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Rifle Scopes What’s the deal with S&B

PTPATAW

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Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 1, 2017
179
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Has their quality control really decreased? Mile High no longer carries them for a “mix of reasons.”

What are the issues people are actually seeing?
 
I'm by no means an 'insider' but what little info I gleaned from S&B when trying to redeem a cert from corporate was MH and Euro were in a bit of a price war and both selling optics for less than S&B cared for. Anything beyond that would be me speculating.
 
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Tibosaurus the youtube guy had a 5-25 bust on him a while ago in a sub zero environment.
That's the only one I know of that's pretty publicly confirmed beyond forum banter/rumors.
They did fix it for him though, if that counts for anything to you. Personally I don't think slapping on a comprehensive warranty compensates for breaking products.

The official SB statement is that nothing has changed in terms of their manufacturing QC.
 
S&B's quality control is among the best, there's nothing lacking there.

The reason that most dealers don't carry them is profit margin, it's extremely tight. Many other companies have double (or more) the margin that S&B has. Everybody wants a discount to feel like they're getting a deal too.

They're also expensive and there's a lot of knob and reticle options so that's a lot of expensive inventory to keep money tied up in for this small profit. If dealers don't stock them then it's a two month or longer wait for a special order from Germany which most consumers don't want to wait for. So after you wrap up hundreds of thousands of dollars (millions in some dealers cases) for this inventory and it doesn't sell, then you liquidate it at a loss because there's not enough margin to liquidate and break even.

That's why dealers carry and push other brands. It's not for lack of quality or anything else.
 
S&B's quality control is among the best, there's nothing lacking there.

The reason that most dealers don't carry them is profit margin, it's extremely tight. Many other companies have double (or more) the margin that S&B has. Everybody wants a discount to feel like they're getting a deal too.

They're also expensive and there's a lot of knob and reticle options so that's a lot of expensive inventory to keep money tied up in for this small profit. If dealers don't stock them then it's a two month or longer wait for a special order from Germany which most consumers don't want to wait for. So after you wrap up hundreds of thousands of dollars (millions in some dealers cases) for this inventory and it doesn't sell, then you liquidate it at a loss because there's not enough margin to liquidate and break even.

That's why dealers carry and push other brands. It's not for lack of quality or anything else.

Well said......;)

(I was really interested in SuB, but the number of options made my eyes bleed/gave me a migraine. Went w/Minox ZP5, MR4.....couldn't be happier)
 
S&B's made some changes for the better in recent times, but I see them needing to step up their game a little more to hang with the market. I recently picked up a 5-25x PMII with a GenII XR. I haven't shot it yet, but in terms of optical quality and overall product feel, I was impressed enough to let an AMG go and make this my sole high-mag optic for the time being while I focus my efforts some. I wish their reticle options were more numerous, but it is what it is, though they are working on it with the LRR and MSR2. Time will tell how long it takes for those to actually hit the market though.

But I see them needing to bring a mid-grade optic or make serious changes to their line to keep up with the competition as time goes by. I think it was WJM308 who mentioned some changes he'd like to see brought out in a new "PMIII" line, so we'll see what happens.
 
LRR-Mil quit teasing us SB, bad for business. Too many other options,out there, dang slow moving giants are a problem.
 
The next scope I want to get is either the S&B 12-50 or the 5-45
I've had great success with them for many years & see no reason to change.
 
Well said......;)

(I was really interested in SuB, but the number of options made my eyes bleed/gave me a migraine. Went w/Minox ZP5, MR4.....couldn't be happier)
This.
Gave up after googling all those acronyms and new vs old turrets etc. Then went with a Razor for much less.
 
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MSRP means nothing, MAP is street selling price. Every brand is different as far as margin. The only time MSRP means anything is when a company offers a direct buy MIL/LEO discount they offer the discount off of the MSRP not the MAP. In reality that's rarely a great deal as most retailers you build a relationship with will match that price and you don't need to wait forever to get the product as you'll usually have to when using one of those direct purchase programs.
 
What IS the profit margin on optics/scopes?

If MSRP is $2,000 what is the dealer paying?


My guess is nobody is going to give you an answer. I look at it this way, if I am getting what I want and everyone else is paying the same.. OH well, we are keeping a business stay in the black and helping out the economy. If they are a price gouging bunch of SOB's then they can pound sand!
 
Guys, S&B doesn't have an MSRP. They go by MAP/MRP. MSRP's are pretty stupid, especially when a company ALSO has MAP/MRP. Most manufacturers are going to MAP or MRP these days to protect their dealers from someone with no overhead that can operate on making next to no margin opening up and undercutting all of their dealers.


What IS the profit margin on optics/scopes?

If MSRP is $2,000 what is the dealer paying?

Nobody is going to tell you that as a consumer, I'm certainly not. Nothing good will come of advertising product margins openly, just a bunch of folks feeling entitled to buy at a maximum discount who don't understand the actual costs of running a business.

If you want to know what dealer cost is then start a business and become a dealer.
 
Mile High is also not moving forward with Cadex according to them last time I was in (wouldn't deliver product). I was told that the S&B thing was because MH was having to play by a different set of rules than some others, which was the product of a new person at S&B.
Point being, we can infer that back office/sales manager antics exceeded the pain threshold. I am sure there are other sides to the story, but there you go.