Taking the .....

[sam.henderson]

Don't get me wrong I think Martin make some quality fixtures and a lovely desk however looking at their price list on the AC Website they really are taking the p :unsure: :D s. They want £16 for a 10m bit of Cat5e UTP Patch cable!! And they want nearly £50 for 20m of 3 pin XLR!!

 

The sad thing is that there are probably some people who don't know a lot about lighting etc. who will pay this as they don't know what is a good price and what is a bad price!

 

If there are any other examples of price insania from manufacturers then please do post here and share!

 

Sam

[Andrew C]

Almost any "list" price lamp!

[Guest lightnix]

With respect, Sam, I don't think that's completely fair.

 

Don't forget that any distributor's price list (not just AC's) will include the distributors's mark-up / profit margin, which (please note) will not just go straight into the director's pockets, but will be used to pay their overheads.

 

Anyway, I've always found Martin leads to be of a very high quality. Sure, you can buy cheapo Cat 5 cable and cheapo connectors for very little money, but they won't stand the test of time and you'll just wind up having to spend more money to replace themey, which in the end will probably mean that you have spent more than you would, if you bought something decent in the first place :unsure:

[rockinrob]

I think martin are a rip off - got a wizzard for a club 2 year ago - its dull, theyve even brought out a new improved version now with brighter lamp - so that tells you that the old model wasent bright enough - it certainly cost enough! and all that DMX protcol using different pins to everyone else, then you have light jockey and the dongle, the after sales service is non existent, I also knew a lad who worked for them and he even said they were rubbish. now you can buy them from electrovision and have come down in price a little so the temptation is there to start using them again, but my past experiences and voice inside my head says dont!

[Frog Genius]

mac 500s and 250s are to expensive for many small time companys and more importantly MY SCHOOL - good as they maybe

[Stu]

I'm sorry, but what has that got to do with this thread? The OP point is that to the expensive nature of the list price of accessories provided by Martin, not the initial price of the fixtures themselves...

 

Stu

[paulears]

It is a fact of current sales price aggressiveness that many companies don't make much on their main products, they do make a decent mark-up on accessories. I just looked at the last invoice I've sent out. I made between 8 and 22% on the major items, but nearly half the profit from the job came from the odds and ends.

 

I don't see anything wrong with this. You don't HAVE to buy the leads and consumable stuff from them. You could make your own up. If you don't want to, it doesn't exactly seem very fair to moan at the manufacturer/distributer. For what it's worth, a 20m length of DMX with a couple of plugs may well cost me £25 for the components, if I buy just those bits as one offs from my usual suppliers, inc carriage and vat. Add my time at cost (in real terms) and making the thing up + parts is going to be £35, add a small markup and VAT and I see very well where the AC price comes from.

 

As for the OT comments about equipment prices - the same thing applies. I think Rolls Royces are very expensive and should be sold for £1000 to anyone who wants one - Total Rubish.

 

If a manufacturer prices something too high for the feature set, then it doesn't take long for sales to drop off as people move brand allegiance. Prices are not what it costs to make plus a pre-determined amount - it is what the market will stand. Get it wrong and you go bust, get it right and you have a succesful company. This is the real world. They don't build at a price point wish-list purchasers can afford.

[zonino]

I think martin are a rip off - got a wizzard for a club 2 year ago - its dull, theyve even brought out a new improved version now with brighter lamp - so that tells you that the old model wasent bright enough - it certainly cost enough!

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

so they shouldnt try to improve their products? and they shouldnt have brought out the mac 700 because its basically a brighter 550?

 

all that DMX protcol using different pins to everyone else

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

martin use standard DMX protocol...

[Modge]

 

all that DMX protcol using different pins to everyone else

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

martin use standard DMX protocol...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They do now, but it used to be the case that you needed to use a phase (polarity for the pedants) reverse bodge to run martin kit in DMX mode - martin protocol had the other pin. This was quite a while ago they changed but we still use some of that kit, because it has lasted well.

[slim_mcslim]

the prices of accessories pale into insignificance when you are placing a sizable order, if you are ordering 1 martin dc01 for £100 then a £20 cable is expensive, but if you are ordering £150,000 worth of macs then a few £20 cables is nothing. The last quote I just received for some equipment listed 20m 16a leads for £72 and 5m 16a leads for £25 but the whole quote came in over £350,000.00 so a few of these leads hardly dented the bottom line!!!!

 

slim...