Buying a Console Online

[FlashBang]

So I'm going to be purchasing an ETC Element very shortly, and have seen some decent prices in online stores (Element 60, 250ch. ~$5500). Given a not-so-great relationship with the main local dealer despite giving them much business, I don't think purchasing the board through them will provide more technical assistance.

Any warnings about purchasing a console from an online dealer?
Any history of shipping consoles and what kind of shipping pricing they charged?

(The online stores I'm looking at now are http://www.prolightingsupply.com/ , TSC - Theatrical Stage Equipment , and I'll be looking at others I'm sure)

THANKS!

 

[xander]

I have to recommend going with your local dealer. What are you going to do when you need repairs? Most dealers will give you a loaner (free of charge) while you are getting yours repaired. If you go around them to make the purchase, I'm not so sure they will be too keen on helping you out in the future. There has to be another dealer in the Montreal area you can go to.

All that said, if you truly believe that going the online route is best for you, I would look at Production Advantage. I have never purchased anything there that could have been found for cheaper elsewhere. And their service is second to none. They have an extremely good relationship with their shippers (UPS, FedEx, etc.) so I wouldn't think twice about them getting it to you in pristine condition, and on schedule. And they are just over the border, in northern VT, so it's almost local.
Pro Adv website

-Tim

 

[Les]

I second xander. If you go online, purchase only from a big name in the industry. Then, make sure that you have local access to a comparable (preferably identical, for programming's sake) console that you can rent should your new board need servicing. Keep an "emergency fund" in your budget for exactly this purpose if need be.

 

[Footer]

There is also BMI just down the road a bit from Production Advantage. Both of these dealers are national dealers. I have never had an issue with anything support wise bought from BMI, be it if I am 30 minutes down the road like I am now or 1500 miles away as I have been before. From downtown Montreal, BMI's head office is about 2.5 hours away.

Go with your local dealer if you can, but if you have issues with them, go somewhere else. Competition is a good thing. One thing the national dealers do is keep prices down at local shops.

 

[FlashBang]

Thanks for the input!

Looks like I've found a local dealer with some respect (meaning I don't get bumped down his to-do list for months due to comparitavely low profitability), and I'll be trying to work something out with him.

I hadn't been factoring in shipping from the U.S. when I was so impressed by online prices

 

[Nimick]

When I went pricing my Element, our local dealer had the best price.

It's probably ETC's way of doing business. Smart too, if you think about it.

 

[SteveB]

Using a local dealer is a good idea, but in general, if there's a problem with an ETC console, chances are it's not the dealer you will be talking to, but ETC Tech Support directly. Thus I've never found the dealer useful for a problem where the desk might be returning to the factory or where Tech Services is helping me directly.

Thus and while I do ask for quotes from my local folks - 4Wall, PRG and Barbizon, I will also ask from Production Advantage and BMI, neither of which is local to me and I would also recommend Full Compass.

Note that I've found that when I Google "ETC Ion" for an on-line price, sometimes I'll get one from B&H or some similar vendor (who as BTW is a NYC based photo and electronics dealer and who is not an authorized ETC dealer) and I'll see a price that is NEVER as cheap as I'll get from one of the bigger and more established dealers as listed above. ALL of the consoles in the Element/Ion/Eos line are POA - Price On Application - the dealer has to call the manufacturer for a current quote.

 

[joeb]

I'd just like to echo nimick. I've purchased an element within the last two months and was able to get a price nearly 30% lower than what was quoted online and about 15% lower than production advantage's quote - though I don't remember the exact price from production advantage. We were surprised to find a local company that mainly does softgoods and rigging installations was an ETC dealer, and they were the ones who gave us the best price. We wouldn't have known they were an ETC dealer if it wasn't for ETC's website.

 

[jhdesynz]

While I agree that going with a local vendor is usually best in most cases. With ETC, its more of a mixed bag. ETC's tech support is the top in the industry. When I had a problem with my Ion I called them and they had a loaner console fedex-ed out right away. Since I needed the box to send the console to the factory (since the maintenance staff decided to throw it out), it worked well. This seems to be standard practice when they need to look at the console/item at the factory.

Whomever you decide to go with, do yourself a favor: Keep the Console box and packing goods!!!!

 

[FlashBang]

ALL of the consoles in the Element/Ion/Eos line are POA - Price On Application - the dealer has to call the manufacturer for a current quote.

Surprisingly, I found that the Element consoles are priced on many websites. The other consoles are always POA though.

 

[LXPlot]

Surprisingly, I found that the Element consoles are priced on many websites. The other consoles are always POA though.

If you dig a bit you can find the manufacturer quote for any console somewhere on the internet. But that doesn't really tell you all that much by itself.

 

[doctrjohn]

ALL of the consoles in the Element/Ion/Eos line are POA - Price On Application - the dealer has to call the manufacturer for a current quote.

SteveB is mostly correct here. The Element, in any flavor, is a price book item; dealers to not have to contact the factory for a quote. The ION and Eos, however, are Price On Application, as noted, and do require a quote specific to each sale. Part of the reason for this is that the sale of an ION or EOS console includes on site factory training, in most cases, and the cost for that service needs to be included in the quote. For a short while after the Express/ion line was discontinued, and before Element was released, the ION, 1000 channel version, was in the price book. Once Element was released it was removed.

Best,
John

 

[church]

in addition to shipping you should also expect to pay customs duty. Also make sure it has a Canadian cUL or CSA approval or you will have to get a Hydro Quebec field approval for it which also means more $$$