They do care. But I think some things get to the point where you can't control it anymore.
Six months ago everyone was saying you never see an RTI remote on Ebay. Not true anymore. There is at least one T2 every week. The good news for RTI is without the software it does no good to own one, unless you have a CI that will program it for you.

Good question!

I guess it's like having an old friend for many years and he suddenly becomes hooked on drugs and it is destroying his (our) life.

Even though he doesn't 'want' your help, you still feel a need to 'save' him(us).

URC has chosen there path (of income) and there isn't anything we can do to change that.

I would imagine they are moving more "boxes" with this avenue of 'distribution' than us CI's do anyway! (I guess they have found there 'niche')

Even with them being sold below "dealer cost", they're making the same amount of money!

More if you factor in the amount of "boxes" that are surely flying out of THERE wharehouse!

I have given up and switched to another remote line but I still have hope!!!!

Makes me wonder how much longer they will be "wasting" the money they spend on training and trade shows!!!

I hope I'm wrong (being an old friend and all) but... business is business!

Time will tell.

Understood.....BUT I'm not buying the out of control thing because they can pull their lines, track people the same way that RTI does(however that is?), pull the software out of the box, update software/firmware so it would take a CI to get software for any unit here on out.

There's bound to be older units from any manufacturer out there eventually, but this is a little overboard. These are brand new MX3000's not 2-3 year old T2's.

I'm don't mean to bash URC or put any other remote brand on a pedestal. But, I don't understand why we would support a company that does'nt support CI the way that they should.

Understand that I really like URC products(mostly) but this ebay thing for me is unforgivable. I don't choose what we carry but do make suggestions on what we should and why and when I tell my boss to check e-bay for an MX-3000 and he chokes on his coffee it doesn't take a genious to think about other routes for some exclusivity from the big boxes and e-tailers of the world.

I really hope they figure it out quickly.

MY .02

One last question then.....

What does URC have to gain, buy alienating the CI's? I mean, why hold you guys to a price, but not others? And, if there selling alot and moving boxes, why not just sell them at the low price and really move some boxes?

This just makes my head hurt.

My gut tells me that they needed to make a name for there line.

Once the CI's achieved that, we weren't needed anymore (extra baggage). Our 'job' seems to be over!

The fact that CI's pay more for the product than what others 'retail' it for only drives the point home!

They have "progressed' to the 'box moving' stage of there business plan.

It seems to be working!

It's really nothing out of the ordinary for 'big business'.

"Use the little guy" and make your fortune!

Once again, I hope I'm wrong, but, it sure has played out that way!

It just occured to me.

URC still needs us!

To offer information on programing on sites like this!!!

THAT'S why they still offer 'training' to CI's!!!!

It's all starting to make sense now!

Once again, I hope I'm wrong, but..........?

Is gullible in the dictionary?

OK, After reading this thread as well as a few others over the last few days, I made a call to the owners of my company and had a discussion on Universal remotes and the fact the the distribution channels have gotten out of hand. We have receved several calls over the last few weeks for assistance on programming URC remotes we didnt sell...Now thats out of hand.

We have concluded the URC name is tarnished and is beginning to leave alot of CI's in some bad situations with its Poor RF and Poor distribution channels and Ebay sales below our Distribution prices

we have decided to NOT sell the URC brand anymore,

Sorry URC, we have gone with these issues long enough and are fed up with it all.
We will be calling our rep in the morning to let him know the situation URC has put us in and drop the line 100%. all remaining stock will be ebayed or given away at local fund raisers

Will they have a factory authorized warranty? :)

It not unethical to BUY a remote from an unauthorized dealer on ebay or elsewhere. Its unethical to SELL, unauthorized on ebay. Which means you are supporting a scumbag, with every purchase or referral.

As the Pros flee URC you will see the product decline. Using the current business model we have seen URC go from the top of the food chain to somewhere just above Harmony. Yes RTI has popped up on ebay from time to time, but most often they get taken down before the auction ends.

Support you local CI. Big Box, will not support you after the sale. Press 1 for english 2 for espanol followed by 45 min of smooth jazz. Only to find out you know more about the product then the 15 year old on the other end of the line.

This is happening at several places across the US but it’s complicated. For instance these overseas physicians are not board certified or even board eligible. Also they are not licensed or credentialed in the hospitals. Some hospitals are allowing preliminary reports (late night initial interpretation). I am an interventionalist so unless you can do a renal artery stent on a patient in the USA through the internet I'm safe. As far as my loans we all have debt and I'm taking care of mine just fine. I now better understand the predicament of CIs and don't blame any of you from trying to make an honest living.

I'm reminded of DirecTV clipping 4,000 CI's of their dealer status several years ago. Prior to that time CI's were an integral part of making their product reliable and legitimate in the marketplace. A home theater wasn't a home theater without DirecTV.

Installing systems got nearly so simple that even a caveman could do it (I'm sure I'm going to get some flak for this).

Now that it's been a few years it's got complicated again. Their "smells like last nights beer" subs are in over their heads with the learning curves of a 5 LNB dish and DVR software. They take hours (if not days) to complete a shoddy "standard" installation.

The 700/800 was "meant only for CI distribution" (until the major bugs were worked out - thanks CI's). Then it was the 850 and the MRF-300 for a very short time (thank you CI's with your stellar and even lightning fast field testing and troubleshooting). Now I'm seeing the 900 on ebay 10 days after the class and before I can even get my stock.

To me, it's a very short term near sighted business plan. It's like pulling back the artillary so the oposing force can overrun the front lines. For what? Are the generals going to jump into the trenches? ha.

Just seems there is a more honorable and viable solution that would encourage long term trust and loyalty among the believers.

rant off.

There is a lot of speculation in this thread that URC knowingly "looks the other way" and happily sells our Custom Professional line to Ebay sellers. In fact, as I have said many times, we actively buy product from Ebay to trace the source. We have had success in the past at identifying the source and cutting them off. However, in our latest rounds of purchasing product we have found that these sellers are beyond "grey market". It is definitively "black market". The sellers have had our manufacturing serial numbers and production batch labels removed. It may be stolen, it may be defective, it certainly is not warranteed by URC.

Of course, we have taken measures to identify the product in other ways, and we will take legal action to ensure that these sellers are shut down. Everything takes time. The same sellers are also offering custom only products from Sonance, Russound and Monster Cable and will eventually face legal action from them as well.

At URC, we make our living from the good will of Custom Professionals. These internet sales are drop in the bucket compared to the vast number of products sold and installed by professionals every month. We actually pay a great deal of money every month to stop these sales. We will pay even more, before these people are stopped. We are not looking the other way. We are the victims of well organized CRIMINALS, who will eventually meet their just ends.

Best Regards,

-Eric

Eric, It really aint that hard! If you want to do a little research on how to control distribution call Paradigm Electronics. They have "PUBLIC HANGINGS" for dealers that do not play by the rules. They terminate the dealer and then email all the other dealers with all the embarassing details. Needless to say I only have a couple of emails from them where this happened.
Now I challenge you to put your money where your mouth is. Let's have a public hanging for this guy: [Link: cgi.ebay.com]
It only takes a call to Ebay to get his info. I had to do this many times as a retail store manager, they give em right up when you tell them something illegal is going on. You can also call them on the illegal use of your trademark. They will yank the listing right away if you scream trademark infringement.
I have the RTI software installed and ready to go if this keeps getting worse not better. I will hold on as long as I can stand it. Don't get me wrong the MX-850 was my favorite remote and now the MX-900 is my new favorite. Best product out there for the money in my book. You guys are very supportive of dealers until it comes to distribution issues. I do not mean to be so harsh but this situation is obviously out of control. If you think this does not affect dealers then let me tell you about an MX-3000 and an MX-950 story that will make your skin crawl. I did not just lose the remote sale but the customer said I must be a thief because of the ebay pricing he saw and bought everything elsewhere even though I was cheaper on everything except the remote. Dude, URC's distribution has cost me 2 big sales recently and a few when I was in retail. I looked bad in this situation because the thing was on Ebay cheaper than dealer cost. Leave the MX-850 for the DIYer and make the MX-900 and up for the CI guys only. Require a dealer agreement be signed for every dealer, even the ones who buy thru distro. Again sorry for the harshness of this post because I really love you guys.

I follow RTI's on Ebay every week all the way to the end. I have never seen one get cancelled early yet.

Jed,

Call me. I don't want to conduct a primer for ebay wannabees here in a public forum. We will stop these people, quite painfully for them.

Best Regards,

-Eric