16 replies to this topic

[MICSS88]

Hi guys,
I was just wondering what you guys think.
I am a foreigner from Indonesia Living in Melbourne Australia.
In my quest to building an SQ System, I contacted both the OFFICIAL Distributor of the respective products
from Indonesia and also in Australia.

The price difference is crazy,

Morel Supremo 2 Way Set
Australia : RRP $ 4849
Indonesia: 15 Million Rupiah= $1650

Focal Utopia BE 3 Way Set with Crossblock
Australia: $4899
Indonesia: 22 Million Rupiah= $2450

Do any of you know why the price difference between Australia and Indonesia are so different?
They are the official distributors as pointed by the Focal and Morel Website, so i do not doubt the authenticity of the products.

[~Spyne~]

It's been covered a hundred times on here, so you could search for the answer.

Australia has a relatively small population, and an even smaller relative market for such products, so buying power is much lower here and therefore discounts from buying bulk are greatly reduced.
Average wages in Australia are also higher than just about anywhere in the world, so the overheads are much greater in Australia than in most other countries (gotta pay sales staff, distributors, state manager/representatives, etc).
Australia is also the 'ar$e-end' of the world, and shipping to Australia costs more than to most other countries because of our remoteness.

Put these three together and you get the often huge price differences for products sold here compared to other countries.

[paulxr6]

Good article in the current Incar Entertainment mag too.

[MICSS88]

Yeah, just read that article. But when the price difference is up to 3 times as much eg. the supremos.
things like warranty doesnt really matter anymore

[Dylby1]

Yeah, just read that article. But when the price difference is up to 3 times as much eg. the supremos.
things like warranty doesnt really matter anymore

I agree with this.

If something goes wrong you can still buy another set and be in the clear. Its things like that where it doesnt add up

The normal bit extra is to be expected, but when its up to 3 times as much, as you said, then something isnt quite right there...

[dreamscene]

Hello Kevin,

Prices in Aussie land was a lot worse years ago, it is getting better. Can you do a bit of research regarding wages in Indonesia, a ratio will be good. Is it less / more and if so, by how much? With some figures, I may be able to help you understand the price differences better maybe even devise a mathematical model.

Also if you can include figures like Population numbers, etc, anything that can help reach a conclusion regarding the price disparity would be good too. It will be good to see genuinely if Aussie prices are really a rip off or actually based on figures actually line ball with other countries.

[mad89]

Just to clarify, in regards to the Supremo's, are you comparing the brand new 'Supremo 602s', or the old 'Supremo 6'.

The latest Morel price list that you've pulled the Supremo price from, references the 602's which are a totally new model, compared to the Supremo 6.

What I'm getting at is, just make sure you compare apples with apples.

[muzzy66]

Just to clarify, in regards to the Supremo's, are you comparing the brand new 'Supremo 602s', or the old 'Supremo 6'.

The latest Morel price list that you've pulled the Supremo price from, references the 602's which are a totally new model, compared to the Supremo 6.

There appear to be a few changes, but not sure if they are dramatic enough to justify such a price increase:
- Difference cone material
- Brushed metal flange on tweeter and mid
- Different coloured crossovers

Supremo 6:



Supremo 602:



The local RRP for the Morel speakers has been increased significantly over the past 4 years or so. The Elate 2-ways were once around $680 RRP but have gradually crept towards the $1,365 RRP they now sit at. That's a 100% increase, even though there don't seem to be any changes to the component set. Same deal with the Integra Ovation which once retailed at about $350, but are now a bit over $600.

Initially I'm sure the economic crash was blamed for this, but then when all the other companies around the world recovered and brought their prices back down, the local Morel distributers apparently 'conveniently' forgot to do so...instead increasing the price further. I did PM the distrubuter some time ago asking why the prices have increased so much, but I got no response at all.

In the case of the Focal's I'd say it's probably just cheap to sell them over there, as their local RRP's have been very consistent over the years.

Edited by muzzy66, 10 June 2012 - 11:00 PM.

[Rory_newton]

I think the old supremo set also required you to buy the crossover separately? Whereas they are included in the new 602 kit....
Might be part of the reason for the massive price jump!

Edited by Rory_newton, 10 June 2012 - 07:07 PM.

[muzzy66]

Could have something to do with it...but while the components do look like they are of a high quality, they certainly do not look like $2,000 crossovers. Same type of components I used to build my custom passives for my hifi system, and they set me back about $280. No doubt Morel can build these far more cheaply then I can!

But sure, that does explain part of the price difference for the Supremo vs the old one. Doesn't really explain the ludicrous price jumps among the rest of the range though...but I'll stop there before I upset someone

Edited by muzzy66, 10 June 2012 - 07:28 PM.

[mad89]

Pete, from what I've been told, the new ones feature a Carbon Fibre sandwich cone, among other 'revisions' to the tweeters and crossovers, from the previous model. Your questions about the differences would be better asked to Morel Australia.

I'm not here to justify any of the price increases, all i was saying is to ensure apples were compared with apples.

The end.

[muzzy66]

Haha don't mind me Rick, I'm just a grumpy old man!

Kinda like this guy:

[Marc ♫]

While this topic has been covered in great detail over the years as Adam said, I think this is a good discussion so far. Anyone here knows my dedication to the Australian industry, and my ongoing quest to educate why to buy local etc etc.
However, I think something has been very well highlighted here. How the hell can we encourage consumers to buy local when the difference in price is up to 3 times!!!

I know one of the above brands was working the RRP price back up after years of lowering prices, to build some dealer margin back in. As said, those prices seem a bit inflated for the current market.

What I would be interested to know, is the US RRP of both those products for comparison. Comparing AUS to Rp is probably not a very fair comparison for reasons already stated (wages, cost of living etc).

I will always continue to do my bit for the industry and as MEA, it is our responsibility to support and promote our local industry, but I am going to find that very hard to do with those price differences given in the examples in this thread.

[muzzy66]

My understanding Marc is that the US prices are not disimilar to our own for these brands.

if you look at an online US store like WoofersEtc, it seems the US brands (JL, ARC, ID, etc) are way cheaper than they are here (understandably so) but the other brands (Focal, Morel) are priced much the same as they are here.

[Mr. Drifter]

My understanding Marc is that the US prices are not disimilar to our own for these brands.

if you look at an online US store like WoofersEtc, it seems the US brands (JL, ARC, ID, etc) are way cheaper than they are here (understandably so) but the other brands (Focal, Morel) are priced much the same as they are here.

I suppose that makes sense, similar freighting, similar wages and what not... it's essentially the same as us, importing brands from the euro's.

[RMA]

Morel prices set for Australia are in 99% of cases below the US MSRP set by Morel.

The Morel Supremo splits price that has been quoted must be for the discontinued model not the current model, the new model is the Morel SUPREMO 602 which uses a completely redesigned mid bass which draws on the FAT LADY speaker design and comes with a newly designed crossover and upgraded Supremo Piccolo tweeter - the old model did not come with a crossover.

Whilst I's sure that the Indonesian seller will claim the price is for the current series the fact is the $1,650 that has been quoted is below the ex factory price for the new model and Morel are not offering any rebates on this new series.

Examples:
*Tax varies for 0% to 20% depending on the state in which the product is sold.
** Price at 0.97 Exchange

Supremo 602 Aust. $4,849 Inc US MSRP $5,000* Ex Tax **$5,154
Elate 603 Aust. $1,815 Inc US MSRP $1,999* Ex Tax **$2,060
Elate 602 Aust. $1,365 Inc US MSRP $1,499* Ex Tax **$1,545
Hybrid 602 Aust. $ 829 Inc US MSRP $ 899* Ex Tax **$ 826
Virtus 603 Aust. $ 829 Inc US MSRP $ 899* Ex Tax **$ 826
Virtus 602 Aust. $ 648 Inc US MSRP $ 699* Ex Tax **$ 720
Ultimo 12.4 Aust. $ 898 Inc US MSRP $ 999* Ex Tax **$1,029

So clearly prices in Australia are more than competitive with the US pricing and MSRP.
It is clear we will always have a difficult time selling product against asian retailers in countries where a $100 (AUD or USD) profit represents an extremely large amount of money where the cost of living is so low, for example take a taxi ride in say Hong Kong or the Philippines where you can travel for up to an hour and fork out under $20 AUD for the trip - ( just see how far you can travel here for $20!) so considering the economics (local cost of living), a $100 profit over cost is a good deal for many of the Asian dealers.

[Big_Valven]

Good to see some realistic and concise input from the dealer.

While this general theme of buying overseas, everything's cheaper everywhere else, will my Swahilian FM tuner work in Australia etc is getting about as interesting as watching paint dry I will always weigh in with 2c or so.

First of all I think some perspective is needed here as not all brands, importers, or retailers are the same. There ARE high quality SQ brands which can be had cheaper in Australia than anywhere else in the world, this is thanks to a proactive distribution chain and retailers who sit and watch threads like this every day and decide to do something about it. They may not be staring you in the face but they exist. There are many more which are very competitively priced when you consider freight, time, exchange rates and warranty.

It is plainly clear however that a 'global economy' is closer than ever and 10 years ago people didn't even bother looking overseas for prices, let alone to buy gear. Now it's the norm for many. There is only one way to be truly competitive for those people and it's not a fun prospect for many companies set in a traditional model.