I know what the “at cost” price of the Oppo 205 is and your numbers are pretty far off—Oppo did not make that much margin on the players, and there is no middle man/distributor markup.
Before these final runs lots of retailers sold them so there much have been a wholesale price back then to stores.
At least according to the people I talked to in two local hifi shops, there is basically no profit selling Oppo. I asked why they still carry Oppo if there is no profit, both places said they carry Oppo as a service to their clients.
They gotta make something. I don’t buy the “out of the goodness of our hearts thing” in retail. Not for a second. Even a minimal 20% discount to resell.
As I vaguely recall, as told by sales people in both shops, it was a ridiculously low margin product, like $15 profit each. They told me that profit number after I asked for a discount and they refused. For other items in their shop, they were willing to give 10% off....
Likely it was 15% not $15 which they don't like because high end stuff has 30-40% markup. They might think that level of profit doesn't cover their running costs? If profit was $15 (£10) how come some UK retailers were selling the UDP 205 at £100+ discount.
I'm not privy to the margin on Oppo players sold at places like Best Buy. I bought a floor model 205 for $999 at Best Buy and I'm having a hard time believing they lost money on that sale.
Well, I checked Oppo UDP-205 (Blu-ray Players) and Oppo 205 were listed as £1399 for all shops, which is us$1779. That is much More than US$1299..... Curious, with £100+ discount, what is the best price you could get in England? Also, those price already included VAT of 20%?
I don't know if Bestbuy is ok with lossing money or not. But I thought they frequently offer "loss leaders" during Thanksgiving time. I bought my floor model Pioneer receiver for $900 and it originally retailed for $1600. Did they loss money? Well, if you know, do tell.
No way Best Buy would sell any product for cost (aside from maybe a demo unit or CD or video). Retailers got wholesale pricing.
Please explain to me why this thread seems to be turning into someone's political soapbox. P.S Sorry BR, but I quoted you because I couldn't find the original quote. Been removed I imagine.
Of course I know what a loss leader is Retailers don't used premium products like Apple, MacIntosh, OPPO and the like as loss leaders...
Sometimes there were Apple products sold at great discount during Thanksgiving sales. I bought one Ipad that way. Not sure they loss any money though..... One example: Best Buy's iPad Mini 2 Deal Says a Lot About Apple Regarding profit margins, I supposed Best Buy can get better profit by buying larger quantity of Oppo than small locally own stores....in my case, the profit number quoted to me was by small locally owned shops.
It'll be very interesting how the sales of the final batches of the 205 play out. Will it be multiple shipments? Will everyone that sent an interest email get one? I hope everyone gets one and that the process goes well so Oppo Digital can go out in a positive way .
$999 is under the wholesale price for the 205. I'm not sure how much I more I can say but I think it's OK to confirm that.
A few random thoughts on this... I always found it interesting that the Audio Advisor catalog sold Oppo players at $20 above asking. If the margins were that low, this would explain why. I'm someone familiar with the retail industry can explain how the floor model pricing works. It might be as simple as BB dumping the sample at What They Can Get pricing. I had a great experience with BB as the 103 was being phased out. I picked up a customer return (what a dope!) for $350, and a floor model a couple of months later for $150. One runs A/V through HDMI in a home theater and the other also gets video use. If nothing else, it's acted as a great incentive for me to avoid the 4K disc rabbit hole!.
I have no inside info on the retail industry or electronics sector as a whole, but I did end up dealing with a Magnolia Design Center store manager as part of a long, drawn out set of interactions that began with me being given the regular retail price of $1299 by a salesman for an Oppo 205 floor model, and ultimately getting it for $999 from the manager (thanks mainly to @Bill Mac supply me with a copy of his receipt for his $999 205 floor model purchase in his area - thanks Bill!). During this mini-saga, the manager told me that floor/display model pricing normally is at the sole discretion of the salesperson. Now, Magnolia Design Center staff don't necessarily have to follow the same rules as Best Buy staff (or even regular, non-Design-Center Magnolia staff, for all I know). And as far as I know the Magnolia folks are on commission, which plays into it as well. So it's entirely possible that floor-model pricing is set at a fixed discount percentage at Best Buy and many other retailers. But evidently at Magnolia Design Centers (which were the only places BB sold Oppo stuff), that was not the case.
Since I waited a looong time before signing up, I hope bunches of people on the list opt out. If I actually get one, then Oppo Digital will have gone out in a positive way.
