UK Price Rises
Userlevel 2
I was very disappointed to be informed of the Sonos price rises in the UK. Although the dollar rate is blamed it doesn't account for why the products are much cheaper in some countries? £100 rise on the Sub and Playbar is just too much. I am very lucky that my system is now pretty complete but think UK sales will suffer
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Userlevel 7
+22
I'm not entirely sure why somebody felt it necessary to make snarky comments suggesting long time posters would be "celebrating" the price rise. And indeed I'm not sure why anybody would think that Sonos would be happy with having to make a very difficult commercial decision. But make it they have.
if the reason for the increase is down to USD/GBP exchange rate changes, then why do the prices not drop when the exchange rate goes the other way? Also why is the increase ranging from 15% to 25%, surely the increase would be the same for all products?
Userlevel 7
+22
Forget Hi-Res
Sonos have already announced Echo support is on the way
UK wanted to Brexit, didn't it? Deal with it.
Userlevel 7
+21
Deal with it.
No I don't like the price rise as it means I may have to buy a playbar now and hide it for a while 😞
I've done a bit of math (can't post it here because it won't get past the Spam filters). Subtracting the difference for the VAT and given the exchange rate as of this AM, the Play:5 - VAT% x exchange rate gives the same price in the UK as the US. Same for the Playbar. Even starting from the US price and adding VAT yields only a £18-20 difference, which could easily be chalked up to shipping expenses, or just plain old "nearest hundred" price rounding.
So the real question to ask is why the hell US residents have been paying so much more than the UK for the last few months!? (Just kidding) 😉
So the real question to ask is why the hell US residents have been paying so much more than the UK for the last few months!? (Just kidding) 😉
Fully agree with you all in the UK, Sonos what are you playing at?!! Sometimes price rises are inevitable, but what I see is a short sighted decision no doubt to increase prices on OLD technology (some comments have also picked up on this), BIG mistake!! The size of the rises is a joke and I'm sure consumers will research other brands and products more closely before purchasing. I bought into the Sonos eco system like you all and had planned to buy another Play5 and Connect:AMP to run a turntable through. Where is the innovation with Sonos like with Apple? It's too thin (update app and new Play5 in 2015, whoohoo) I would like to see a Play 1 with battery hot shoe to take anywhere (Bose have a battery powered Smart Touch speaker). The rises will hurt business I'm sure in the UK, rises are no way to attract new customers, keep loyal customers and see repeat purchases. Oh dear, own goal!
Didn't take to long for the answer to that question to surface, lol.
Also, the ringgit comment is incorrect, if you believe Sonos' official statement:
“We pay for everything we make in US dollars,” the California-domiciled Sonos said in a statement. “Over recent months, there has been a significant change on the US dollar to GBP exchange rate. As a result, our existing pricing has become unsustainable and, like many other companies, we have to increase prices for all products priced in GBP.”
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/13/sonos-hikes-uk-prices-by-25-due-to-brexit
So, forgive me for working with what the most vocal commentators were stating, not to mention Sonos' official statement.
Actually I don't believe that they pay for everything in US dollars, unless they mean they pay in US dollars before buying Malaysian currency. Sonos has offices in Malaysia and produces in Malaysia; I am sure they know full well how to play the currency game. And they would almost certainly have a hedging strategy. But Sonos is a private company, so we'll never know, will we? However, they would not be astute business people if they did not take advantage of the fact that Malaysian currency has not suffered the same exchange variations as the pound, relative to the US dollar.
Actually I don't believe that they pay for everything in US dollars, unless they mean they pay in US dollars before buying Malaysian currency. Sonos has offices in Malaysia and produces in Malaysia; I am sure they know full well how to play the currency game. And they would almost certainly have a hedging strategy. But Sonos is a private company, so we'll never know, will we? However, they would not be astute business people if they did not take advantage of the fact that Malaysian currency has not suffered the same exchange variations as the pound, relative to the US dollar.
Doesn't mean squat to the fact that my replies were directed at the folks making comparisons between US pricing and UK pricing. Are folks in the UK justified in being ticked off at such a large increase? 100% yes. Are there shenanigans going on with Sonos' statement? Who knows? Does the ringgit/USD exchange figure in? Probably.
But, is comparing the US list price vs. the UK list price an accurate comparison without figuring in VAT, considering any sales tax in the US is applied by the states at time of purchase? 100% no, and that was the only point I was making. I stand by that point. The rest matters not one whit to me, the Brits can argue about it themselves.
[quote=Toolio][quote=jgatie]
Talk about missing the forest for the trees. The issue here is a significant price increase. Nobody, no matter where they live, likes a price increase. It is quite common for people, no matter where they live, to complain about rising prices. Frankly, I doubt that the residents of the UK shopping for now-more-expensive Sonos gear care what the US pricing is. I certainly do not, because I do not, nor have I ever, lived in the US. As others have pointed out, what should be more relevant are exchange fluctuations between the ringgit and the UK pound, since the products are made in Malaysia and presumably exported to Britain. Over the past year there hasn't been much change, although there have been significant fluctuations.
Even the Apple fanboys would laugh at the Sonos fanboys like Jgatie applauding a £100 price rise on outdated technology.
Now I have seen it all.
Lol. ;););););)
Talk about missing the forest for the trees. The issue here is a significant price increase. Nobody, no matter where they live, likes a price increase. It is quite common for people, no matter where they live, to complain about rising prices. Frankly, I doubt that the residents of the UK shopping for now-more-expensive Sonos gear care what the US pricing is. I certainly do not, because I do not, nor have I ever, lived in the US. As others have pointed out, what should be more relevant are exchange fluctuations between the ringgit and the UK pound, since the products are made in Malaysia and presumably exported to Britain. Over the past year there hasn't been much change, although there have been significant fluctuations.
Even the Apple fanboys would laugh at the Sonos fanboys like Jgatie applauding a £100 price rise on outdated technology.
Now I have seen it all.
Lol. ;););););)
There are others reading this thread, who might be interested. Your continued involvement or lack of involvement in this discussion is immaterial. Feel free to not be interested, or to not care what the price is in the UK, or to be counted out. The original poster was not comparing UK and US prices. The message said: "Although the dollar rate is blamed", in reference to the fact that Sonos did just that. He did not start this discussion by comparing prices in the two countries, but by lamenting a price increase in the UK and the fact that "the products are much cheaper in some countries."
My replies were to those (particularly alberto98) who were posting about the disparity between US and UK list prices. As such, they were on-topic and to the point. Up until then, I never said anything in this thread beside a humorous reply to a cheap shot attack. Why you are trying to make my posts out to be an attack on the OP, a statement on the right of others to be angry, or anything else other than to clarify an oft seen mistake due to included VAT vs. excluded state tax, I'll never know.
Go ahead, have the last word. I've spent far too much time on your BS. :8
I've never compared us to uk prices; I couldn't give a monkeys what they cost in the US. My post was about using the bullsh!t excuse for us and uk currency to put the prices up. If currency rates dictated the cost to the end user we'd have seen price reductions before now.
It's like catnip to a cat.
Interested that people are defending this. Sonos have gone out on a complete limb and raised prices significantly more than any other AV company that I can find (I'm seeing no prices rises and then a band in the 8-10% range), it smacks of opportunism to be honest. Compounded with that is that the price rises now bring them very close to Bluesound pricing, which I don't think many people would argue against being a stronger product.
It's an odd decision. I'm mid-house renovation and was about to pull the trigger on 3 connects to compliment my other Sonos kit, now pausing and considering shifting my kit onto ebay and moving wholesale across to Bluesound. Without the prices increases I think I would have stayed static.
It's an odd decision. I'm mid-house renovation and was about to pull the trigger on 3 connects to compliment my other Sonos kit, now pausing and considering shifting my kit onto ebay and moving wholesale across to Bluesound. Without the prices increases I think I would have stayed static.
Actually, I think many people in this discussion have stated their cases quite clearly, showing considerable knowledge of business and economics--including those with whom I have disagreed above.
Exchange rates and their variations are just one input into the pricing decision/policy, regardless of what reasons may be ascribed to price changes. The price for a geographical market depends on the competitive scenario there as well, and is based on an assessment of what the desired market can bear. Some achieve the necessary fine balance better than others. Customers will always voice anger at price rises, so to some extent, this input is more noise and less signal.
As to the Canada situation, I know people that go to the US on weekends to shop, although I guess this is too small a drop in the bucket to trouble Canada. With Trump and people wanting to relocate to Canada, will they add to this set of weekend shoppers?!:D
As to the Canada situation, I know people that go to the US on weekends to shop, although I guess this is too small a drop in the bucket to trouble Canada. With Trump and people wanting to relocate to Canada, will they add to this set of weekend shoppers?!:D
"Exchange rates and their variations are just one input into the pricing decision/policy, regardless of what reasons may be ascribed to price changes. The price for a geographical market depends on the competitive scenario there as well, and is based on an assessment of what the desired market can bear."
Thanks, Kumar, for some understanding of business and markets that is much needed on this thread.
Thanks, Kumar, for some understanding of business and markets that is much needed on this thread.
😃. Perhaps it is a lot easier to be objective when one isn't in the affected geography and/or has no further buying intent.
"Exchange rates and their variations are just one input into the pricing decision/policy, regardless of what reasons may be ascribed to price changes. The price for a geographical market depends on the competitive scenario there as well, and is based on an assessment of what the desired market can bear."
Thanks, Kumar, for some understanding of business and markets that is much needed on this thread."
For some reason the forum quote mechanism is no longer working for me. Hence the handmade quote above. I'm sure that most members of this group are aware of the obvious, as stated above. It is Sonos, not its customers, that is attributing the need for price increases solely to exchange rates and the questionable assertion that "we pay for everything we make in U.S dollars."
Thanks, Kumar, for some understanding of business and markets that is much needed on this thread."
For some reason the forum quote mechanism is no longer working for me. Hence the handmade quote above. I'm sure that most members of this group are aware of the obvious, as stated above. It is Sonos, not its customers, that is attributing the need for price increases solely to exchange rates and the questionable assertion that "we pay for everything we make in U.S dollars."
Of course the company has the right to price its products however it wishes. And customers have the right to complain about a company that prices however it wishes. There are two sides of the equation, the seller and the buyer. The last time I looked, these forums consisted mainly of buyers. Why wouldn't they complain here? I'm always amused by the commenters, and there a few of them here, who opine and then inform other participants not to bother replying because they won't be listening. In a phrase, "who cares?" This is a discussion forum, and people discuss.
Trouble is, you buy into sonos by getting a good start deal ( in my case a connect, connect amp and bridge) for a good price (£650) but then find expansion is expensive. Tempting to say, sod it I'll sell the sonos on eBay and start again with the (much higher end) naim unity system ... But the cheapest component of that is the £1200 uniti quite which is, basically, a connect amp. Suddenly sonos doesn't seem so spensive! 😃
Only 2 replies and already up to speed about forum members? If ever I saw a sock puppet spammer...
Before brexit pound to euro 1.40
Now exchange rate 1.17
Edited by Max P due to profanity.
Now exchange rate 1.17
Edited by Max P due to profanity.
Userlevel 4
+8
For information, link to the new pricing structure:
https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4252
https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4252
Only 2 replies and already up to speed about forum members? If ever I saw a sock puppet spammer...
You know who they are then. Lol. They are out celebrating at the Sonos Price Rise Party - you were not invited it seems.:D
Please guys, have a look of this, and after tell your opinion about if it is an excuse or not.
Pound-USD (average rate per year)
Year 2014: 1.6477
Year 2016: 1.3556
Year 2017: 1.2388
Pound-USD (average rate per year)
Year 2014: 1.6477
Year 2016: 1.3556
Year 2017: 1.2388
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