I am considering an Alpine 9813 deck. Crutchfield sells it for $400. I went to Pricegrabber and found it at Bestpriceaudiovieo.com for $300. The website says that they are authorized dealers for all products sold. I thought it was odd since they were selling so much cheaper. I called their 800 number and they told me $300 for the 9813 and $385 for the 9815. I asked if they were authorized Alpine dealers and they said yes.

I then sent an email to them asking for the same information (2 days and no response). I then called Alpine and they said that they are not authorized.

I doubt I will do business with them since their honesty seems to be lacking.

My question is how important do you think it is to purchase from an authorized dealer?

Thanks,

 

sound domain is authorized for pretty much everything i think, and will 105% price match most web prices.

 

A certain amount of trust is required when dealing with a non-authorized dealer.

I sell most audio equipment and am not authorized for many. So my warranty policy is to cover it for the same terms as the manufacturer - but you have to return it to me. I can then return it for repair/replacement on your behalf.

Given the info you got back from Bestpriceaudiovieo.com I would say the trust component is out the door.

Most authorized online dealers will only price match other online authorized dealers.

 

this is really a personal comfort question. the main thing you get from an "authorized" dealer is a guarantee of warranty support.

so if you're worried about getting a dud receiver from alpine then get it from crutchfield. otherwise get it from somewhere like etronics.com which has good prices and a pretty decent rep.

the other option is to try to pricematch it at an authorized dealer. a lot of times they will not price match an unauthroized dealer, but i've had some success in the past especially sounddomain.com, they are very liberal with their price-matching, but they don't carry alpine receivers.

 

I'd rather buy used on ebay than from an un-authorized online store - save even more $ for the same risk factor.

 

Beat you!

http://store.yahoo.com/discountsonline/alc...cdincdplco.html

 

Crutchfield does not discount. Look at most of their prices, you can get it locally for the same price. Unless Crutchfield has changed since I last dealt with them. They are usually knowledgeable, have items in stock and have almost everything you need in one place.

Lance

 

Hey bro..........if you want Alpine gear, I'll get it to you and I am an authorized dealer. Although I cannot go as low as this online company that you spoke of, I will sell you the CDA9813 for $350 plus shipping. PM me if you have any questions.....I would rather hook up a fellow S2KI member and lose a few bucks myself than see you get screwed by a dealer like that. Let me know..........