Mackie's so-called "useless" EQ section. Got any thoughts?
- Thread starter tarnationsauce2
- Start date
SouthSIDE Glen
independentrecording.net
I don't know about the sold out part, but Mackie has had much of their stuff manufactured overseas for quite some time now without being sold out.Mixxit12 said:
It is extremely rare for a retailer actually drop a product line due to something like bad QC, though many of the salespeople will be told that or say that as an easy sales pitch for something else. 6 times out of 10 it's a problem with either the manufaturer or distributor dropping the retailer because of bad bill payment, or the manufacturer/distributor either not being able to or not being willing to provide the inventory levels requested by the dealer (usually because they would rather divert their inventory to a higher volume dealer). Of the other 4 out of 10 times, at least three of those will be because the dealer has decided to switch to a lower cost/higher profit margin line to incease profits.
Whatever the actual reason for a retailer's brand change, the front line sales people can always be counted on to blame the old brand for the fact that they're trying to sell you a new brand, even when the reasons are far more boring and far less altruistic. I've seen it happen a hundred times way back in my sales and VAR days.
G.
I see what you're saying. However, the incident that prompted this conversation was that I have used a gazillion Mackie mixer for both live and recording in the past. They were ROCK solid night after night, session after session. I just purchase a new Mackie for live use and I have had nothing but problems with it and spent countless hours on hold with their customer service. Not to say that what you stated wasn't actually the real reason for the retailer to switch, but I did notice a HUGE shift in the craftsmanship coming from Mackie in the past year.
SouthSIDE Glen
independentrecording.net
That could very well be, and I'm not saying that I know what the real reason is that your dealer no longer carries Mackie.Mixxit12 said:
All I'm saying is that it would have to be costing any dealer one HELL of a lot of money in warranty service costs or refunds, and that it would have to be happening for a LONG time for them to drop a major brand name. A dealer doen't just drop one of their most popular - or at least most recognized - brands at the drop of a hat.
Even if they thought the stuff was a problem, they'd still use the brand just to bring customers in the door, and then depend upon their sales staff to steer them to a brand or model that they'd prefer to sell. Dealerships don't want to remove the "________ Authorized Dealer" (fill in any popular or recognized name brand there) sign from their window and print ads unless they have a real financial strategy to overcome the loss in traffic that such advertising gives them.
So maybe there is a HUGE problem with Mackie QC - and by that I mean so bad for so long without correction as to actually make it financially worthwhile for the dealer to drop their dealership status. But I'd want to look at that seriously and find out the real truth before I took a front-line saleperson's or front-line tech's version of the story as gospel.
And I'm not just defending Mackie. I'd say the same thing if this story were about any brand from Berhinger to GML and everything in-between. Product lines - especially those with so much built-in advertising - are not just dropped by the retailer anywhere near as much as the retailer is dropped by the manufacturer.
It's like the poor schlub guy who insists that he is the one who called it off with his beautiful smart and funny girlfriend
. It happens, but no where near as often as the opposite. 
G.