Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Outlet Speakers Have Arrived

I just received my order of M80's, VP150 and QS8's from the factory outlet. Upon very careful inspection in bright light, I found no blemishes on any speakers. After reading all of the other posters' similar commments regarding the general lack of blemishes on "outlet" speakers, I am wondering if the factory outlet is more of a marketing and production vehicle than a way to sell damaged goods. Although Axiom may actually sell an occassional blemished speaker through the outlet, the fact that Axiom continually offers "blemished" speakers for sale, in all of their speaker models and color choices, leads me to believe that the "outlet" is really more of a way for Axion to control its production schedule by taking advance orders and not being required to ship them immediately. This way they do not have to stock a large inventory of all speakers and colors for immediate delivery, yet still can advertise immediate delivery (for those willing to pay a 10% premium?).

One other comment on my speakers. I ordered the basic black oak finish. We wanted the black color to fit with the design of the theater room. I was not sure what to expect, but for some reason I did not have high expectations for the black oak, thinking that it would look, well, like plastic. I was very wrong. The black oak looks great. My wife thought so too. To me, it looked so good that I am glad that I did not pay extra for a custom finish. Short of having an actual wood veneer, I don't think you could get a better looking speaker. (I can say the same thing for my M60's, which I have in the cherry vinyl finish.)

Unfortunatley, I do not have the room finished yet, so the speakers won't be set up for a while...

Just my guess based on comments here on the forum over a period of years, but I think the factory outlet is meant to sell seconds, i.e. B stock speakers with cosmetic flaws. However, when an order is placed with the factory outlet, they commit to a certain "delivered by" date. I'm sure Axiom has a rough idea of what percentage of their product output will likely fall into the B-stock category, but there is no guarantee that quota will be met.

IF there are no blemished speakers available before that "delivered by" date, they likely are obligated to send unblemished, A stock speakers at factory outlet prices. I suspect they still make a well deserved profit.

Perhaps your speakers have some minute flaw in the vinyl which you are yet to discover (it took me weeks to find mine, and I'd have never noticed them if the light wasn't shining just right). Or, perhaps you have brand new, A stock, speakers. Either way, be happy. Enjoy!

>>Although Axiom may actually sell an occassional blemished speaker through the outlet, the fact that Axiom continually offers "blemished" speakers for sale, in all of their speaker models and color choices, leads me to believe that the "outlet" is really more of a way for Axion to control its production schedule by taking advance orders and not being required to ship them immediately. This way they do not have to stock a large inventory of all speakers and colors for immediate delivery, yet still can advertise immediate delivery (for those willing to pay a 10% premium?).

I think it's the other way round -- lead times based on when they are statistically likely to have a cosmetic fallout based on historical reject rates and production schedules. If the published time arrives and nothing got dinged I assume you get "A" stock. My QS8s were definitely blemished -- one had a big thumbnail-like mark in an edge and the other had a small ding on a corner.

I suspect FO buyers win for two reasons -- one is that if the calculated "mean time to dinged black M80" period is too long Axiom probably caps it at a shorter time, increasing your chances of getting A stock, and since they seem to be constantly fine-tuning production methods I imagine their fallout rates are generally lower than the historical ones they use for lead time generation.

Of course there may just be a dartboard behind Ian's office door marked "factory outlet lead time calculator"