Pricing

I am a newby pursuing a C4 installation and working with a C4 Dealer who is quoting everything at full list price plus installation. The system price is >$50,000. The dealer is very knowledgeable and I feel comfortable with their capabilities. While initially shopping for a system, we were quoted on an Elan system by a very good Elan Dealer who's quote showed every item discounted based on the overall system. Is this typical and what we should expect?

Expect list price for everything in the line item proposal. This is how that dealer affords to go to classes and give top level service to his customers. I'd give you a discount on Elan too, that stuff sucks.

I would expect a discount, paying sticker on AV equipemnt would be similar to paying sticker on a new car. This is just my opinion and experience. I received a discount on my C4 system equipment (not the labor portion). I wouldn't purchase a system of that size without a 5-10% discount on equipment. Shop around to see what others are offering. Please note I am not advocating that the lowest price is the best deal. Make sure you purchase from a qualified dealer.

yes, #1, make sure to purchase from a very qualified dealer. #2, negotiate the price.

tum

I think it's worth mentioning that the price I quote is always the lowest price I'm willing to do the job... It's a simple matter for a dealer to inflate labor rates to cover lost margin on hardware. It certainly doesn't hurt to try to negotiate the price (does it ever?), but don't be offended if you don't see a 5-10% discount...

I also second AS2's note in that I too would quote Elan under list... it sucks, and they have a heck of a lot more margin built in that C4...

I would think that most dealers sell the hardware at list.

As others have said, while there's margin built into the product for the dealer, it's not a huge amount, and dealers do have overhead they have to maintain.

Overall, I think it'd be better to have a dealer who will be around in the future and that you can trust, than one who discounts so much that he runs himself out of business.

RyanE

I bought my system from Magnolia HiFi. They allowed me to pre install things. I made sure all locations with screens had the cat5 run to them, I had all the speakers installed, had the cabinet all ready for the equirement, and had all the light switches installed. Based on this, they said the "basic programing" was included in the list price of the hardware. I was suprised that they actually did extensive programming and considered that all included.

I think this saved me some big bucks.

Hope this helps

thanks

Dave

my experience with magnolia hifi was abysmal and now getting any support from them is non existent. the original guys we dealt with no longer work there. ymmv.

I am a newby pursuing a C4 installation and working with a C4 Dealer who is quoting everything at full list price plus installation. The system price is >$50,000. The dealer is very knowledgeable and I feel comfortable with their capabilities. While initially shopping for a system, we were quoted on an Elan system by a very good Elan Dealer who's quote showed every item discounted based on the overall system. Is this typical and what we should expect?

When we price out system with Control 4 we often provide a discount and give a few items away ie: Dimmers, Switches, Remotes.

Any item on a Larger scale just would not be feasible to do. We have to pay bills and by groceries also.

What you want to insure is that you can work with the Dealer and their customer service. See if they'll provide reference list.

Good Luck

can someone tell me what the going rate is for programing? My Dealer charged me $95 an hour 24+ hours, plus 20%more than retail for items I bought from him. I installed everything, and I mean everything. He just showed up to program the system, he programed the 10 light switches, and only 1 of my many 6 button switches. He didn't program my other 3, 2, or 6 button switches, didn't program most of the items I wanted, and spent the entire time on the phone with C4 for help. Not badmouthing him, but I thought for $95 an hour he would have been able to do more. $2300 to program my lights, good god.

Thats highway robbery.

can someone tell me what the going rate is for programing? My Dealer charged me $95 an hour 24+ hours, plus 20%more than retail for items I bought from him. I installed everything, and I mean everything. He just showed up to program the system, he programed the 10 light switches, and only 1 of my many 6 button switches. He didn't program my other 3, 2, or 6 button switches, didn't program most of the items I wanted, and spent the entire time on the phone with C4 for help. Not badmouthing him, but I thought for $95 an hour he would have been able to do more. $2300 to program my lights, good god.

What a Dealer charges for programming is totally up to them and I really should not criticize.

That being said, If that is all they did then I would say you are not being treated fairly.

There are of course 3 sides to every story.

There are other dealers you can call or just ask here that will be willing.

Fee to be determined of course.

Good Luck

can someone tell me what the going rate is for programing? My Dealer charged me $95 an hour 24+ hours, plus 20%more than retail for items I bought from him. I installed everything, and I mean everything. He just showed up to program the system, he programed the 10 light switches, and only 1 of my many 6 button switches. He didn't program my other 3, 2, or 6 button switches, didn't program most of the items I wanted, and spent the entire time on the phone with C4 for help. Not badmouthing him, but I thought for $95 an hour he would have been able to do more. $2300 to program my lights, good god.

flyingkev, what other components are in your system besides the switches. 24 hours for programming 10 switches and some keypads alone is outrageous, if not criminal.

It is also strange that you would pay more than retail for the products.

I would look for a new dealer.

well, I was really upset that the entire time he was on the phone with control4 asking how to do everything. So there was the HC-300, (which I hooked up) an amp (I ran all the wires) a couple controlers, and an XM C-4 radio. Ran all the Cat5, speaker wires, etc......

So no one has any normal programing rates??????

I think that unfortunately, you'll find that programming rates, as well as what you get for those programming hours will depend on the dealer quite a bit.

RyanE

No, if he is on the phone with C4 for switch programming and 6 button keypad help then his a knob and you are getting ripped off. He shouldn't be charging for time he is on the phone with them anyway (I wouldn't). I would say between $80-$120 is what you can expect. However, this is from someone who knows what they are doing. I always provide samples of what I have done, and tell the customer up front if I can do what he/she wants.

I would agree, it is amazing how many stories there are like this. I would encourage everyone to make sure they see a demo of a working system that was installed by the dealer, before selecting them. Each dealer has there own style and flavor about how the setup and program systems, so this is a way to insure that your getting someone that can make the system work like you want it to.

I generally invite our customers into my home to see how my family uses the system.

The best calls I made before selecting my dealer were to a couple of local references who had recently done similar projects. Got a lot of insight into how best to work with them and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

--Jason

One of the benefits of the C4 system as I see it currently is that you can get any of the dealers to log in and program your system, so if your local dealer doesnt seem up to par, talk to one of the ones here that seems more knowlegable.

You Should also recommend your customers buy Composer Home Edition so they can make some programming changes

I'm shocked to see dealers discounting C4 product, let alone give away freebies. Having sold Elan and Crestron, we can do more than Elan for the same money and as much as Crestron for alot less. I guess we've been lucky so far that we haven't had to discount.