Hi all

I missed out on the Rio Car. I was early in the queue for the reserve stock in January but I still missed out. I know some people bought 2 or 3 (maybe more), can someone sell me one? I don't mind which model as long as its new with the warantee. Preferably in UK and no silly prices. Hope you can help me out.

My email address is [email protected]

Thanks guys
Phil

This might carry more weight in the "For Sale" forum.

is www.carplayer.com out of stock now then, last i saw their prices were still lower then what most on teh board paid.

It looks like he still has a 40gb (?!?) machine for $799.00. Boy, what a ripoff...

Boy, what a ripoff...

I have always maintained that these players would be a bargain at twice the price, and that was at their original prices. So I don't see how $799 is a ripoff.

Boy, what a ripoff...

The seller is a ripoff artist. A 40GB empeg for $799 is not a ripoff.

Agreed! That price is far better than I paid for mine a long time ago. Remember, the only reason people have been spoiled by these abnormally low prices is because SonicBlue made some, uh, how can I phrase this nicely...

robricc..
I agree. I did not mean that the player at this price is a ripoff. It is worth every penny. This dealer is a rip off artist. Imagine what he will sell 'em at when there is only one left... $1700us???

"I have always maintained that these players would be a bargain at twice the price, and that was at their original prices. So I don't see how $799 is a ripoff."

Uh, ok, but that doesn't mean it isn't a rip off to the MANY people who only bought one after the prices dropped a lot.

To me and most music lovers I know the limit on any mp3 player for a car is/was about $400 US. Anything above that in our minds just to listen to music(in any way) is a "rip off"..

To MANY people in the world any automobile that costs more than $30,000 US is a rip-off. Sure, it may be the best car in the world but to me $40,000 is a rip off for any kind of ground-based personal transportation..

Hey I respect this board and the people here and am glad the empeg community exists but am I the only one here who thinks there are just a few too many pompous annoyances present?

-John M

Life is too short to waste time on Neo35s and Kia cars. To me the empeg is easily worth $2,500 and I would pay it. I paid $1,299 for my first and $999 for one of my backup units and never looked back. A 10GB RioCar was quite simply a miracle to some and in no way represents the actual value of the product.

Anything above that in our minds just to listen to music(in any way) is a "rip off"..

I reckon "rip off" implies that the seller is making an unfairly large profit margin, and isn't much to do with the actual price. When Empeg sold players for $1500, that was pretty fair IMO given our production costs and amortised development costs, and so not a rip-off. If someone bought a load of them for $300 and is selling them for $800, then that does sound like a rip-off. Even though $800 is much less than $1500.

Of course, in pure free-market capitalism there are no negative connotations to the term "rip-off"; if demand is such that the market will bear $800 pricing, then that is, by definition, the fair price. Capitalism is so confusing sometimes. I guess free-marketers would claim that the Empeg market is too small to be "efficient" in determining fair Empeg pricing.

Peter

That's nice Rob, perhaps it is hard to understand that the vast majority of people cannot afford $2000 for in car audio that doesn't even include an amplifier or speakers. Most people have a hard enough time paying for rent/mortgage, food, and other necessary bills.

So for the vast majority a music playing device for the car is only worth a few hundred bucks..

I personally have two units as well, but the 2nd was purchased for a friend who got laid off the day it arrived, so he decide he wouldn't get it. I am going to hoard it until I can get $600 for it from some rich sucker, upon which I will get my cost back plus a few bucks and give him $200+ if he doesn't find work by then..



-John

if you worked at good guy or some place where you see what cost is on a product you would claim everything is a rip off. For example all of you who have purchaced aftermarket speaker try cutting that price in half, then in half again thats the real cost for example. A JL audio 10in w7 sub retails at $499 but the real cost of it is $183, and someone at that price is still making a buck. People just precive the rip off becuase they all know what he paid for those. But i do agree that what hes doing shouldnt be done, hes treating the great machine like gasoline, when theres a shortage the prices go to stupid amounts frmo what they once were, i remember when gas in Cali was under $.99 i dont think thats something ill ever see again.

"I reckon "rip off" implies that the seller is making an unfairly large profit margin"

Well I was reckoning it meant paying a excessively high price to listen to music(in my post at least..) The actual product had nothing to do with it.

I think most people who consider it a rip off find little initial value in the value of what makes it cost so much to begin with..

I wanted one long ago, and despite my ability to afford one, there was no way I was gonna pay so much for a music play for my car. That just makes so little sense to me and even the several car audiophiles I know. These days even $200 can bring deliver some pretty good sound.. I understand some people were willing, but most likely most had lots of spare change. Most in the world don't have lots of spare change, so they have to be careful with their spending.

Oh, I met a homeless guy last night who told me he used to think life was too short to not spend his money on frivolous things.

-John M

perhaps it is hard to understand that the vast majority of people cannot afford $2000 for in car audio that doesn't even include an amplifier or speakers.

I understand it perfectly. That's why the Neo exists. empeg is a $1300 product and is worth it and more. Neo is a $300 product and is worth it but not more.

If you want MP3s in your car for under $400, the Neo is for you. Not empeg.

If you want to record television for under $70, VHS is for you. Not TiVo.

The good things in life cost money. There is also priorities. I put cars, electronics and computers over most other things. This is why I live in a dump. My house is of minimal importance to me. All I care about is how far it is from the Verizon's frame for DSL service.

Well yeah most stuff is priced pretty high above cost unless it is an uncontrolled commodity item. With popular computer parts the margins are very low, but sales are high so all is usually good.

I am one of those that doesn't buy unless I get a "fair" deal in the least. The empeg was fair enough at $300. I'd be just as happy with a CD based mp3 player(on of the newest ones that works well).. Shoot, the empeg has cause a lot of driving close calls lately - I may just sell the sucker or use it at home only..

-John M

Heh once in a while you can get Tivo for under $70...
You really gotta be on top of things in the "Hot Deals" community though..

DirecTiVo units can be had for under $100 because they are subsidized by DirecTV. Not stand-alone TiVos.

perhaps it is hard to understand that the vast majority of people cannot afford $2000 for in car audio that doesn't even include an amplifier or speakers

Fact is, we didn't design the product for those guys. There are people that ARE happy to spend that kind of money, and that's where empeg was positioned. That market is quite significant (for a small startup to enter at least) and a lot more fun to be involved with than the Best Buy crowd.

Of course there are far more people willing to spend a couple of hundred bucks than will spend $2K, and they're going to expect and get a different product to the car player. Unfortunately we pulled out of the market before launching that product.

Rob

I really think my empeg is gonna cause me to get in an accident. Don't think i'm bitching, i'm certainly not, I love my empeg - it's great. I just find myself entranced.. I can't take my eyes off of it!

That's why it defaults to a text screen in the car.

Post deleted by Yz33d

I think how much something is worth is how much you're willing to pay for it. You can spend all the money in the world building it. For instance, in a local shopping strip by where I live there are various works of 'modern art'. Apparently it holds some value to some people, but to me it is just a pile of crap. And a glass of water is near worthless to all of us right now, but it would be worth every penny we had if we were lost in the desert.

I'm sure you could find many people who wouldn't pay $20 for a player, and I'm sure you could find many who would be willing to pay up to $5000. So it's pretty useless arguing over how much it is actually 'worth' unless you're just describing opinions. It would be kind of like debating over which color is the prettiest.

All I can say is I would have paid 1000+ for my unit, but alas, I could not afford it. I feel very lucky to get it at the price that I did. To me, it was completely worth it ( I have over 500 cd's, dont feel like lugging that around).

I wasn't alking about DirecTivos, I was talking about standalone units. It has been a while, but occasionally people would find ways of getting them for under $100 using rebates, etc..

Well, new guy here...

I just bought the 10gig player on 4/10 for $368 when there were 28 of them left. In a week, I saw the price jump to $499 for the same player.

I do think that there's a greedy person behind those sales. I also have done some research and the RioPlayer is/was the cheapest/nicest one available...only if it came with the darn FM Tuner! But, I'm patient...kinda.

i remember when gas in Cali was under $.99 i dont think thats something ill ever see again.

Whoopee!

I can remember when gasoline in California was under $.30. Before you were born, I imagine...



tanstaafl.

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It has been a while, but occasionally people would find ways of getting them for under $100 using rebates, etc..

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I have (have had, really) 4 TiVos. 2 were 20hr floor models, one was $112 about 6 months ago and the other $69 2 months ago. I also got a 30hr floor model for $129 2 months ago, and a new-in-box 20hr for $135 6 months ago. The 30hr has been given as a gift (with a lifetime sub) and my own unit also has a lifetime sub. One of the 2 remaining units will be a gift soon, and I'm retaining the other a bit longer to play with before it will likely also become a gift. This was a case where I lucked out, but they are (it seems to me) few.

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I guess free-marketers would claim that the Empeg market is too small to be "efficient" in determining fair Empeg pricing.

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Regardless of what I might otherwise think of the issue, I think SonicBlue's withdrawal of the product says this far better than any other argument could.

Just out of curiosity here, what was Empeg's financial situation before the SONICblue purchase? Larger companies frequently kill products that may be financially self-sustaining because they're more focused on the big picture -- those development and support teams might be more likely to turn a larger profit if put on a different project. That doesn't mean that it would have been impossible for Empeg to continue what it was doing.

Alex