Count me as another sucker for the scam. Around 5 years ago I was approached by the “White Van” and fed the same line (I think the story was they were from a concert and were insurance write-offs or something).
Anyroads, not only did they deliver the speakers to my flat (yeah, let’s let perfect strangers into my flat – smart move SD. I was a student at that point so I had nothing to steal).
I was very pleased with them, they certainly looked the part and when I priced similar speakers I hadn’t paid a stupid amount over cost (with the delivery and all ). I did talk them down somewhat, since I was a student and skint – I figure I paid the mimimum they’d have taken – so they probably make drinking money for the three of them that night and not much more.
Later I sold them second hand to a friend for half price.
Funny thing is a year or so later I bought them back (at half that price) and now they’re sitting in front of me acting as my main front speakers. Interestingly much like Bangiadore they’re fine even when I get the chance to crank 'em up really loud.
So I guess I shouldn’t feel any moral dilema about accepting these speakers if I’m ever presented with the white van opportunity? I’m not really doing something unethical by accepting “extra” merchandise?
Really, I feel good about it, because they don’t look like bad speakers, and as long as they don’t completely suck, they’re better than what I have now – I’m no audiophile.
Oh… I meant to ask, what’d be a “real” fair price to offer the idiots? Because when I go into someplace like Best Buy, all of the speakers are expensive as hell, and like I said, I don’t know the friggin difference. So if I could get a good deal from the white van people, I’d not be adverse to taking it.
Reread Bangiador’s comment. Occasionally, they come as empty cabinets. It’s not like they’re going to let you check the sound out in your house.
If you’re really looking for cheap stuff, you could just buy the cones and drill them into a couple pieces of 2x4s that you’ve made to the stands. (Of course, a large part of how the speaker sounds is the cabinet itself). Hell, I’ve got a pair of 16watt micromonitor speakers that I picked up for $80 that sound better than almost anything else I’ve previewed for less than $300.
In a bout of incredible timing, I got approached by these guys about 12 or 13 years ago, the day after I first heard about the scam.
There was some discussion about it on Prodigy, and the very next day I was in a local plaza when these two chuckleheads pulled up and laid their spiel on me.
"Duuuude! Check this out! We got <insert scripted BS story here>!"
“Get outta here, really?”
"Yeah man, we can totally hook you up!"
“Talk about timing. It was just yesterday that I heard about this scam, and here you are trying to pull it on me.”
"Scam?? What scam? These are great speakers!"
“Ok, well, one – I’m not an audiophile, so I could really give a rat’s ass if you’re going to sell me God’s own sound system for 50 bucks. And two – yes, this is a scam. You just gave me a word-for-word telling of a story I just heard about this. And oh look, there’s a cop right there. Maybe I’ll go have a word with him…”
"Fuckin’ asshole!" <Jump in van and blow outta there>
Yeah, it’s hard to give the impression that their product “ordinarily” sells for a high price without breaking usual marketing conventions. (Or bunko laws, in some jurisdictions which strive to protect little-old ladies from $5000 vacuum-cleaner salesmen-- you can’t legally offer something for sale at a price which is in excess of it’s market value, so simply listing their speakers with a $1500 pricetag would be right out.) They’ve got to put something out there for folks who a tiny bit of due diligence before coughing up the cash, and it’s got to be vague.
That being said, I can remember a time when “the” audiophile store in Vancouver used to regularly run ads emphasizing how pricey they were, though – one print ad that ran for ages said simply “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it,” with their name, address, and telephone number. Going for the “prestige” market, I guess. They must have eventually realized that most consumers (even the moneyed ones,) are a little more sophisticated than that, though.
). I did talk them down somewhat, since I was a student and skint – I figure I paid the mimimum they’d have taken – so they probably make drinking money for the three of them that night and not much more.
:wally