I'll never object to prices coming down.

However, I'm not sure that price fixing, as described in the previous post, is really what gets at folk. It is more the handing over of large amounts of dealer margin when 99% of M-dealers do next-to-nothing for their slice of pie.

Specifically regarding the points made:-

a) hardly anyone offers discounts on Meridian (and others too)....maybe not advertised, but, as with most gear, even a half-decent dealer will give you 10%. As said earlier, these guys have to make a living also. I don't think M have any say in this aspect whatsoever.

b) Meridian is not sold on the internet for delivery outside of the country of incporporation....never seen M sold new/mail order on the Net - period. Maybe without stating as such, M may well insist that to sell their gear, a dealer must have at least one member of staff that has been trained. OK - reality may be different, which is the main gripe but they could quite properly claim that it takes just a bit of nowse (brain for the non-UK hikers) to setup even a basic CD+DSP system. Look at Fuji plasmas for example, they won't even honour a warranty if you buy from the Net based on the same claim. I can tell you a Fuji plasma is a damn-site easier to make work than a Meridian system.

c) not one single Meridian dealer will deliver outside of his country....has anyone ever tried ? Why would they/why would they not ? Delivery is a matter of engaging a courier and handing over a few notes. I presume you refer to a delivery made direct to customer from M rather than the dealer. I'm sure that the Hikers based in Ireland who travel to England and Scotland to buy M would have no issue getting a dealer to supply. I'm sure that our Scandic/Benelux friends might also roam to purchase if req'd.

If you look at businesses that invade a neighbour's sale patch and sell for virtually zero profit simply to make a sale today rather than cultivating their own market, then this is not something that I think we would benefit from in the long term.

I work in the Pharma industry and recognize that drugs are sold in each market at the price that the market can support. Drugs are not sold everywhere at the lowest common price demoninator. I know R&D costs are different between M and a Pharma company (ever-so-slightly !!!!) but I would hate to see M shafted with a court-case which ruined their innovative abilities.

Rgds

Nick

Rgds,
Nick