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When is 30% only 20% or even 15%? When Sonos say it is.

Just been to Richer Sounds (UK hifi chain) as they were advertising the 30% trade-in discount for the legacy products. I have 3 legacy items (ZP100 and 2 Connect amps). I formed the rational that Sonos were not going to change tack so I would take the opportunity to restructure my system (13 zones made up of 16 Sonos products) and replace the 3 legacy items with a Move, a Port and an SL,spending around close to £700. So checked the website and rang them to check prices and stock. All good, 30% of their listed prices. However by the time I got to the store today things have changed, when keying in the sale the discount was not as expected it was only off the rrp. I asked the guy to check with head office, which he kindly did. It seems that Sonos are only willing to “support” them with 30% off the rrp. 

The point is that Richer Sounds, John Lewis and Amazon are all selling the Move for £359 and the SL for £159 therefore the real discount is only 20%.

Now here’s another little nugget. My wife works for a UK bank. They have an affinity deal by which employees get 15% off Sonos products (direct from Sonos). 

So in real terms there is no 30% discount for loyal customers, the real discount level for trading legacy Sonos products is 15%.

I am pi**ed off because I now feel that Sonos are taking the pi** out of me by offering a discount in the full knowledge that it is utterly fictitious. Let’s not forget rrp can be anything a company decides it to be and not real world competitive pricing. That’s where real discounts are applied.

As this is posted in the “What To Get” from Sonos forum we can safely conclude….  absolutely nothing other than a slap in the face.

 


 

So many postings along these lines …..

 

Sonos are offering a ‘trade-in’, the terms and conditions are theirs.   You have a choice, you can take it if you want, you can leave it, you can buy elsewhere or you can buy something else altogether.

 

The ‘trade-in’ is not a right, no matter how aggrieved you feel.  I have a dozen other bits of tech in my house that have reached ‘end of life’ as far as firmware upgrades go, and not one of the manufacturers offered me a trade-up to anything.   I’m not saying you should feel grateful about Sonos’s offer  — there *is* a trade-in.   To complain that it’s terms don’t suit you seems churlish.

 

andrew 

There is no lie with the 30% offer.  Manufacturer’s discounts are rarely going to be on top of, or in addition to,  a retailer’s discount or any other discount you might be able to get.  This is pretty standard and something I think most consumers are very much aware of.

 

I’m sure I’m not alone on this, but I’ll typically strategically use these ‘not valid with any other offer’ type discounts when no other discount is available or an items where no other discount is likely to be available.  For example you aren’t likely see retailer discounts on the Sonos speaker sets, so I’d would save the 30% discount for when I want one of those, while using the $40 retailer sale on the single items where it applies.

 

Worth pointing out that you can actually use the 30% discount to get a total dollar savings greater than the original dollar value of the item you’re trading in.

 

Churlish maybe, a little frustrated definitely. The point is that a virtue is being made of a discount level that isn’t really there. My frustration lies more in that while I totally accepted the need to upgrade to keep things relevant and serviceable ( new features etc) I was perhaps naive in expecting 30% to be carried into the real world. My assumption being that as every retailer is charging the same then this is the retailer price ( anyone can claim a discount on rrp) while Sonos charge more so they don’t undercut their retailer network. Nothing new or untoward about that but the retailer price is the normal price.

Churlish maybe, a little frustrated definitely. The point is that a virtue is being made of a discount level that isn’t really there. My frustration lies more in that while I totally accepted the need to upgrade to keep things relevant and serviceable ( new features etc) I was perhaps naive in expecting 30% to be carried into the real world. My assumption being that as every retailer is charging the same then this is the retailer price ( anyone can claim a discount on rrp) while Sonos charge more so they don’t undercut their retailer network. Nothing new or untoward about that but the retailer price is the normal price.

 

Your frustration should be with the retail industry as a whole then, not Sonos specifically.  Sonos discount is not out of the ordinary here.

I agree with Sapperjohn, even without discounts, retail prices in my region are about 15% lower than what I see in the Sonos online store.
 

So it may not technically be a lie, it feels like one.

 

...retail prices in my region are about 15% lower than what I see in the Sonos online store.

 

I wonder what will happen when Sonos offer discounts as they do at certain times of the year? Will the 30% trade-in value apply to the discounted price?

I’ve never seen that in any other company, I wouldn’t see why Sonos would want to be the first. 

Right now this issue is in a worst case scenario.  There is an almost 30% discount for everyone anyhow. Makes the trade up pretty useless. 

Then don’t trade up

Right now this issue is in a worst case scenario.  There is an almost 30% discount for everyone anyhow. Makes the trade up pretty useless. 

 

The trade in discount is 30% off any single item, including sets.  That can mean several $100s off.  I’m not aware of anything on sale for $100s off. $50 is the most I’ve seen, including Sonos One which amounts to 25%, but that’s only one case.  The sale is only on certain products, and surely for a limited time, while the trade up discount doesn’t expire.  Doesn’t seem like a useless discount to me.

Trading up a busted CR-200 for a 5.1 Beam setup gives you a nice number.

Set of 2 Sonos ones is 298 (regularly 398).   So almost a 30% discount.  

So if I’m given a 10% off and 30% off coupon … the 30% off is really only a 20% because there is a 10% coupon out there as well.   Is that the logic here … really?   What happened to being excited for 30% …. I would be.

We’ve now reached peak discount. Regular people who don’t have the 30% trade in discount can now get One or One SL for less than us “special” people who have the 30% trade in discount………….Seriously?????

We’ve now reached peak discount. Regular people who don’t have the 30% trade in discount can now get One or One SL for less than us “special” people who have the 30% trade in discount………….Seriously?????

First off, your math is off, or maybe it’s different depending on region.  In the US the trade in is a slightly better price than the sale price.  Even if it wasn’t it’s not as if you HAVE to use the trade in discount and can’t use the sale price.   The sale is for a limited time on a few Sonos items.  Your trade in discount is on any single item (including sets) and has no expiration.  So use the trade in on a different item, or save it for later.  If you don’t want anything but what’s on sale, and never will, then trade it to a buddy for a 6 pack of beer.

 

I don’t see sale prices as being cheated on my trade in value.  I see it as a win win.

 

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