Terra 8TB SSD price increase Feb 1st

[cinelife]

Absolutely disgusting that Kaleidescape would not inform its user base of the increase in advance. I was about to buy another 8TB unit and had to wait until Feb 15 for my bonus to hit and could have purchased It earlier on my credit card.. i am done with kaleidescape. Too expensive.

Other than as a marketing tool to sell a product when sales are slow, what other companies send out emails to owners of their products informing them of an upcoming price increase?

We happen to be living in a time that components used by most AV companies are seeing rapidly fluctuating price increases. Demands for some components, tariffs on most others have in some cases caused almost immediate price increases.

Regarding the 8TB SSD in particular, K wasn't hiding the price increase. Within a day of that decsion many dealers were notified by their sales managers that the increase would be effective on Feb. 1st. That info was also posted to this forum by a dealer about a week before the increase took effect, and you are posting in the relevant thread.

Jim

 

[Hb861]

Absolutely disgusting that Kaleidescape would not inform its user base of the increase in advance. I was about to buy another 8TB unit and had to wait until Feb 15 for my bonus to hit and could have purchased It earlier

Other than as a marketing tool to sell a product when sales are slow, what other companies send out emails to owners of their products informing them of an upcoming price increase?

We happen to be living in a time that components used by most AV companies are seeing rapidly fluctuating price increases. Demands for some components, tariffs on most others have in some cases caused almost immediate price increases.

Regarding the 8TB SSD in particular, K wasn't hiding the price increase. Within a day of that decsion many dealers were notified by their sales managers that the increase would be effective on Feb. 1st. That info was also posted to this forum by a dealer about a week before the increase took effect, and you are posting in the relevant thread.

Jim

you should run a small business.. i inform all my clients when i have to increase prices due to raw material increases.. i give them at least 4 weeks notice. Called courtesy.

I only check this forum once a month.. its not the Financial Times..


on my credit card.. i am done with kaleidescape. Too expensive

 

[Mrock]

Hi Rock!

That would be, at least, somewhat reassuring, for end users, but there are still some dubieties to assuage, for, at once, K and end users. The requisite, legal, responsibility, for the manufacturer/purveyor, being the most salient. Does the ?5 year responsibility survive resales?

Thank you very much

FURY

Hi FURY!

The trade-In and repairing of the their products is meant to reduce costs and stress to both the company as well as the customer. The doubts you are referring to would be mitigated with stronger security in sales (growth), lowering costs {using existing or repaired parts) and reduce waste (discarded products) by the customer. As far as the legal aspects, the company would handle all of the repairs or refurbished products in house so all security and contracts remain unchanged.
And to answer the question "Does the 5 year warranty survive?", It depends..... but in my humble opinion I would gladly have it reduced to the old way of 3 yrs with the ability to have it repaired versus playing the hot potato game and sell it to someone with little to no warranty. I write these suggestions out not to say I have this all in one panacea but to provide feedback to a company that I believe in and want to see it improve. If they didn't listen to their customers I don't think they would have offered a lower cost entry today nor would the warranty have been extended to five years.

Thanks for the conversation

ROCK

 

[thrillcat]

Absolutely disgusting that Kaleidescape would not inform its user base of the increase in advance. I was about to buy another 8TB unit and had to wait until Feb 15 for my bonus to hit and could have purchased It earlier on my credit card.. i am done with kaleidescape. Too expensive.

Seems like something you should take up with your dealer, not Kaleidescape. Why didn't your dealer inform their customers?

 

[thrillcat]

i inform all my clients when i have to increase prices due to raw material increases.. i give them at least 4 weeks notice. Called courtesy.

Do the manufacturers of your raw materials notify your customers, or is that your role in the process?

 

[cinelife]

I own 4 businesses, all would be considered small (under $20 mil/year). The only clients I keep up to date on pricing are K clients that have expressed an interest in a particular product. I don't send blanket emails because I put that in a marketing category, and I have no interest in adding to my friends/clients marketing spam. If you had been my client, and had shared your interest in the 8TB SSD, you would have been notified of the impending increase (as several were).

Jim

 

[Hb861]

Seems like something you should take up with your dealer, not Kaleidescape. Why didn't your dealer inform their customers?

I bought through Best Buy.. also when the Terra 8GB SSD was announced I did get an email from Kaleidescape..

 

[Ironman1718]

As dealers, we received advance notice from our Kaleidescape representative a few weeks before the 8TB SSD price increase. In response to Hb861’s comment, I informed all of my pending customers and also emailed previous owners as a courtesy. Clear communication is key.

 

[cinelife]

I bought through Best Buy.. also when the Terra 8GB SSD was announced I did get an email from Kaleidescape..

K will send product information on new product releases, and Store related marketing, like most companies, but they leave it to the Dealers to interact with their clients when it comes to pricing matters. Unfortunately, there are limits in that regard when it comes to Best Buy (not knocking BB, they do a good job supporting K sales).

Your situation was just bad timing, it happened to coincide with the short notice price increase.

Jim

 

[dinom]

Since you were going to buy it at Best Buy at full list price, you might be surprised to reach out to some online dealers here as the cost might be a lot less than you think.

 

[StanfieldNC]

Other than as a marketing tool to sell a product when sales are slow, what other companies send out emails to owners of their products informing them of an upcoming price increase?

While they aren’t strictly "required" to do so, providing a heads-up is a great way to maintain goodwill with a loyal user base.

Many major brands actually do this quite regularly. To name a few, streaming services like Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube TV always provide advanced notice before a rate hike. Tesla is also famous for announcing price adjustments...both up and down...ahead of time. Even in the broader hardware space, companies like Asus and Nintendo have recently flagged price increases due to market volatility and component costs.

I’m just pointing out that many national brands provide their base with an advanced warning of a price hike. This is often driven by the current volatility in the electronics market, shifts in manufacturing costs, or even evolving tariff structures.

I don’t really have a "dog in this fight," and I believe any organization has the right to make the decisions they feel are best for their business. I’m fairly decisive: if I plan to buy something, I buy it. I understand that markets fluctuate; in fact, I know for a fact that some tech sectors have seen prices drop by nearly 50% over the last few years.

While lowering prices in tech is relatively rare, hardware is clearly Kaleidescape’s lifeblood. I actually think the strategy of providing a lower cost of entry while adjusting the price of storage is a smart play. Once users get a taste of the ecosystem, they almost always come back for more...even if they originally intended to stay small.

Jeff

 

[Kabillyhop]

While they aren’t strictly "required" to do so, providing a heads-up is a great way to maintain goodwill with a loyal user base.

Many major brands actually do this quite regularly. To name a few, streaming services like Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube TV always provide advanced notice before a rate hike. Tesla is also famous for announcing price adjustments...both up and down...ahead of time. Even in the broader hardware space, companies like Asus and Nintendo have recently flagged price increases due to market volatility and component costs.

I’m just pointing out that many national brands provide their base with an advanced warning of a price hike. This is often driven by the current volatility in the electronics market, shifts in manufacturing costs, or even evolving tariff structures.

I don’t really have a "dog in this fight," and I believe any organization has the right to make the decisions they feel are best for their business. I’m fairly decisive: if I plan to buy something, I buy it. I understand that markets fluctuate; in fact, I know for a fact that some tech sectors have seen prices drop by nearly 50% over the last few years.

While lowering prices in tech is relatively rare, hardware is clearly Kaleidescape’s lifeblood. I actually think the strategy of providing a lower cost of entry while adjusting the price of storage is a smart play. Once users get a taste of the ecosystem, they almost always come back for more...even if they originally intended to stay small.

Jeff

Good point, but I wouldn't include subscription services like Netflix as an example of good behaviour. These companies have contracts with their customers and are legally required to give notice of price increases.

 

[StanfieldNC]

Good point, but I wouldn't include subscription services like Netflix as an example of good behaviour. These companies have contracts with their customers and are legally required to give notice of price increases.

That is a fair distinction, but they were really just a few examples within the entertainment space. My main point is simply that it is not as uncommon as some might think for companies to provide advance notice of price hikes.

I stand by what I said regarding Kaleidescape in this specific situation. Ultimately, I believe they weigh these decisions based on what is best for the company, which in their case is also what is best for the users. If we enjoy the service, then the company needs the proper funding to keep providing it.

I am not in the industry myself, but I can imagine that licensing costs are outrageous. We all know that Kscape is not a giant player like Apple, Netflix, or Amazon. They also cater to a very different type of end user.

I believe they did what they could to reduce the cost of entry while increasing the cost of the optimal experience. This allows those who previously had a financial barrier to finally enter the ecosystem. Meanwhile, those who want the premium experience are investing more, which in turn helps secure the future of the company.

 

[errodrigues]

The 18 tb is a compact terra prime

I don't see any 18TB compact terra prime option available anywhere. BestBuy however offers the Terra Prime Movie Server 12TB - Silver (K-0114-012) for $6,995 which being now $1K cheaper then the new mini terra prime, looks like a much more compelling offer now, if you ask me.

Tbh, $5,995 was already quite an expensive piece of hardware, imo. Now at $2K more it makes no sense at all.
I guess I'll have to stick only to my Strato E until these prices come back to earth.

 

[jackuiowa]

I don't see any 18TB compact terra prime option available anywhere. BestBuy however offers the Terra Prime Movie Server 12TB - Silver (K-0114-012) for $6,995 which being now $1K cheaper then the new mini terra prime, looks like a much more compelling offer now, if you ask me.

Its an 18 tb compact terra. Contact your dealer for pricing.

Not a compact terra prime. Just compact terra

 

[Furnace Inferno]

I don't see any 18TB compact terra prime option available anywhere. BestBuy however offers the Terra Prime Movie Server 12TB - Silver (K-0114-012) for $6,995 which being now $1K cheaper then the new mini terra prime, looks like a much more compelling offer now, if you ask me.

Tbh, $5,995 was already quite an expensive piece of hardware, imo. Now at $2K more it makes no sense at all.
I guess I'll have to stick only to my Strato E until these prices come back to earth.

I have nearly 1000 movies now so for me the difference between 125 movies and 190 is irrelevant. Both give the full posterwall and KScape experience so I went for the 8TB SSD for the improved endurance and not needing to worry about a mechanical drive dying and bricking the whole unit.

We’ll see if it actually holds up in practice!

 

[cinelife]

The 48TB Terra Prime is also now EOL. I grabbed the last a couple days ago. I also have a couple of 8TB SSD based on the original proce before the increase if anyone needs one. The current Terra models available new from K are the Terra Prime 8TB SSD, the 18TB Terra (not Prime), and the 96TB Terra Prime.

Jim

 

[Rituxan]

Yikes that is really bad about the 48TB also being EOL. I just bought a new 48TB Terra Prime but have not received it yet, will follow up with my dealer to make sure my order can still be fulfilled.

That is a massive price gap now between minimal storage (8 or 18TB) and tons of storage (96TB). Really hope this is a temporary hiccup and the Terra Prime line up can become more fleshed out again in the future.

 

[Ironman1718]

Yikes that is really bad about the 48TB also being EOL. I just bought a new 48TB Terra Prime but have not received it yet, will follow up with my dealer to make sure my order can still be fulfilled.

That is a massive price gap now between minimal storage (8 or 18TB) and tons of storage (96TB). Really hope this is a temporary hiccup and the Terra Prime line up can become more fleshed out again in the future.

You are good, it is while supplies last. Enjoy the new 48TB!!!

 

[cinelife]

They only had two remaining on Thursday, both were sold by Friday.

Jim