In India imported Hi Fi equipment is OVER PRICED .. TRUE OR FALSE ??

[Music Madhu]

I see the price war in electronic industry benefitting the end user on many items. But in case of Hi Fi equipment it’s the other way round. Generally in international market if a product ( Amp / Speakers / TT etc) is set at an RRSP of $X then it will be sold at $X - 10% or $X - some % .
but when it comes to India ( with most of the part time or temporary dealerships) it will be priced at $X + 100 to 150%.

when asked the dealers , they talk about Import duties etc..
As international players the companies are well aware of these duties globally when they are marking prices to the Dealers.
It happens only with India dealers WHY?
Why not with Dubai / Singapore dealers.

How far this is Justified???

 

[rikhav]

I think biggest issue is our market is much smaller.
So the number of pieces of HiFi equipment sold is much lesser.
So if a distributor imports say speakers worth 4 crores and takes around a year and a half to sell whole stock , they are surely going to take in account the time for which their money is blocked and price the products accordingly.

Not sure hiw are the prices now but when I bought my wharfdale speakers around 8 years ago the prices were almost at par with international prices.
I think this was mainly because wharfdales atleast at that time were maybe the highest selling speaker brand in India and that's why moved much quickly

 

[panditji]

Our market is not small. It is small because the distributors overcharge.. you should see the import data and the invoice prices at the time of import...

 

[superczar]

Mass market audio products and electronics in India are at par and often cheaper than western prices these days.

Pricing and discounts are primarily driven by volumes .. You can see a clear example in hifi with UK hifi prices often being lower than the US - which is exactly the opposite for pretty much everything else..
Primarily because UK still has a thriving market for hifi separates unlike the US ..

As for India, extremely few people buy hifi separates - A typical high street JBL dealer will sell a 1000 boomboxes before he can move 1 Control-one pair even though both are not priced too differently.. SO he is going to keep the bookshelves on backorder with no incentive to discount 'em..

+ to @rikhav 's point: whatever small market exists is now fragmented across various brands

 

[Selvin]

Our market is not small. It is small because the distributors overcharge.. you should see the import data and the invoice prices at the time of import...

+1. The tax difference argument may be accepted for a variation of 10 -15% not 100% or 150%. At the same time many products are available here close to international price also bands like Spendor, Yamaha, Kef etc.

 

[firearm12]

I think this applies in every country. Whenever you inport you pay taxes and it will turn out costlier. Import taxes vary country to country and type of product. Govt wants it to be costly to import especially in developing countries to promote domestic companies. So wait for india to get developed or wait for some made in india product which appeals, unfortunately neither of it is going to happen soon.

 

[greenhorn]

All imported equipment is overpriced, and that is a deliberate choice by the government.
Ideally, as has happened in the auto sector, local players should step in to build and sell cost effective products and try to develop the market from the niche it is today, to scale up.
Instead, they are happy to either operate as boutique firms, or price their products on par with the 'overpriced' foreign gear, to compete on value rather than price. Foreign players then see no reason to localize their products and become competitive. Both sides are happy with status quo, and things will stay the way they are.

 

[Music Madhu]

Did any one wrote to these hifi makers Ex. LINN or HARBETH ... what do they say ?
Any such experiences. Whether these companies are aware of these aspects ?
Always MNCs would strive to increase their market presence especially in huge Indian Markets.

 

[sidvee]

Did any one wrote to these hifi makers Ex. LINN or HARBETH ... what do they say ?
Any such experiences. Whether these companies are aware of these aspects ?
Always MNCs would strive to increase their market presence especially in huge Indian Markets.

I have communicated with a few manufacturers and most, if not all of them support their distributors/dealers.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[audiopro]

Some products like Cyrus naim atc marantz are priced at close to international levels where as some are out right robbery. I know one guy who quotes 4.15L for a 2300 pound speaker. Just ignore these kind of guys.

 

[Kiran_B]

To put it in simple terms, what was the price of 42" flat pannel tv back in 2004/05 in comparison to today's price considering rupee inflation. Prices came down substantially because of the mass market production. The current hifi gear market share is no more than 6% in our country hence the high prices. The same time our rediculess government policies wouldn't allow hifi gear penetrate mass market. Think about implementing 28% gst on automobile sector and adding surcharge in a matter of 4 months(I bought fortuner in 2017 July for a less price of 2.5L comparing to 17 April's price).

 

[Amitkg]

I think this applies in every country. Whenever you inport you pay taxes and it will turn out costlier. Import taxes vary country to country and type of product. Govt wants it to be costly to import especially in developing countries to promote domestic companies. So wait for india to get developed or wait for some made in india product which appeals, unfortunately neither of it is going to happen soon.

Everlasting waiting for an elusive dream!

 

[greenhorn]

there are exceptions - the Allo Boss DAC is available in india for 3.4K, while internationally its $65, which is more than that.
Now the Allo Boss is an amazing DAC, and at that price, slays much pricier competition - even at its international price,
But in this forum, you'll see most people running after videshi DAC's - even chinese dac's.

This is the other side of the coin. Even if an indian company puts its money where its mouth is, and brings out a best in class product, Most of us would rather pay a premium for a foreign product. Even in the past, companies like Akai, Philips, Sanyo etc, had invested in local production, but most of us were running after "made in japan" and "made in germany" products. I am not expecting people to buy an inferior product because its indian. But most people want imported stuff, and pay more for it, and ignore local products, then you get what you deserve.

Whining about why Foreign companies wont cut their profits or why the indian govt won't lower taxes is sheer hypocrisy IMO.

 

[superczar]

there are exceptions - the Allo Boss DAC is available in india for 3.4K, while internationally its $65, which is more than that.
Now the Allo Boss is an amazing DAC, and at that price, slays much pricier competition - even at its international price,
But in this forum, you'll see most people running after videshi DAC's - even chinese dac's.

This is the other side of the coin. Even if an indian company puts its money where its mouth is, and brings out a best in class product, Most of us would rather pay a premium for a foreign product. Even in the past, companies like Akai, Philips, Sanyo etc, had invested in local production, but most of us were running after "made in japan" and "made in germany" products. I am not expecting people to buy an inferior product because its indian. But most people want imported stuff, and pay more for it, and ignore local products, then you get what you deserve.

Whining about why Foreign companies wont cut their profits or why the indian govt won't lower taxes is sheer hypocrisy IMO.

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Very true - although exceptions can and do exist
Mahindra vehicles can and do sell well and its not that they are priced at throw-away rates either compared to firang brands.

I'd have gladly brought a Rethm or similar make speaker over a KEF or Focal
But the issue is
a) availability - forget auditioning, i have no idea how to go about buying one even if I were to buy them blind.. And even where the know brand speakers aren't available for audition, you'll find plenty of pro/user reviews that would give you some degree of confidence
b) The pricing, even if available is no different or maybe even higher than what you can negotiate for the better known makes

Probably a classic chicken & egg situation - but it is what it is

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Govt wants it to be costly to import especially in developing countries to promote domestic companies.

An example of simplistic logic on part of the finance/commerce ministry in seeing all consumer electronics as one homogenous category. A nuanced segmentation will help them see that there are no Indian manufacturers (or Make in India either) in the quality (audiophile) audio electronics segment. A differential duty structure can ensure protection/encouragement for Indian manufactures of commodity AV products while allowing the audiophiles to import differentiated products (with no Indian alternatives except DIY/artisan) at internationally competitive prices.

 

[greenhorn]

High Fidelity is a want and not a need, and falls into the luxury good category. From the govt point of view, it serves no purpose to lose valuable forex in order to satisfy the discerning tastes of a few. If we are rich enough to spend 20k on a CD transport, we are rich enough to give up another 20k for the privilege of using it so that the money can be used for national building. Essential commodities such as petrol are still highly taxed, so forget about things like hifi

 

[firearm12]

there are exceptions - the Allo Boss DAC is available in india for 3.4K, while internationally its $65, which is more than that.
Now the Allo Boss is an amazing DAC, and at that price, slays much pricier competition - even at its international price,
But in this forum, you'll see most people running after videshi DAC's - even chinese dac's.

This is the other side of the coin. Even if an indian company puts its money where its mouth is, and brings out a best in class product, Most of us would rather pay a premium for a foreign product. Even in the past, companies like Akai, Philips, Sanyo etc, had invested in local production, but most of us were running after "made in japan" and "made in germany" products. I am not expecting people to buy an inferior product because its indian. But most people want imported stuff, and pay more for it, and ignore local products, then you get what you deserve.

Whining about why Foreign companies wont cut their profits or why the indian govt won't lower taxes is sheer hypocrisy IMO.

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Allo products are all manufactured in india. No need to import, so those taxes dont apply. This shows its not just about country. If quality is there no one is going to doubt if its made in india, though allo is just manufactured here, not designed. For some reason allo thought india was better in manufacturing than china, thats good.

Aesthetics is also important. Chinese are now experts in manufacturing electronics. No wonder their products from inside look professional and neat attracting people who like to take off the covers, made in japan is just another level, nothing to mention

 

[audiopro]

You can buy a small suv for 9 lacs. Yet a kef r 1 bookshelf costs 9 lacs. You can buy a top of the line computer for 1.5L. Yet a decent amplifier costs 4 to 8L. You can buy a fancy cupboard for 1 lac. So there is no excuse for audio pricing. Customs no customs etc. It's just milking of the end customer. Buy only at max 10 percent above US retail or UK retail prices or walk away. The market is small because too many sellers and companies entered it in the hope of making huge margins. Then suffer if the goal is to milk us. 4.15 lacs for a 2300 pound speaker? If Marantz, Cyrus, quad, vandersteen etc can give you competitive pricing in India then so can other brands. Just say NO as a customer and automatically the market will correct.

 

[tuff]

I agree that Indian brands can be on par as far as performance to price ratio compared to foreign brands. The trouble is i can come up with only 5 or 6 names of Indian brands at the top of my head. Imports are also easily available to purchase/ audition in comparison. We suck at brand building and marketing compared to the foreign counterparts. Speaker drivers are manufactured here in India but the finished product is done some where else. Same goes for copper cables used in various audio applications, but we cant seem to get the branding right.

 

[narayan_s]

Its also about the perception management, we think brands made in India do not last, have inferior quality, or inferior support. If this has to change the manufacturers have to provide world class quality and services. We are cost conscious because things can get expensive, even if locally produced.

I often see a complete lack of innovation in local brand products, they get complacent once some sales kick in thats just my experience ofcourse and I hope to be wrong here.

And finally where do we draw the line between want and need? As a society/civilization if we are stuck in things that we just need then I guess we do not need almost everything beyond the basic necessities to survive.