan and recently bought a Copland CSA28 amp from Ivan and a Sub , I guess on a rare occasion you may get a bargain elsewhere

I will be back there for some speakers from Ivan , where else on the planet will let you take stuff home and try it before you part with a pennie


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[Diapason]

Yeah, I spoke to Noel about this a few days ago too. Apart from everything else, it's a great sign that they took this seriously enough to look into it, and B&W likewise.

It's well-documented that I'm a Cloney fan, and have been since I first got my dad to drive me out one evening while still wearing my school uniform (!) so I'm happy to see a resolution here.

[Seán]

.... have always found them [Noel, Ivan & Co] to be very straight up Gentlemen.
They've offered sound advice, great service, good back up and occasionally I have witnessed on the spot the exchange rate calculations on my queries.
Loyalty to the Customer like that isn't so common these days.

And I'd much rather support an Irish retailer. They work as hard as the rest of us, they serve our community, they provide employment here and they support the Irish economy.
Not always easy.

I think the fact that Cloney Audio have been trading since 1966, 50 Years, says so much in itself.
Long may they continue!

I couldn't agree more.

[TrickyDicky]

I third that. All of the marketing € spent by the big retailers to try to get us to believe that they're "customer first!" isn't worth a jot when you compare them to the likes of Noel and Ivan. My experience is that Cloney Audio are the very best at looking after the best interests of their customers. They give advice and recommendations freely (even when it's against their best interest), and they look after their customers like no other commercial business that I know of. Long may they reign.