AxeFX in Australia

DNW said:
BubbaMc said:
Independent Music said:
Shipping for the Axe-FX Standard and Axe-FX Ultra is *free* to mainland Australia!

I'd be offering free shipping with that sort of profit margin too. You make it sound like it's a great deal, it ain't. What's a $30 shipping cost when you're making over $600 per unit?

Are you quite done being an utter dick?

When I bought my Ultra, I paid $3.5k to get it from FAS. The dollar is better now, but I didn't have local support then. The Axe isn't exactly going to be a huge moving product and they have to have some incentive to actually stock and sell these things. They're a business; they're not doing this as some sort of charity to Australian guitarists. They've got their costs to cover in selling and supporting the products, and they have to make a decent enough profit to justify doing it at all.

Yes I'm done.

My point is, why even have a local distributor at all? Like you said, it isn't exactly going to be a huge moving product, especially with the relatively tiny size of our market. I'd much prefer buying direct and taking my chances with the warranty. I've got no problem with shipping back to the states if necessary. Have you ever actually needed local support?

If I do go the AxeFx route (and I'd love to) I'll be getting friends in the USA to make the purchase. Sick to death of being shafted because I'm Australian.
 
BubbaMc said:
DNW said:
Are you quite done being an utter dick?

When I bought my Ultra, I paid $3.5k to get it from FAS. The dollar is better now, but I didn't have local support then. The Axe isn't exactly going to be a huge moving product and they have to have some incentive to actually stock and sell these things. They're a business; they're not doing this as some sort of charity to Australian guitarists. They've got their costs to cover in selling and supporting the products, and they have to make a decent enough profit to justify doing it at all.

Yes I'm done.

My point is, why even have a local distributor at all? Like you said, it isn't exactly going to be a huge moving product, especially with the relatively tiny size of our market. I'd much prefer buying direct and taking my chances with the warranty. I've got no problem with shipping back to the states if necessary. Have you ever actually needed local support?

If I do go the AxeFx route (and I'd love to) I'll be getting friends in the USA to make the purchase. Sick to death of being shafted because I'm Australian.

Well actually, my unit turned up damaged in shipping. If it was local, I would have shipped it back for a replacement, but because I would have had to send it back over to the US, I just got them to tell me how to fix it up to get it working. One of theinput LEDs on the front has never worked, and the front panel has some damage. If I did have to send my unit in though, I'd much rather send it up to QLD than have to ship it back over to the US.

I'm guessing they want to keep the actual FAS operations somewhat to a minimum at the moment, hence getting distributors for Europe, Japan and Australia (don't remember if there are others). That way they have someone in these places representing and supporting their products, but without actually having to expand their operations as much except perhaps for increased volume. It reduces the workload somewhat by not having all the individual orders going through FAS, and all the repairs going through FAS, etc. Expanding the company to deal with all this on their own when the company is still quite young, not to mention it's a rather expensive product in a fairly limited market, plus the economy everywhere is supposedly down the crapper... well, it probably wouldn't be the most secure business decision for them.


And apologies if "utter dick" was perhaps a bit harsh. :lol:
 
some people don't have time to wait 2 weeks for their unit to do a round trip to the states and back if something goes wrong..

my unit had a couple of issues and luckily fractal support talked me through opening the unit up and replacing one of the cables... i was dreading the idea of sending it back to the states

im going to be getting a 2nd unit soon and i'll definitely be getting one locally so i can receive quick support/replacement if needed.... it cost me around $3000 to get mine over from the US.. an extra $300 is no big deal if it means i can get local support

i think AU$3300 is a reasonable price

rob
 
Re: AxeFX in Austalia

Independent Music said:
@DNW,
Contact Independent Music with any issues that you have and we will look after you.
<edit>
To clarify (and to actually answer the question ;-), any pre Independent Music customers can come to us for warranty issues etc.
</edit>

Cheers,
Andrew


Andrew and the guy's are great and will help you as much as the can. ;)
 
I wanted to pass on my thanks to Andrew. I had some hardware issues with my AxeFX when it first arrived. I rang Andrew and he was super helpful with everything. He sent out a new unit straight away and only asked me to ship the old one back once I'd received it so that I didn't have to be without my new toy.
 
Sorry to dig up an old thread..

Seeing as Independant Music are currently out of stock,and with the AUD now hitting almost parity with US (97c) - I.M. will be purchsing their new stock with a VERY good conversion rate - anyone think they will revise the prices when they start selling the next batch of units?

I have a VHT 2/50/2 on the way and an keen on picking up a Standard or Ultra pretty soon (whenever they are available?)
 
warped said:
Sorry to dig up an old thread..

Seeing as Independant Music are currently out of stock,and with the AUD now hitting almost parity with US (97c) - I.M. will be purchsing their new stock with a VERY good conversion rate - anyone think they will revise the prices when they start selling the next batch of units?

I have a VHT 2/50/2 on the way and an keen on picking up a Standard or Ultra pretty soon (whenever they are available?)

It's not that simple unfortunately. There are other factors they have to take into consideration beyond what the unit cost is at whatever given point in time. Maybe they will revise prices, but I wouldn't expect it to be anything like matching the difference in what our dollar was then to what it is now. That said, I don't remember what our dollar was like when they were starting up with FAS.
 
warped said:
Sorry to dig up an old thread..

Seeing as Independant Music are currently out of stock,and with the AUD now hitting almost parity with US (97c) - I.M. will be purchsing their new stock with a VERY good conversion rate - anyone think they will revise the prices when they start selling the next batch of units?

I have a VHT 2/50/2 on the way and an keen on picking up a Standard or Ultra pretty soon (whenever they are available?)
Got any friends in the States who could drop-ship for you?
Simple solution to ensure you get a good rate.
I was lucky, cost-wise - I got mine (in Melbourne) before Independent got the Australian rights to sell it here.
 
got my as new ultra just last week from ebay. took a while for postage to Melbourne from US but i saved $1000. i'm sure indepedant are great to deal with but i am still not keen on paying $3300 for the unit no matter the justification.
 
I am a bit tired of guys dumping on an Australian outfit trying to do a good job.
re: price, I got mine Aug 2009 direct from Fractal Audio Systems in the US and here's how the $ worked out:
$2,729AUD to FAS (The dollar was at 79.48)
plus $456.18AUD to customs (5% import duty + 10%GST)
Total $3,185.18

It was a long, drawn out process with phone calls to customs etc and a box that arrived a bit bashed up - my heart sank on seeing it but fotunately the unit was OK.

I would have much prefered to pay $3,300 to a local company - an extra $114.82 for the ease and peace of mind.

Plus - I get the bonus of local support - I have no affilliation with these guys (Andrew / Independent Music) but have spoken to them a few times and they are great.

re: currency exchange rates - it's a game of roulette especially with forward ordering and advance payments
re: ebay and second hand purchases - go for it!
 
well i payed $2300 for a 2nd hand ultra as new outright including postage from USA. no customs hassles. if you can afford an extra $1300 then that's fine by me. i don't recall putting anyone down. i'm sure they are great guys but the fact of the matter is, when there is a significant mark up in price and the consumer has no option but to deal with the distributor then ppl are gonna get a bit funny no matter the justifications. i think if ppl want (and can afford) the extra protection and local customer support then they should have the option to pay extra for that, (that is certainly not my situation). however i don't agree with having your options limited as a consumer.
 
Sorry geamala - that wasn't directed at you and no you didn't put anyone down.
There are many 'realities' with regard to being in retail that seem strange.
I worked in outdoor equipment retail for a while and got really tired of people coming in, spending half an hour with them fitting hiking boots, and then being asked to 'write down the exact details of brand, model, size' etc knowing full well that they'd then go and order it online. In smaller markets like Australia we need to be careful around expectations and using retail outlets as fitting rooms. Soon we'll have none left - and maybe that's OK. :(

As I said, re: ebay and second hand purchases - go for it!
Richard
 
No matter how you try to colour it, considering the current exchange rate, $3300Au is just a money grab.
Any US dealer would kill for a profit margin like that.
 
Australia sucks for music gear PERIOD. I just baught a EBMM JP6 from the US for just over $2000 AUD, however if I buy one from an Aussie music store they tip the scales at over $5000 with the options, so I hardly think the markup on an Axefx anything out of the ordinary. Andrew and the guys from IM are fantastic, they've been hugely helpful to me and I can assure you that they are not just out for your money. Yes they are a business and yes they do need to make a profit, however I am absolutely happy I payed $3300 to a local company than can give me local technical support if I need it. I've already bought the MFC-101 from IM and will purchase my reactors through them too. They are great guys, great communication and I would recommend them to anyone!
 
Damo60 said:
Australia sucks for music gear PERIOD.

Fortunately, this is slowly becoming a thing of the past. You only have to look at say The Guitar Centre website where all prices can be shown in $AUS, including shipping costs etc. Its one thing the Americans are really good at and that is identifying new markets and catering for it accordingly, all to the detriment of local Aussie stores. Its great that you have the extra money to give to these "nice guys" however my extra money went to a nice FRFR 12" powered wedge, roadcase & leads. :D
 
Tone_Loc said:
Damo60 said:
Australia sucks for music gear PERIOD.

Fortunately, this is slowly becoming a thing of the past. You only have to look at say The Guitar Centre website where all prices can be shown in $AUS, including shipping costs etc. Its one thing the Americans are really good at and that is identifying new markets and catering for it accordingly, all to the detriment of local Aussie stores. Its great that you have the extra money to give to these "nice guys" however my extra money went to a nice FRFR 12" powered wedge, roadcase & leads. :D


the US guitar centre or the gold coast one!?!?!?
 
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