1. A lot of people are scared to order outside of their country. Yes, that's still the case. If the device is broken, they can return it more easily, etc.
And have to wait more time for a new/repaired device...
I had a mobilephone and this broke. I sent it to the shop; the shop sent it to the insurance company; this company sent it to a repair station and this repair station sent it to the manufacturer. It took about 3 months!!
Next time the mobilephone broke I was smarter. I directly called the insurance company and asked them where they would send it; they told me the repair station. There I called and they told me what they would do. So I sent it directly to the manufacturer. After 10 days I had my repaired mobilephone back in hands!
So, no. Broken Pyras will not faster be repaired if you send it to a reseller.
Is it THAT bad within the US?
In Germany, the reseller is required to replace the device RIGHT away, without any waiting time, if it is defective!
2. A distributor wants to SELL the products he has. Therefore, he does advertisement. Advertisement that doesn't cost us anything additional.
Sure a reseller wants to sell his products. But I think you are wrong if you think Thinkgeek sells thousands of Pyras.
Well, they did sell quite a lot of GCW Zeros and GetDigital.de (basically the same in Germany) did sell quite a few Pandoras as well.
I don't expect them to sell thousands - it was just an example. But distributors usually increase the publicity of devices quite a lot.
That's why EVERY normal product is being sold through them.
4. Distributors save more costs: In Europe, for example, I have to register now in every country every single product I sell, each one with costs involved. Just to be able to sell the Pyra wihthin all countries of the European Union would cost me more than 10,000 EUR. If I got a distributor in that specific country, I don't have to register there or pay anything for the registration. Problem solved.
I dont understand what you mean.
I wholesaler and our company makes import and export; mosty Europe but also worldwide. We dont have to register every single produce for every country.
What exactly do you mean?
The WEEE law in Europe.
It's for recycling of electronic products.
Each seller that sells a product to the END customer has to send monthly reports to each country where he sold that product and how many he sold.
However, he needs to register that product first before he can do that.
So for example, if I sell the Pyra in Germany, I have to register the product there, let them know how many I sold each month and will get an invoice which I have to pay which will be used to cover the recycling costs for that product.
If I sell it to an austrian end customer, I need to do that there as well.
Registering also costs a fee - between 100 and 1000 EUR, depending on the country.
This is only needed if I sell it to end customers.
So you either don't sell to end customers or are simply ignoring that law (it's pretty new, btw. Not every country switched to that yet, but they will within the next few months).
I can also ignore it and ship my products whereever I like, but if this is being found out, it can be really expensive.
* Way cheaper and faster shipping
But way more expensive units.
Really? UPS charges more than 60 EUR for a shipment.
If the Pyra is sold for 400 EUR, that's more than 10% - so it will be close to what the local distributor can offer to you.
* Better support (in case the unit is defective)
What support? Thinkgeek does not give support. If a device is broken they will get it back and send it back to Germany. They will not repair anything nor they will answer any questions about the Pyra if there is a problem. They will buy it and sell it. More they wont do!
Well, as mentioned, I don't know US laws, but in Germany (and probably most of Europe), the seller is REQUIRED to replace it within a few days for their costs.
If you send it to Germany, it would either take 4 - 5 weeks shipping (international letter) or cost about 50 - 60 EUR again.
So your costs would increase either 120 EUR (back and forth) or you'd have to wait for 8 - 10 weeks before you get it back.
Instead of having a distributor who replaces the unit right away for local shipping costs.
That worked pretty well with Link now, didn't it?
* Payment in their local currency
Thats no problem. You have a shop, you know that. ;-)
It always depends on the country you live in.
A lot of germans actually don't even have a credit card and I know many who didn't buy a product simply because they had to transfer the payment outside of Germany (which scared them).
I know americans basically pay everything with their credit card - but don't expect it to be that way in every country.
But Im not willing to pay 25% more just because you dont want to annoy resellers.
Im also reseller of different things and such things like holding the price high just because there are resellers just dont exist.
Its only resellers problem how they make money. Its not your problem!
So, you'd rather buy it for let's say 450 EUR.
With a distributor, it might've been 560 EUR (25%)
Shipping costs: 60 EUR.
Unit breaks for some reason, shipping costs back and forth about 100 EUR.
That would be 160 EUR. 450 EUR + 160 EUR = 610 EUR
With a local distributor, shipping costs would've been 20 EUR or something like that, so it would be 580 EUR.
No customs as well, so faster return time.
If you want then use resellers. The more units will be sold, the better it is.
But dont set the price higher because of this.
Okay, you mention you are a reseller (I am as well, without it, the Pyra wouldn't even exist!)
Let me ask you something:
The stuff you resell... you are buying it for the same costs a normal customer can buy it in a store?
If that's the case, how are you making profit?
Or are you selling it for a higher price than the normal customer could buy it somewhere else?
If I charge Link the same price I charge any other customer, how would that work?
He'd have shipping costs to transport the units from me to his warehouse. He has warehouse costs, costs for handling everything, for returns, for the website, etc.
To be able to pay these expenses, he needs to make profit.
If Pyras would cost 25% more than they cost in my shop - why would anyone buy from him?
Please explain how reselling does work if a reseller pays the same price as a normal customer.