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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142 replies

I don't think I have read as much garbage on any thread ever as on this one.

Sonos wants to maximise its profits in the UK (as everywhere), as it should do. The new prices are those at which it thinks it will do so, in the current situation. It makes not a blind bit of difference whether or not this is really currency / Brexit related. Sonos is entitled to list its products at any prices it wants, and if it gets it wrong, it will suffer. That is commercial reality. It doesn't HAVE to justify its strategy to anyone. Nobody HAS to buy the products.

There is no inalienable human right to buy Sonos at a particular price. To read the nonsense written by so many people on this thread you'd think there were.

And as for those who have never even run a whelk stall but think they are better judges of Sonos' business strategy than the entrepreneurs who have built a multi-billion dollar business... well, the arrogance is staggering.

And one final point for all those saying the increases are suicide. Denon, Yamaha, Bluesound, Bose.... which of these competitors has its costs denominated in sterling? They are all feeling the currency pain in the UK. Will their strategy be to absorb the currency losses to steal market share? Or will they follow with their own price hikes? I have no idea - this is business and it is tough and competitive. But let's see how competitive or otherwise Sonos' prices look in a few months.

For avoidance of doubt I'm am not trying to defend the price increase, nor criticise it. I have no idea if it is a good or bad decision. It's the spectacular ignorance of business and the stupidity of so much of the comment as a result, that makes me want to scream.

Rant over.
Userlevel 2
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Where's Ratty & Jgatie to celebrate the price rise and say how good it is? Lol. 😉
I welcome the price rise, as I am totally fed up with constant problems with the Sonos kit so will be selling the lot and moving to Bose. The higher prices mean my 2nd hand kit is worth just a little more 🙂 It's a shame Sonos have not sorted all the problems that you read so much about on this forum, before adding a hefty premium to already overpriced kit.
Userlevel 7
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That's what you get when you Brexit.
Userlevel 1
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I think it's encouraging that Sonos have decided to match their pricing to the exchange rates, personally I'll be waiting a few months for the massive price drop. That is how it works now? :8
Userlevel 5
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As I said, I couldn't care less about all that. The only reason I posted what I did is if you are going to compare prices between two countries, at least make it an apples to apples comparison. If one wants to get into the minutia of all that BS, feel free, but count me out. I don't care what the freaking price is in the UK, as I stated in my first post.

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."
Absolutely outrageous! I wanted a couple of more Play3s in a couple of months time, I'll be looking elsewhere now. With price rises around 20% to 25% I think Sonos are committing business suicide! Why such huge increases?
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I can understand the need for a price rise but £70 on a Play:5 is just too much, it's good but it's not worth £500! £700 for a Soundbar with no HDMI inputs is ridiculous :?
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Sonos just added £100 to a 4 year old bit of kit, that is absolute business suicide.

The exchange rate was 1.5 back in Feb 2013 when the playbar was launched. Today's exchange rate is 1.25 - that does not equate to an extra £100!

This will go down in history. Almost comical.
Utter joke, SONOS make some great kit but some of the decisions the management board make are amateurish. Personally that's me done with them, I am thankfully not far into my home SONOS fit but will move to other products now and sell up. I get currency conversions but we are not stupid, £100 on a dated and poor featured soundbar!!! Old tech should go down not up. I would understand if you were charging the new price for a new soundbar with DTS and Atmos. The % rises don't reflect currency rises nor the equivalent cost of the kit elsewhere in the world. Big mistake
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Before brexit pound to euro 1.40
Now exchange rate 1.17


Pound to Euro was 1.14 in 2013 We are currently above that, and more in line with 2014.

go educate yourself.


Maybe so but the point is Brexit is being used as an excuse by companies like Sonos to hike prices up for consumers, only way to respond to them is to vote with your feet and boycott their products.


I quite agree - businesses are using Brexit and the exchange rate with the USA as an excuse to hike prices. And the forecasts for the pound and dollar is for this to improve - you can bet Sonos will not put prices back down when they do.

However, the fact is most retailers are adding 10% onto their prices; but Sonos, as ever, want to portray themselves as luxury so they buck the trend and put their products up by 20%.

It's as if the marketing team still think it's 1990. Consumers have more information at hand these days, consumers are more savvy, it's suicide.
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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


Wasn't it you who said above: "So you are welcome for the price break, while we here in the states were paying what you are finally paying now!" Does that sound like a friendly, non-partisan response to anything? It sounds more like a Sonos shill. It's usually the person giving who says "you're are welcome." That would be Sonos, would it not? (Assuming you were correct, although I'm not convinced you are.)
Userlevel 5
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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.


It's difficult for some Americans to fathom that the U.S. is not the center of the universe. "Some," but by no means all.
I'm a huge fan of Sonos products, but a price hike is a mistake. Sonos prices are now in the realm of the Bluesound Node 2 which quick frankly blows Sonos out of the water as it streams in Hi-res, something sadly lacking in Sonos products. I agree with Tim, UK sales are bound to suffer.
Currency exchange price increases are getting more common with the GBP rate etc (and some Brexit excuses elsewhere too) BUT the USD to GBP has changed 20cents in the last year. That's 14%. Sonos have just increased some of the range by 25%. Good excuse................
Likewise, glad I have that I want and need now.
This could be a busy and popular topic.
Really dissapointed Sonos is jumping on the Brexit band wagon as an excuse to raise prices. Sonos will not be top of my list when it comes time to upgrade.
Exploitation, no other words required!
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Love Sonos but this is frankly nuts, the UK already paid a hefty premium for Sonos kit. The competitive landscape has evolved over the last 2 years, Sonos makes nice kit and has a great UI but was already frothy price wise. This will just kill the market for them. Shame
Userlevel 2
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Enjoy the brexit dickheads.
Before brexit pound to euro 1.40
Now exchange rate 1.17


Pound to Euro was 1.14 in 2013 We are currently above that, and more in line with 2014.

go educate yourself.
Outrageous opportunism from Sonos anyone who pays these inflated prices needs there head examining. Rip off Britain again. I have 6 Sonos zones, bought over a few years, but no more. Bye bye Sonos, all your missing is a mask! I suggest anyone who gets the email click the unsubscribe link.
Enjoy the brexit dickheads.
Before brexit pound to euro 1.40
Now exchange rate 1.17


Pound to Euro was 1.14 in 2013 We are currently above that, and more in line with 2014.

go educate yourself.


Maybe so but the point is Brexit is being used as an excuse by companies like Sonos to hike prices up for consumers, only way to respond to them is to vote with your feet and boycott their products.
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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


In the retail world, old products (such as the Playbar which is 4 years old this month) depreciate in cost. That is how retail works.

Old, in retail is 12 months.

Even with poor exchange rates, there is no justification in a 20% hike.
Sonos just added £100 to a 4 year old bit of kit, that is absolute business suicide.

The exchange rate was 1.5 back in Feb 2013 when the playbar was launched. Today's exchange rate is 1.25 - that does not equate to an extra £100!

This will go down in history. Almost comical.
You are correct. It equates to £119.
You lot voted for Brexit. Blame yourselves. Could be worse. At least you're not stuck with Trump.Sadly, the whole world is.