Price Setting vs Price Fixing

[mrscoach]

My son needed headphones a couple years back to work on audio tracks for some games and programs he was making for his classes and we got him some nice ones that were way cheaper than bose because he didn't want those. I can't remember the name of the company right off hand, but I think it was German sounding. They canceled noise so well that he usually works with one side off his ear unless he wants total immersion in what he is working on, and he isn't building games anymore. I don't know if the company names in ear models, though. I'm just saying to look around because there are other acceptable brands out there.

I just looked it up and the brand is Sennheiser, and they do have some earbud designs that cancel noise. At least it is a place to start looking. Best Buy has one style for $40US.

[carpetmojo]

Here in the UK we have a quaint version of this, otherwise known as MRRP - "Manufacturer's Recommended Retail Price" .............

Which gives retailers the opportunity to imply in adverts that they are doing you a good deal out of the kindness of their hearts, as opposed to the mean old manufacturers who are not as nice as wot they are .........

It doesn't necessarily mean there is any relationship between the MRRP and what they charged the retailer, or that what they say has any effect whatever on what the retailer will/can do, as the manufacturer cannot fix/set/enforce any selling price .

However, there have been a few [prob quite a large few, actually] instances where supplies of goods have been "unavailable" to retailers who have shaved prices rather too close to the bone, in order to shift stuff in quantity.
This is of course enforced to a large extent by the "dealership/exclusive dealership" pattern, and goods only sold to these outlets. The cachet supposedly offered by this status is - again, supposedly - earned by various guidelines or requirements.
Which, of course, is open to "reassessment" etc.... for any number of reasons.

One wonders what might happen if an approved outlet built up a stock and then started belting it out at a "non-premium" price ?

[elemenoP]

Have you ever seen a product on Amazon that had a slash through the price and it says "Add to Cart to see the price"? That is because Amazon is selling the product for less than the "minimum advertised price."

http://consumerist.com/2007/09/26/wh...ertised-price/

I just finished "The Everything Store," a book about Amazon and Bezos (I highly recommend it!). There was a very good discussion about Wusthof's (the high-end German knife maker) difficult relationship with Amazon, and how it hurts a brand when a big retailer discounts the price. You can try to read it here if you are interested:

http://books.google.com/books?id=t95...%20map&f=false

eP

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

One wonders what might happen if an approved outlet built up a stock and then started belting it out at a "non-premium" price ?

One "solution" in the US is gray market distributors. A lot of electronics manufacturers set their wholesale prices by volume so one way the smaller players compete is by offloading part of their orders to distributors or online discounters. Most manufacturers grin and bear it because to clamp down is to lose the order altogether. And it is a very common practice. EBay practically lives off that stuff.

Another reason the manufacturers tolerate it is because they clamp down, their stuff doesn't move.

Most notably, for the last few years the big asian HDTV vendors (Sony, Sharp, Samsung, LG, etc) instituted a "Unilateral Pricing Policy" to limit discounting. Every spring, the new models ship with a MSRP and a suggested maximum discount. Violators find reorders take extra time... The invariable result: Vizio sales surge, slow quarterly sales numbers for the UPP models, inventories pile up, big discounts are grudgingly allowed in early fall. Happened in 2012, and 13.

http://hdguru.com/whats-upp-more-hdt...price-program/

Haven't checked to see if the message has gotten through yet for 2014.

[Katsunami]

Get something like a Shure SE215 or 315. You can listen to classical music at the lowest audio setting and not hear anything of the outside world.

I had the SE210 for 5 years and recently replaced them with SE315. (The line-up changed. SE215 and 315 are not successors to the SE210 and 310. The newer xx5 series sound different than the old xx0 series.)

[leebase]

Thanks for the heads up on the Shure's. I'm looking more for "ability to enjoy movies on a plane" than audiophile quality. As such, you may be saving me a good amount of money with the Shure SE215 recommendation. Of particular winning note...to me...are those that said they were good for comfort when laying on your side on a pillow.

It would be very nice to get a set of headphones to fall asleep with.

This line also has removable cables which is a nice plus. From the reviews, the 215's are a nice price/performance bargain. The 315's are better but a lot more. Both are much cheaper than the Bose I was considering.

And I was wrong, Amazon does indeed discount the Bose a little bit.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by leebase

It would be very nice to get a set of headphones to fall asleep with.

Ooh, try these..... I use them pretty much every night to listen to audiobooks.

http://www.sleepphones.com/

[ApK]

Originally Posted by mrscoach

They canceled noise so well that he usually works with one side off his ear unless he wants total immersion in what he is working on

You may be confusing noise-cancelling with isolation.
I'm betting the headphones your son had had really good isolation. It's possible that they may not have been noise-cancelling at all.

Active noise-cancelling, like in the Bose, is an electronic technology to block out certain waveforms at certain frequencies--usually those associated industrial background noise like from motors, engines, etc--but they don't necessarily block out the sound of someone talking to you, an alarm going off, a dog barking, etc.
Isolation is blocking out as much outside sound as possible, usually by covering or plugging the ears with lots of good soundproofing material, like with shooters earmuffs or earplugs.

Just sayin'. Sennheiser certainly makes noise-cancelling sets as well. It's just that that is not what tends to make people leave one ear uncovered. It's usually the isolation.

By the way, I have several inexpensive sets of Sony and Maxell noise-canceling headphone that I use for air travel. They were under $30 each, and I like them, but I have never tried the Bose models on an actual flight, so have no idea what I may be missing or if they are really worth the extra $200. My experience with Bose speakers and radios matches what someone mentioned above. They are OK, better than the cheapest stuff certainly, but not worth the markup they want people to believe their brand deserves. There is usually better stuff to be had for the price.

ApK

[mrscoach]

ApK, you could be right, but I think I remember them stating on the packaging "noise canceling". I really think the pulling off of one ear is more a psychological thing because, either way, you have to practically wave a hand in front of his face to get his attention if he is writing code. He definitely went into the right field for him.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by mrscoach

I really think the pulling off of one ear is more a psychological thing because, either way, you have to practically wave a hand in front of his face to get his attention if he is writing code.

Yeah, in situations like that, noise-cancelling headphones are totally redundant.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

Ooh, try these..... I use them pretty much every night to listen to audiobooks.

http://www.sleepphones.com/

Ordering one for my wife right now! I hope she doesn't see this thread.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by leebase

Thanks for the heads up on the Shure's. I'm looking more for "ability to enjoy movies on a plane" than audiophile quality. As such, you may be saving me a good amount of money with the Shure SE215 recommendation. Of particular winning note...to me...are those that said they were good for comfort when laying on your side on a pillow.

It would be very nice to get a set of headphones to fall asleep with.

This line also has removable cables which is a nice plus. From the reviews, the 215's are a nice price/performance bargain. The 315's are better but a lot more. Both are much cheaper than the Bose I was considering.

And I was wrong, Amazon does indeed discount the Bose a little bit.

Do note that the 215 have a lot more bass than the 315. Too much, imho. This is because many people complained that the 210 and 310 were 'too balanced.' It's the reason why I went from 210 to 315. If I want more bass, I'll use the equalizer.

Shure reshuffled the type numbers, specs, characteristics, and prices, so the new xx5 line is completely different from the old xx0. So, don't read reviews of the xx0 series, expecting the xx5 series to be similar, better versions. You'd be deceiving yourself.

By the way: don't discount the Shures because of their lower prices. They became popular in recent years, and dropped in price a lot. The SE310 cost like $300 a few years. Shure is a very respected brand in the audio community. (Search for their SM57 microphone.... It's legendary.)

BOSE is much less well regarded with people who are looking for delivering correct and balanced audio. Shure is much better at that (except for the intentionally bass heavy 215). However, if you're looking for 'exciting' in-ears, Shure is not for you. These are monitor earbuds, geared toward accuracy and cutting out environmental noise, and don't provide a 'special' sound stage. If you want that, BOSE will be better for you.

[leebase]

Bose is consistently rated in a classy by itself for noise canceling. Not the audiofile quality, but the noise canceling. Which is what I was in search of. And I really like my QC15's for that. They are heaven on a plane. I also got them for free using my hotel points...sometimes it's good to travel a lot.

I'm not sure my ears are good enough to worry about audiofile quality. I know that I don't spend any effort getting audiofile source material. Add to that, podcasts and audio books are more of what I listen to than music these days. So no...I don't need to pay top dollar for the best sounding music.

I was frustrated, however, due to not being able to hear the movie I was watching on my iPad the last plane trip I took. I fly regularly. And normally take the QC15's, but was trying to save space and only took my Apple ear pods. I had to press my hands over my ears to try to hear the plane was so loud.

Noise isolation should work for this purpose as well as noise cancellation. I'm hoping.

The whole "sleep comfort" is another point of consideration. It's the other "what I don't like about my current headphones". Can't sleep on my side at all with the over the ear Bose...and the Apple ear pods aren't particularly comfortable...such that I usually take out the side I'm sleeping on.

A plus for the over the ears headphones....they were nice for my winter walks...acted like ear muffs

[Katsunami]

These Shures I advice are not headphones. They are in-ears. They also don't do noise-cancelling; they are isolating earbuds, and very good at it. If you put up some music, you'll be unable to hear a train brake or a plane take off. If you use them on a bike in busy traffic, you'll kill yourself as you'll be unable to hear the horn of the truck that is going to flatten you in 5 more seconds.

Yes, they are that good, if you find the right sealing earpiece. You get a bunch of different ones.

[leebase]

Yes, if I get the Shures (or any noise isolation), I'll still need my regular headphones to go on runs and such. Which is ok, as I have no complaints with my Apple EarPods for that use. If my new set allows me to enjoy sound isolation on a plane, and sleep with them on my side, that would be worth it to me.

That they are half the price of the Bose QC20's....all the better. Although it's sad that you have to pay $50 for the iPhone cables...and people say they are not as nice as the cables that come with the headphones.