The Ebay'er that sells Unidens very reasonable currently has two BCD396XT's listed @ $469.99/ea.
eBay Seller: salesgal 123: Electronics items on eBay.com=
eBay Seller: salesgal 123: Electronics items on eBay.com=
BCD396XT's @ $469.99
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HancockCountyHal
Member
Thanks for the link to ebay. Unfortunatly, I don't do business with them or Paypal, but am looking for a reasonable value in a digital scanner.
When I went to the ebay site, I noticed it said "DIRECT from Uniden". Is this really from Uniden Direct and who's salesgal? Does Uniden really only have two (2) of these to sell? Right. And what's with the "list price" of $899.99 shown on the Bearcatwarehouse site? Give me a break. They may as well set a list price of $5,000 to make some people think they're getting a real deal. Kind of like auto dealers adding a grand for rust proofing and you charging you $800.
FYI, the Uniden Direct web site still shows a price of $550 so I'm confused.
Uniden did have their big Christmas sale and knocked a whopping 10% of the price which brought them down to just a little bit more expensive than typical online scanner prices.
By the same token, GRE and RadioCrap sell their competing units for wildly different prices too. $450 for a GRE and $500 for the RS, unless it's on sale for $400, or maybe you bought on for $280 a Chrismas or two ago. Don't forget about this comes with an AC adapter and this dosen't slight of hand.
I know prices are "market driven" and maybe it's a good sign prices are falling a little. Sadly, there only seems to be two major players in the consumer scanner market which really hurts competion and the end user. Remember, RS wasn't losing money at $280. Think about it.
I understand the "if you want it, you'll pay for it" marketing philosophy, but hey scanner manufacturers, why not give us a fair, everyday price and cut out all the smoke and mirrors.
Thank you
HCH
When I went to the ebay site, I noticed it said "DIRECT from Uniden". Is this really from Uniden Direct and who's salesgal? Does Uniden really only have two (2) of these to sell? Right. And what's with the "list price" of $899.99 shown on the Bearcatwarehouse site? Give me a break. They may as well set a list price of $5,000 to make some people think they're getting a real deal. Kind of like auto dealers adding a grand for rust proofing and you charging you $800.
FYI, the Uniden Direct web site still shows a price of $550 so I'm confused.
Uniden did have their big Christmas sale and knocked a whopping 10% of the price which brought them down to just a little bit more expensive than typical online scanner prices.
By the same token, GRE and RadioCrap sell their competing units for wildly different prices too. $450 for a GRE and $500 for the RS, unless it's on sale for $400, or maybe you bought on for $280 a Chrismas or two ago. Don't forget about this comes with an AC adapter and this dosen't slight of hand.
I know prices are "market driven" and maybe it's a good sign prices are falling a little. Sadly, there only seems to be two major players in the consumer scanner market which really hurts competion and the end user. Remember, RS wasn't losing money at $280. Think about it.
I understand the "if you want it, you'll pay for it" marketing philosophy, but hey scanner manufacturers, why not give us a fair, everyday price and cut out all the smoke and mirrors.
Thank you
HCH
While I can't answer all your questions, I can confirm that the radios ship directly out of a Uniden warehouse, and are brand new, not refurbished. I know, I bought one.
Nothing fishy going on, as the seller has sold a lot of Uniden scanners and has 100% positive feedback.
Nothing fishy going on, as the seller has sold a lot of Uniden scanners and has 100% positive feedback.
b7spectra
EMS Dispatcher
It's called either low or minimal overhead. Uniden probably sells them to dealers for, and this is just a guess, $450, and everything after that is profit. Just like gasoline. $2.00 a gallon to the store, everything after that is profit (of course, the $2.00 is just used as a reference).
HancockCountyHal
Member
Thanks for the responses. Some of my questions were somewhat rhetorical but I don't want to "invest" and find out a day later that there is a real sale somewhere or that someone took my money and ran.
Since were guessing here I'd suspect that dealers can buy the 396xt and 996xt for about $250 and the landed cost in the US is about $79.00.(not including SG&A. Just my opinion and of course just a guess. I believe fully in free enterprise and know it takes a lot of mark up to keep the lights and the heat on, pay business taxes and the like. Just looking for a high volume dealer that can cover overhead and expenses and pass on some of the savings to the hobbyist.
Thanks again and a have agreat new year.
HCH
Since were guessing here I'd suspect that dealers can buy the 396xt and 996xt for about $250 and the landed cost in the US is about $79.00.(not including SG&A. Just my opinion and of course just a guess. I believe fully in free enterprise and know it takes a lot of mark up to keep the lights and the heat on, pay business taxes and the like. Just looking for a high volume dealer that can cover overhead and expenses and pass on some of the savings to the hobbyist.
Thanks again and a have agreat new year.
HCH
sjlamb
Member
Hate to burst the bubble but; there is only a 15-20% mark-up on consumer electronics. The higher the MSRP; the lower the mark-up. Dealer COST on a $500 scanner is around $430-$440.... slightly lower for large quantity purchases by some dealers. Radio sales are only profitable as they drive the more profitable sale of accessories and service.
For the kind of mark-up you're guessing at; you would have to look at the sale of jewelry, furniture, make-up and most notorious.... women's shoes.
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These are probably "drop-shipped" as someone said low overhead.
The list price is probably made up just to male it sound like a better deal.
I have bought from that seller in the past (shipped to a US address) and I can recommend her. Had a good experience.
but note it doesn't come with a reciept so probably no warrenty.
The list price is probably made up just to male it sound like a better deal.
I have bought from that seller in the past (shipped to a US address) and I can recommend her. Had a good experience.
but note it doesn't come with a reciept so probably no warrenty.
osiris
Member
BCD396XT for 469.99
Hi all,
USASCAN.com has this radio for 499.95 which includes $30.00 shipping UPS grond. I just orderedone on Tuesday. They give you 61 days to return it if you are not satisfied.
This is the 3rd Uniden scanner I've ordered from them. NO PROBLEMS at all.
Just my .02 cents FYI
Bob
Hi all,
USASCAN.com has this radio for 499.95 which includes $30.00 shipping UPS grond. I just orderedone on Tuesday. They give you 61 days to return it if you are not satisfied.
This is the 3rd Uniden scanner I've ordered from them. NO PROBLEMS at all.
Just my .02 cents FYI
Bob
Just got mine at Scannermaster for 489.00 shipped. But yes I had to turn around and buy the 29.99 down load cable.
It comes with a PC (serial) cable and you could have got a USB-serial adapter from radio shack or ebay
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