DIY alarms with $10 monitoring?

Any one ever hear of these guys.

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Reply to
nick markowitz
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Yeah, they're really looking to tap into the DIY market. Seen a few discussions on some of the DIY forums, must be looking to compete with Alarmrelay. They're also reselling alarm.com monitoring dirt cheap, bastards.

Reply to
BigCheese

Why do you call them bastards. Doesn't almost every small dealer in the country resell monitoring from one or another of the national CS's? Even if they sell it dirt cheap, that shouldn't affect your business at all. DIY doesn't really compete with professional installation. Those who are willing and able to DIY will never buy an installed system and those who can't rarely consider DIY. If you do a good job and your prices are at least reasonable, your business will do alright, regardless what some other company is doing.

I once got a call from a very irate alarm installer (he might have only been a salesman; I'm not sure). Apparently, he gave a customer a bid for a Napco system and the client later searched for Napco online to see if the price was fair. When the client saw that my prices were about 1/4 of what he wanted he asked why. Instead of correctly pointing out that DIY comes with limited support, parts warranty only and no on site service, the guy flipped out and lost the sale.

I tried to explain to him how to win the sale in that situation but he could only see that I charge less and that made him angry. Tough for him but I didn't hear from the client anyway. He probably hired some other local installer. Oh, well.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

I run into that with digital video recording all the time. Why can't I just throw a card in this computer I already have and put in those 49 dollar cameras off of Ebay. My reply is always the same. YOU can. Save your receipts and check their return policies. If you are happy installing your own system and it works for you it may be the best option for YOU.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

That's an excellent answer, but I would follow that up with a demo of professional equipment and an explanation of the benefits of professional installation, experience and knowledge of available and appropriate camera and DVR choices, etc. If he wants a pro job, let a pro do it for him. If he's able to do his own work, more power to him -- sell him the hardware at a discount so you earn something for your troubles while he gets the benefit of local warranty access, etc.

What I would not do is complain about competition from online sources. That is just a fact of the modern day marketplace. The pro can either learn to sell *over* the online stores or start his own online store as a sideline. You never know where that might lead. :^)

Reply to
Robert L Bass

H7C8mNyXjXnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com...

an. =EF=BF=BDSave your

That's pretty universal, I think. I often get, ....... "I saw a CCTV sytem at ( Rat Shack, Costco, Sams, Best Buy, etc) for $400.00. How come yours is $5000.00? "

I invite them to go and purchase the system that they saw and I'll install it for them at $ X.XX per device plus additional parts. I warranty my installation work for a year. What the cameras ultimately can see .....along with repair or obtaining replacement of equipment is the owners responsibility. Service calls are $95.00 for the first hour. $65.00 for every hour thereafter. Chages are made for both removal and reinstallation of equipment.

I sort of rattle the above off .... like it's a memorized liturgy. They quickly get the point and the conversation continues about what I am proposing.

Reply to
Jim

Exactly! That's why businesses like mine have almost no impact on the installing trade. My potential client isn't yours nor vice versa.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

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