Team Cyclops decides $35 for CDSE too cheap, won't supply

[FierceDeityLink1]

Deal Extreme had offered the CycloDS Evolution for $35 at the beginning of this month (July). It was not set to be in stock until 7/12/08.

On the CycloDS forums, many wondered whether DX had an authentic CycloDS since it was so cheap. Team Cyclops would neither confirm nor deny the existence of Deal Extreme as an authorized reseller.

When the order was expected to ship, I received this email:

Dear valued customer,

This is Tiffany from Dealextreme.

We are writing to inform you that your CycloDS (sku 14184) is still being held due to the supply issue from the Cyclo Team.

We deeply apologize for the wait. The delay is actually due to supply issues from a CycloDS dealer with their internal mess ups. If you are interested in learning more, details are included below.

But more importantly, DX is highly aware of the feeling of customers and the importance to solve the matter. Thus we would like to present the following options to you:

1. Receive for an immediate refund for the CycloDS AND we will send free NDS stylus (retail pack) as a way to thank you for your understanding.

** If you prefer full refund + free gift, please visit http://services.dealextreme.com/forms/OrderTracking.aspx to let us know of your choice.

or 2. wait for another week and we will either ship the CycloDS or contact you and offer the refund and gifts again.

** If you prefer to wait, simply do nothing and we will contact you again 1 week later.


As to what happened behind the scene, as you probaby know that DX always strive to offer the best price to customers like you and the price of the CycloDS have been negotiated and agreed upon with an official Dealer before listing. At the time listed no price restriction was put in place by either CycloDS or its dealer.

It was only a few days ago CycloDS has written directly to us demanding sharp price increase and warning about actions to be taken on supplies. Shortly after that, the dealer broke their promised initial shipment date. Although DX has cooperated with CycloDS by increasing prices of this product, the dealer still claims CycloDS is not providing stocks.

We are still working on this all days long and there is hope for upcoming shipment.


Thank you again for your understanding!


Best regard,
Tiffany

I would normally be fine with this if it wouldn't have taken 10 days between ordering and this letter. Team Cyclops has yet to comment on the issue.

Read more: CycloDS $36 SHIPPED AT DX.
Deal Extreme's official statement on their forum

 

[Trippy]

Interesting. I never bought a cyclods or from dx but I don't get it, doesn't team cyclops get the same amount per sale of a cyclods or is it by percentage of price?

 

[FierceDeityLink1]

From what I understand, Deal Extreme sells most of their products on very small margins. Team Cyclops probably wanted more for the units they ordered, and even if the CDSE cost DX $35, they probably would have still sold them. Team Cyclops is holding the stock and demanding it to be sold at $50.

 

[beedog19]

Wow, that's crappy. DX should be able to sell for whatever price they see fit. Does it really hurt Team Cyclops at all if it sells for cheaper at one place? They get their money up front and with such aggressive pricing I'm sure that they would have moved through a lot of product working with DX. Oh well, their loss, I won't be getting anything from them anytime soon.

 

[Foie]

It's such a shame that team Cyclops has to be such a bitch about this. Seriously. The amount of CycloDS sales would skyrocket at the price of $36, so they would have made much more profit. I don't really understand their logic... I guess other CycloDS vendors would lose sales, but it wouldn't hurt the Cyclops team...

And I was hoping that I might be able to get one of these. But now there's no way I'll buy one.

 

[Anakir]

Wow. I would've bought some instantly if they didn't have that debate over the prices.. I still want a CycloDS. I don't get my paycheck until the end of August though.

 

[cory1492]

Again, not jumping on the cloner Cyclo's bandwagon has proven fruitful for myself. They impacted someone else's business with their first product being a shoddy clone that tried to undercut competitors price while still relying on that competitor to provide the innovation and updates for their product - now they want to dictate and go back on deals because it might impact their main distributor/reseller. I only know of one currently somewhat successful "company" that would follow this type of logic, and they have a history of abandoning their customers/users in the face of $bottom$line$.

Seriously, some DSE fanatics really should take their heads out of the sand - it's currently the most "touted" product (as once R4 was) - but take a serious look at the tactics these people used to establish themselves and realize - once upon a time it was bad to buy tuna because it hurt dolphins (aka: they just want $$.)

 

[MagNetCZ]

Well maybe they just didn't want to hurt other shops

 

[coolbho3000]

Isn't this a form of price fixing? Isn't that an illegal anti-competitive practice?

Well maybe they just didn't want to hurt other shops

The other shops are hurting consumers by charging ridiculously marked up prices.

 

[FierceDeityLink1]

An official reply passing the buck back to Deal Extreme:

Some reseller related issues have come to our attention and as such we’d like to reassure our customers.

Firstly, stock is available for all resellers to purchase, there is no shortage now of black units and white units will be back in stock next week. We have heard comments that a certain reseller has announced that we have technical problems with our units, and so shipments are delayed. This is not the case at all. Any reseller who wishes to buy may do so now, units are freely available for sale.

As for pricing, we do ask for pricing to be kept at a reasonable level, but we do not stipulate exact pricing. This ensures that all resellers have a chance to benefit from sales of our product, whilst maintaining high levels of commitment to service and after sales service. We keep checks on resellers to ensure that service standards are met and any complaints from retail customers usually mean that we investigate the reseller in question, and if any wrong doing is found they are removed from our list of approved resellers. We also keep checks and balances to ensure that resellers are not selling clones or knock-offs.

Team Cyclops is always committed to serving our users. We are dedicated to providing the best support and software money can buy. Our reputation has been built on positive feedback and word of mouth. Please support the approved resellers, this ensures that you will get real Team Cyclops products and quality after sales support and service.

"Reseller Issues"