# Thinking about carring DIAMOND AUDIO >> any thoughts ??



## eisnerracing (Sep 14, 2010)

Ive looked over the new Diamond line and my dist. is asking everyday to pick it up - 
openning order-full stock of the DA line 
it kinda conficts with our current lines 

Well we carry a full line of the following 

Alpine - whole line
Pioneer - whole line 
JVC - decks 
Rockford Fosgate - whole line 
Hybrid Audio - some inv.
American Bass - whol;e line
Polk Audio - whole line
USA spec
Metra / Tsunami
Pac 
DEI / Phython, Avital , expresskit, Clifford 

we carried Diamond 4 years ago and it did well - we carried the D1 and D3 line
when Orion had issues we replaced with Diamond

ANY ideas - or thoughts 

Thinking about adding it back ... any thoughts..


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

I'd be going for Audison and Hertz before Diamond, but that's just me.


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## eisnerracing (Sep 14, 2010)

Thats what i need is some advice


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

Not a single person that I've witnessed has mentioned Diamond Audio in our shop. But if you HAD people coming in asking for it, I'd spend a month or two testing the waters with customers. Do they even mention Diamond? Do they like what Diamond happens to have to offer? Maybe get a Diamond demo set in the shop to show off first even if you have to pay for it yourself. On this forum I never see Diamond mentioned all that much. I just feel like Hertz and Audison - if you want a high-end (translated: expensive) brand in your shop and you want traffic to come as a result - is the way to go. But I'm not the guy that makes these kinds of decisions at my shop. We don't carry Hybrid Audio - no idea why but I guess I get it. We don't carry Rockford Fosgate - that one baffles me. As you well know, I'm sure it all has to do with dealer rights requirements and potential margin/profit and if Diamond is going to make it easy for you to carry... do it. But don't forget Audison/Hertz (if you think you can grab the market for those brands in your area).


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## eisnerracing (Sep 14, 2010)

not really looking for the high end line of the line more a low to mid 

we have the upper end to high end covered 
upper with RF power, Alpine type R and hybrid 

i have had a few customer ask but when the company went off the grid and now is reborn with new owners they really have to do some marketing 

i have also had many ask about Memphis audio - i have been looking at there line up as well


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## trumpet (Nov 14, 2010)

I'd be pissed if a distributor was bothering me to carry a full line-up just like that. We ordered a few new Diamond items and none of it is selling. I don't know if it's because we're not ordering direct from the manufacturer, but I do not see much that Diamond is doing to promote the current models. On Facebook they've recently published installation photos of discontinued product. That doesn't get me excited about the company. I want to like it, because it isn't getting sold all over the Internet for pennies over dealer prices.


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

I've seen us install the Memphis marine pods on boats a few times and was told we sold them but we don't have Memphis in the display boards. 

It's about getting the salesmen to sell the product over the big names like JL, Alpine, Pioneer, and Kenwood. The salesman must push these "underdog" brands or they aren't gonna sell enough, IMO.


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## rexroadj (Oct 31, 2008)

Ok, you need to consider a great many things.....
First off, forget your distributor. 99.9% are absolutely useless! What do they know or provide, aside from product? Think about that for a bit 

No one should know there own market better then you. What sells, what do people seek, and what can you provide and sell? Is Diamonds lineup a fit in your market? Maybe, maybe not. Only you can answer that. Between your lines that move, is there a gap somewhere? Does Diamond fit it? 
Hertz Audison as mentioned....LOL. Ugh, dont get me started! Do you care about your customers? DO you REALLY care? If you do then dont think twice about these companies. Your about 8-10 yrs behind when they werent ****! Yes, they will put food on your table because they will give you insane marketing ****, fully stocked Hertz Audison sound boards, 60point markups which is WAY beyond anyone else, and all sorts of promotions. BUT I ask you this....with 60 point margins..... what are you selling your customer? (this doesnt account for promotions and boards the give you ONLY for there product and threats of pulling there line if you carry xyz which is illegal by the way) VS. some other lines? Are they better then JL, RF, Helix, Focal, etc....? Well I will ask you this? Why do the demand you use there own boards???? To avoid A/B comparisons......its crap! Do A/B if you go that route then try to sell a customer Hertz vs just about anything else in the same price range! Good luck! But yes, if you adhere to there rules you will sell nothing else, and you will make great margins. But if your customers get to a/b other stuff against there high priced low value product? You just lost a customer for life. As a rep for a mediocre at best company, I saw it first hand many a time. Even got the owners to admit that the product sold was clearly inferior but they made WAY to much per piece. I cant blame them at the end of the day. Its business. Diamond, focal, whatever........Figure out your market and decide what you need for your consumer base. If its diamond? Great. If you dont know? seek outside help. I have witnessed some shops (more often then not) that have ZERO marketing understanding and ability as well as business for that matter. Never be afraid to seek help! (not that I'm saying you need to at all! but what I've seen recently? Its more common then not! WOW) 
Bottom line.....no one should know what your market needs and wants more then you! Maybe Diamond has a good home.....but maybe it doesnt. Research it. FYI, I wouldnt be afraid of Diamond thats for sure! But its becoming less and less known. How good are your marketing abilities? Cause few if any manufacturers and distributors are going to help you with that! 

Best of luck with your shop regardless!


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## rexroadj (Oct 31, 2008)

sirbOOm said:


> I've seen us install the Memphis marine pods on boats a few times and was told we sold them but we don't have Memphis in the display boards.
> 
> It's about getting the salesmen to sell the product over the big names like JL, Alpine, Pioneer, and Kenwood. The salesman must push these "underdog" brands or they aren't gonna sell enough, IMO.


You shouldnt have to "push" anything! Thats a sales leaders/marketing specialist lest favorite terms. 

You should be "qualifying" your customer for there needs....PERIOD
Sadly its becoming a lost art


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## Angrywhopper (Jan 20, 2010)

Around these parts, nobody asks for Diamond. If you're getting requests for it, then you should carry it.


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## theeaudioboy (Jun 3, 2011)

rexroadj said:


> You shouldnt have to "push" anything! Thats a sales leaders/marketing specialist lest favorite terms.
> 
> You should be "qualifying" your customer for there needs....PERIOD
> Sadly its becoming a lost art



Amen !!! I couldnt agree more ! I know most shops around me are exactly the opposite of that , were you buy what there selling, or you know where the door is !!! is the way its seems with a lot of shops in my area its very sad though that shops wont work to get what some customers really want, and not be pushed into buying products they don't want or like or know about !!! I know I have sent my friends, my girl and my lil sister in as a "gofer" to see how they treat you !?? the days you could walk in a shop and mention a product or brand you interested in , and they would simply say we can place that order for you right now and have it in a few days No problem !!! that art of true customer relations does seem to be fading fast !!!...


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## Sleeves (Oct 22, 2010)

I can add a little bit here. If you are considering picking up Diamond, I would not do it based off of what you knew of them from 5-10 years ago. 90% of their current product line has nothing to do with past products. Most of what they have to offer is newly designed mid-level gear (using Power Acoustic amps & speakers as the bar for "low" and Diamond Audio Hex speakers and D7 series amps as the bar for "high"). Yes: they still seem to have the Hex Pros/ Hex comp sets/ TDX or D9 style 12", but you said that isn't what you are after anyway.

I've tried out the TX series 10's, TX 6x9 convertibles, and the TX3002 amplifier. They all do decent for their respective price points, but there's no "WOW" factor to pull people to something they have never heard of before besides you selling them over some brand you already carry. Like most others have said: it's up to you as to whether this line offers something over and above lines you already carry. Looking at what you currently have, I believe it is good enough to hold it's own against similarly priced RF and Polk product, BUT you're fighting an uphill battle of the name brands with your customers. If that's a battle you feel like fighting then by all means go for it.

As a side note on the TX amps: the price point seemed very low to me so I took a peek inside to compare it against some of the other amps I used to stock of similar size (just to see if they were sharing boards with anyone familiar). After comparing it to ARC XDi, Kicker DS, JL Audio JX, and Memphis PR series: it most closely resembled the JL Audio JX series in build. It wasn't a carbon copy of the board layout like Massive/American Bass/Critical Mass or KS Mini/Litebox/etc, but is was way more similar than dissimilar if I may be vague in that manner.

To summarize: I think it's affordable mid-level product in a market that is completely over-flowing with affordable mid-level product. I love old-school Diamond Audio and hate to see it go away, but I don't see whatever this current marketing plan and website with a bunch of placeholders taking them far in to the future.


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