I cannot fathom the reason why Outlaw will not also offer an amplifier discount to those who were on the original reservation list for the 990. It feels like a slap in the face to the loyal early adopters.

I'm not sure what you mean by this, Townhouse. When the Outlaws announced the 7125 on July 20, they said that, "In our last Newsletter we mentioned that due to the rather sudden discontinuation of the Model 7100, we would honor the current Model 990/Model 7100 pricing until July 20th." Going back to that previous newsletter (from July 7), we have the following statement:

Based on all of this, anyone who ordered a 7100 before July 7 or a 990/7100 combo up to July 20 is going to get a 7125 (with an extra 25W/channel and a regular price $100 higher than the 7100) for the same price as a 7100 (including package discounts when purchased with a 990). It seems that they have in fact provided a pretty respectable deal to 990 early adopters and to folks who placed orders for 7100's as the 7100 was being discontinued. Have I missed something here?

It sounds like Townhouse is saying that existing 990 owners who adopted at the preorder stage should be able to get a discount if they want a 7125 now - sort of an after-the-fact combo discount. Understandable if the increase to 125 wpc tipped him in favor of the combo.

Townhouse, if this is the case, you should call the Outlaws with this request if you're seriously interested. Worst they can do is say no.

Yes, sluggo, that's what I was trying to say. Thank you.

I was one of the very first to get a 990 and now I would like an amp that has a matching front panel. I previously contacted Scott and he said there was the usual 30-day option to upgrade to a combo. This does not help the early adopters who kept the faith and helped Outlaw with their cash flow in those critical first days of new-product delivery.

I don't understand why Outlaw discontinued their "family" pricing scheme. They thereby fail to reward their best customers.

I thought they "reward" their best customers by keeping the prices low in general? Sure, it would be nice if they offered you that combo. It would be nice if Brooks Brothers offered me a discount on a matching tie if I bought it a few months after I got a new suit. Lots of things are nice. I think being able to get hi quality equipment at bargain basement prices all year round is even nicer. As sluggo said, you can always call and ask. Maybe they'll be super nice and agree. Maybe not. There's only one way to find out.

Cheers,

I hadn't realized that the Outlaw "family" pricing discount had been discontinued. Maybe I missed something?

Sorry it didn't work out, Townhouse. Sounds like Outlaw is moving enough product that they don't need to offer the "family" discount to bolster sales anymore. Hard to offer that kind of thing if your "family" gets too big.

I suppose it is nice that they offer a combo discount in the first place - after all, you don't get that kind of action when you buy multiple components from Rotel (or Denon or Adcom or Parasound etc).

Does anyone actually check before they say something like: "Sounds like Outlaw is moving enough product that they don't need to offer the "family" discount to bolster sales anymore. Hard to offer that kind of thing if your "family" gets too big."?

Looking at the order form they still have combo pricing. I will tell you Outlaw is the best when it comes to service. I was on the preorder list for the 990; and, when I received my invite to buy, I ordered the 990/7100 combo. Then about 20 days later the news of the 7125 came out. I thought about it for a week and then called them up and asked about switching out the 7100 with the 7125; they agreed. The only deal was that I have to pay shipping on both the 7125 and 7100.

I too wanted a matching amp, but reading another post on the forum led me to believe that the only option was going to be the 790.

A number of years ago, when Outlaw launched the Model 1050 (which at the time expanded their product line from a "product point" of the Model 750 alone to two products), they offered a $50 discount off of either unit if the buyer had bought from Outlaw before - that was the family discount. I bought my Model 750 that way, paying $1049 instead of $1099. The family discount was somewhat limited, however - I don't think it offered the full $50 on ICBM's, and it didn't apply at all to the interconnects.

Some time around the launch of the Model 950, the combo pricing was introduced and at about that same time the family pricing was phased out. At the time, I suspected that this was at least partially due to the fact that it was easier for everyone involved - the buyer didn't have to know to ask for a family discount, and the order processing system would be much simpler. I benefited from the family discount when it was around, but I felt that the combo pricing scheme that replaced it was an equally good deal since the discounts actually represented a much greater savings - $100 or $200 rather than the old family discount's $50.

My point is that combo pricing tends to reward new customers (and procrastinators) while at the same time penalizing existing customers who jumped right on the pre-order bandwagon and thereby missed the 30-day window of opportunity to upgrade.

In general, a repeat customer is many times more valuable than a new customer. A repeat customer costs less to acquire and generates much more sales volume over time. Of course it's also important to attract new customers, but common sense would suggest at least giving your repeat customers the same discount deal.