Why Do People Rave About Richer Sounds?

Stay Puft

Established Member
Joined
May 11, 2012
Messages
371
Reaction score
38
Points
132
Not sure I understand why many people rave abut Richer Sounds.
Everyone seems to be getting deals left right and centre but three times now, when I've looked at getting something similar it's been a flat out no or a slightly insulting "we'll give you £20 off". I get they are under no obligation to do anything but when you see others quoting this and that for much cheaper, I don't get it.

When I bought my old TV, RS gave nothing away. I had a voucher from the website but that was it.
Did they price match to another shop that I had a print out from? No. I can't remember why now. Yet a friend said they were given 5 pairs of 3D glasses with their TV. I got one pair that came with the TV anyway. Hardly sales team of the year :/

I'm in the market for a new TV.
Someone on the forums said they bought theirs for nearly £200 less than todays price. A few days ago when looking on the website, there was a banner advert with a 10% off promotion. Great! But upon reading the small print, that ended mid-March. Since I brought it to their attention, it's now been removed and replaced with a "Which Best Buy" advert. The user who bought theirs for £200 or so less seemed to suggest it was a very recent purchase (IE, after the promo). Maybe I got that impression but it was bought in the promo. I email asking about a price match (there is one, albeit only £50 or so) but get told to call the telesales people. Called them and they said they could price match but that's it. They couldn't even reduce by 2% from what I would gain through Topcashback. There is one dodgy-looking website that is offering around £100 off, which if Richer Sounds met that, I probably would have bought but to finish the phone call the agent, while stating it wasn't a sales tactic, did say these TVs will probably run out soon so don't leave it too long before buying.

My current (old) TV hasn't needed it's guarantee and it's not a draw for me - whether it's 2 years or 6 years, it makes no real difference really.
Maybe I'm not ballsey enough but then when asking if RS would match the 10% off, the answer was a flat no. This is the fourth time I've interacted with them and came away thinking I shouldn't bother again.

It's just saddening when I find a TV I think I want for prices to be higher and KNOWING they were cheaper just a couple of weeks before. Most of the time, we aren't totally privy to that info so don't feel like we're spending more than what we could.

Anyone care to offer any advice?
 
I'm not brand/store loyal, but in terms of my experience of RS;
  • 6 years warranty, with hassle free "support".
    • Had 2x LG's die in 18 months and 36 months respectively. Both dealt with under warranty. (Won't buy LG on the back of this).
  • Store local to me for collection.
  • Same staff in there for the past 15-20 years.
  • Never had any issues.

They've always done their best to match/beat any prices on the 2/3 times I've asked. But I don't always make a habit of asking, or looking for vouchers etc... the benefit of an item being in stock for collection, usually outweighs a 79p discount voucher.

This is my experience of the Sheffield branch at least.
 
Last edited:
 
RS are one of the very rare breed that have an active participation on this forum & have been keen to step in when things have gone wrong. If you don't want the enhancements they offer & can buy cheaper elsewhere, I'm not sure what the issue is - just buy elsewhere...
 
They knocked £1100 off my TV and it'd only just been released!!!

Fantastic delivery experience of the TV too. Felt like they'd delivered a Van Gogh the care they took over it and the process.

They also knocked 10% off all of the other items I bought alongside it.

Then when I'd set it all up the salesman I'd dealt with visited me to see it all up and running and gave me a free 4K Bluray.
 
Only bought an amp and speakers from RS and that was years ago. Rang up to check what I wanted and asked them to put them aside. Got there to find the amp had been sold. After several apologies I was offered a better amp for the price the other one would have been and had some speaker cable thrown in, too.

My brother's had ongoing problems with a sub bought from RS. They've gone above and beyond ever step of the way and done their best to help resolve.

So no complaints here.
 
Perhaps everyone else is just so terrible that even slightly above the bare minimum seems fantastic.

I’ve always had good service from them, but when compared to other shops they come across as demigods.
 
I bought a pack of batteries from my local store and the manager told me I could borrow of his car, stay at his holiday villa in Spain and have unlimited use of his wife!
 
The OP seems to have started this thread hoping for criticism, but I can only add my praise for Richer Sounds for all the reasons mentioned above. :thumbsup:
 
Yep. Just bought a TV from them. Best deal around - not really any cheaper than I could get it for, but with the 6 years warranty as opposed to the standard two that Currys and elsewhere were offering, it'd have been strange not to buy from them!

I appreciate John Lewis and Costco do similar, as do a couple of other stores, but none had this TV in stock, and at some point you need to decide whether chasing around elsewhere is actually going to get you a better deal or not.

The staff at Newcastle were great (with a particular shout out to Anis) and patient as I flip flopped between a couple of options (all done over the phone due the current situation).

We have had a TV go wrong, just before the end of an extended warranty (this one from Fenwicks) so know what they're worth - basically, if it happens, they're worth their weight in gold! It saved us £2.5k for the cost of the replacement!
 
More praise from me. I always recommend them to friends and family. Knowledgeable staff, excellent warranty and very flexible with price matching.

Bought my current tv from them and it developed a fault gave them a call, no hassle (don’t even remember having to give proof of purchase) they apologised several times and sorted a repair and within a week it was all resolved.

Wish I had more money to spend with them :rotfl:
 
I used to use them a lot in earlier days and looked forward to their regular magazine of new kit. But my experience is mixed and I haven’t bought anything off them for a couple of years.

On the good side.
1. Some staff are excellent and have gone the extra mile at times. I remember one guy from the Bromley store who drove me home in his own car with a new TV and then stayed to help me set it up.
2. Responsive on the internet. Senior staff monitor this site and can help.
3. Julian Richer once responded personally to a complaint of mine and got involved in resolving it.
4. Prices are OK and they will negotiate, though far from always the cheapest.
5. Richer gave his staff shares in a generous act that many could learn from.

On the bad side
1. The stores are generally dingy and can get over crowded. Sevenoaks take a completely different approach and appear more upmarket with better shop space.
2. Stores can quite often charge different prices for the same product.
3. Some stores are almost calamitous in terms of service with poor staff who are just too busy. They can come across as a bit amateur. One time I had to wait 30 minutes for a guy to cut some speaker wire.
4. Website is poor but improving. Buying off the internet is easier on other sites.
 
I bought my original Cambridge Melomania 1s for £120 and 3 months later lost them.
The Richer Sound staff member said "How does £80 sound for a new set since you had the others from here?".

I've had one bad experience with them in the early 80s.
They were selling an 'Enhancer' which I wanted for a recording studio so I rang up the London shop and asked if they had got one in and if they could post it but they didn't post stuff. I explained that I was getting on a train and coming all the way from Stoke and the assistant confirmed they had got one.
When I got there they hadn't got one so I asked for the Manager who had a fit, said they could have posted one and he knocked £50 off an £89 product and would post it free of charge.
I also walked out of the shop with other gifts.
 
I've had nothing but good service from RS and will continue to support them and buy if their price agrees with me.
 
I think getting good discounts only comes from building a relationship the store/brand (in this case Bristol RS). But as important is building a relationship with the staff in the store.

For example, I'm on 1st name terms with nearly all the staff. This relationship was built up over many months/years. Having a good rapport with them helps as does repeat purchases.

I've never paid RRP for any new gear I buy from them. In fact our rapport is that good, they anticipate me asking for discounts before I've even asked!

As a result, I've never felt it necessary to go (litterally) "Down the Road" to Sevenoaks. Ooh tell a lie I bought some PSB Atmos modules from them (no discount) because RS didn't stock them at all. RS have always price beaten any competitors quote I've shown them.

Can't fault their professionalism either. They've always gone the extra mile in terms of customer service. I once booked a 1hr demo & spent over 2hrs in store!
 
My last two purchases from RS were headphones, the first pair, Shure 1540s, were price matched, actually beaten by £10 which put them a fair way below what RS was initially charging. The second pair I bought were Oppo PM1s and at that time with Oppo leaving the HiFi market they were still the cheapest by £100.

Apart from that when ever I've bought some thing relatively heavy for me to carry, I have mobility issues, the sales people have always carried the box out to the car for me. Honestly can't fault RS at all, always had excellent service from them in the Cardiff branch.
 
I've always had good or excellent service so that's why I hold them in esteem.

One of the best examples is when I went to buy a new subwoofer. I had a more expensive subwoofer that developed a fault which I bought from them but it was well past its warranty period. I explained this to the sales advisor after saying what I wanted to buy and he recommended getting my faulty subwoofer repaired instead and gave the name of a repair shop that they found to be reliable.

What other shop would do that and turn down and definite sale? The cynical among you may suspect they have a financial arrangement with the repair shop but I don't see how that would work as I didn't mention Richer Sounds when I took the subwoofer to be repaired.
 
I've had fine customer service from them in Glasgow. Only once have they let me down and even then they gave me a good discount to say sorry.
 
Had a couple of really poor experiences in Glasgow many years back and never really used them since. Despite that, I told my folks to pop in when they were looking for a little system and they left disappointed too. I’ve heard other decent reports since so I’d still check them out.

As with any retailer, it maybe depends on which staff member you get on the day. I like to think I’m a helpful chap, but I’ve worked with all sorts of lunatics in retail.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom