Imitation Polks?

Bozwth

I'm looking to get a pair of LSi15's and have been keeping my eye out for a pair on sale or at a discounted price. I saw another post on discussing buying from an unauthorized dealer but I can't seem to find it...

How do you know what you are getting when you buy from an unauthorized dealer? Is it possible that the Polk speakers that they are selling are cheap imitations made to look like Polks? Made by the same guys that sell the speakers out of the back of their white vans?

Also, Do the authorized dealers ever put the LSi15's on sale?

PolkThug

Unauthorized dealers typically have gray market goods. They are real Polks but have no warranty.

aaharvel

www.whitevan.com

j/k

EricT43

Zero wrote:

At least one unauthorized dealer is very reliable and carries a stellar reputation for price and service; www.acousticsounddesign.com . Coincidentally, this is the place where I brought home a pair of my first LSi's.

While networks like acousticsounddesign can offer you prices on new equipment that authorized dealers cannot/will not match, the caveat is that your warranty through Polk is void. It's a good way to step into Polk and other goods on the cheap, but this is really at the expense of Polk Audio and the entire home audio industry.

How so? Polk still got paid for those speakers right?

EricT43

There's a lot of this type of thing going on in a lot of different industries. What it amounts to is that people will almost always give up customer service for a lower price. Look what Walmart and Blockbuster did to all the mom & pop shops out there. The service sucks or is non-existent in those places, but the price/selection is outstanding.

The e-tailers are not going to go out of business. There are some people who say, "I really appreciate this shop, because they let me come in and audition stuff before I buy it, so I'm going to pay them a couple hundred bucks as a thank-you." But many others say "I'll just buy it online, and if I don't like it I'll sell it on eBay for almost the same price. But chances are good that I'll save a few hundred bucks. I'll take my chances with the warranty, Polk makes quality products."

The companies that are going to survive long-term are the ones that figure out what the customer wants and gives it to them. And for the vast majority of American consumers, price is more important than service. So if unauthorized e-tailers become a problem for Polk, then they need to seriously re-think the "authorized" dealer business, price controls, etc.

StopherJJ1980

EricT43 wrote:

The companies that are going to survive long-term are the ones that figure out what the customer wants and gives it to them. And for the vast majority of American consumers, price is more important than service. So if unauthorized e-tailers become a problem for Polk, then they need to seriously re-think the "authorized" dealer business, price controls, etc.

Couldnt have said it better myself. Capitalism at its best.