442craig

So I buy a Retrosound Radio from Retrosound. It is the model 2. I absolutely love the radio. I spent over $400 on it. I just got the OPGI Winter sale catalog and noticed the radio for $270! I just had the wind pulled out of my sails! So I call and bring this to their attention. I was told that they sell their products to retail shops at wholesale prices. Now don't you think $130 is a bit excessive? (as I told him) he basically told me to pound sand! I'll never purchase anything from this company again. There is to many other options out there to put up with this crap!

Beware!

Craig

68_convert

I noticed that while researching. I though it was weird but have seen other companies do the same. Almost like they do not want to deal with the general public. Thankfully I added some new aftermarket speakers to my vintage 7 watt am/fm cassette stereo with only a right/left output and shared ground and get acceptable sound. As good as I did 25 yrs ago when cruizing. Of course just getting behind the wheel makes me feel 16 again. I have a sub and amp and stuff sitting Just havent gotten past the nostalgia yet I guess to upgrade.

442craig

I wrestled with the stock idea too. Mine has an 8 track player. I finally made the switch and love it. I didn't have to cut anything up.

Junkman

Just a thought.... If you purchased your Retrosound Radio directly from Retrosound Radio Company, with a credit card, such as American Express, possibly they can help you to get a refund from Retrosound Radio. Retrosound Radio, might just blow them off also, but I doubt that Retrosound Radio would want to tick off a credit card company. Who know, Retrosound Radio Company just might not care about the Retrosound Radio reputation.

m371961

A lot of companies do this. Thortons, Spectra, Metro to name a few. You gotta shop around. They could have cut you a brake afterward.

oldcutlass

It happens, I would shake it off, learn from the experience and move on without letting it eat me up. It's just like buying a new car 1 month, only to find that the rebates changed dramatically and now your car could be had for a couple of thousand less. Nothing you can do about it.

442craig

I'm over it, but it pisses me off that there is nothing you can do about it. These companies know that. We fortunately have a forum to express our concerns and warn others of their bad practices! There are too many choices these days and one company from another is just a click away! If you know a company is dishonest from a post like this you'll choose to purchase it elsewhere. "Justice" is served!

OK rant over… back to your regularly scheduled program!

oldstata

When I was pricing disk brake kits. I found that the vender was two hundred more than the ebay store for the same kit, I called them and asked why and the nice lady simply said "they buy hundreds at once at a discounted cost and they can sell them cheaper if they choose to "

classicmuscle442

Got to shop around see this all the time fair, no.

MDchanic

I think that this happens, to some extent, with many manufacturers who sell their own products at retail: They don't want to undercut their real customers, the resellers who buy in bulk, so they set a MSRP (it's illegal for them to "price fix") and stay near it themselves, knowing that the people they sell in bulk to will sell for less than that. If they sold for the same price or less, those same resellers would accuse them of underselling them, and might not place a repeat order (of, potentially, several thousand units). Unfortunately, this makes the guy who buys direct from the company collateral damage.

Obviously, a company like this will sell few enough units to individuals that the profit they get from each sale will be close to inconsequential, compared to that on larger orders, but they're kind of stuck.

Ideally, a company in this position will stop selling to the public, and direct inquiries to their list of "authorized dealers," so that this sort of thing doesn't happen, and their reputation remains intact.

- Eric

jaunty75

I think this is unlikely. Credit card companies go to bat for you if can show that you never received the item, it wasn't as advertised, it arrived damaged, or something like that. I doubt they would get involved simply because, some time after the purchase was made, you decided you didn't want to buy the item after all. They would tell you that's up to the vendor's return policy, which is something you could have known prior to making the purchase.

442craig

I think it really boils down to the "screw you" attitude I was given by the sales department.

What ever… lesson learned!

Fun71

I'm just glad you like the radio and it works well. Many years ago I purchased one and it was crap - it was an AM/FM/cassette unit and the cassette motor caused a high pitched whine through the speakers. Total piece of cheap a$$ junk overall so I sent it back and kept the 1980s vintage aftermarket radio that I had in the car already (and still do today). It's amazing that the quality back in the 80s was generally so much better than what you find today.

rustyroger

Several times I have bought stuff at a price I was willing to pay, then found I could have got the same thing cheaper elsewhere. I suck it up and get on with it.




On a similar vein I looked at buying tires online recently from a national chain. The prices were competitive so I was going ahead until I got pissed at telling them my entire life history and what color underwear my mother wore to complete the transaction. So I phoned the local branch to see if they had the tires I wanted on stock. They did but the price went from £58 if I ordered online to £66 if I just turned up.
So I called a couple of local tire shops and got the same tires for £56, within an hour I was back home with new tires fitted.


Btw, as I write this a bunch of related item links have shown up, including several RetroSound ones. All priced in US$, no links from anything in the UK. They aren't obtrusive, if they help keep this forum free to use I'm happy for them to be there.


Roger.

Eddie Hansen

Craig feelyour pain man, but thank you for posting and giving us a heads up I do see this with sheetmetal parts from yearone goodmark, parts place all the same and different prices

Nilsson

It is called capitalism, and being American you should be used to it by now.
I don't feel you got ripped off just because you paid more than the next guy.

jaunty75

Capitalism is not having to put up with poor service or being ripped off.

Capitalism is when this company, because of its poor service, goes out of business because customers exercise their freedom to choose (to sort of quote Milton Friedman), and they choose to take their business elsewhere.

Nilsson

Capitalism


An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development occurs through the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market.


He paid what was asked and got what he paid for, how is this getting ripped off?

jaunty75

I didn't say he was getting ripped off. HE said he got ripped off in the title to this thread. From your comment, I thought you were agreeing with him and telling him that "that's capitalism."

Nilsson

Jaunty , you are of the worst personalities on this site. Always looking for a reason to kick someone in the teeth.

jaunty75

Nice. Welcome to the club.

Allan R

Just looked at the Canadian site for retrosound. They list the radio for 230.00 but with web rice of 219.00

I don't care for the look of the radio as it doesn't match the rest of the interior trim.

Just my opinion. There are better offerings on the market that actually do match the 70-72 trim I have. But, they are priced at 450.00 and only distribute through one source, so it's quite controlled. That's also the nature of competition, marketing strategy, distribution and pricing.

joe_padavano

This is nothing new. It happens with many, many items in retail sales. Frankly I see no reason to condem a company for trying to make as much money as possible. They are counting on consumers who don't have the time or desire to shop around. If you don't investigate for yourself, don't blame the company. This same issue applies to repro sheet metal panels. Nearly all of them are stamped by the same one or two factories in China. There is NO reason to pay a brand name repro house a premium for the same item you can buy on line for less. Same thing with paying full price for an item at a store vs. shopping around and paying less on line. Do you expect the store to refund you the difference when you find a lower price on line? Not unless this is their stated policy.

boese1978

The onus is on you, do your homework and shop around, the internet puts pretty much "all" at your finger tips....

69ishHoliday

You can get so much more for your money in a head unit. I bought one of these today at just over $200 for a friend from a local stereo store. I know they make these **** jobs so you don't have to cut but they are a very substandard product and are twice the orice of something good. Get something like this next time and put it in one of the underdash housings. That way you can leave your factory radio in place and get the best of both worlds. Compare the technology of the retro **** job with the one at this link. The tech features might be a little intimidating at the onset but it's not hard to figure out and benefit from. - Steven

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KDCX...-KDC-X998.html