DISH Network Retailer Chat Recap - August 18th, 2011

[goaliebob99]

I see this argument a lot but I don't see any evidence whatsoever to support it. DISH's ARPU increased more than DIRECTV's did this past quarter. This suggests your claim is suspicious if not bogus.

The subscriber count alone supports this theory as simply put directv has way more subs than dish. Also, the reason why dish's ARPU is bigger than directv is because Dish nickels and dimes you more than what directv does especally when your looking at 17 dollar DVR fees. Given that dish has less of a pot than directv does, and charges more per user than what directv does the ARPU is going to be bigger for Dish than directv. The evidence is out there to support the theory but you cant look at dish's ARPU because they charge for different things more expensively than Directv with less of a sub base.

 

[Hall]

K9SAT: This thread isn't in the D* vs E* war zone, is it ?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I am going through the new DISH Network Retailer Business Rules and right in the first paragraph of the rules it states...

Prior to being considered for participation in any Promotional Program and in addition to any other requirements set forth in these Master Business Rules, a Retailer must: (A) have a valid Retailer Agreement in full force and effect with DISH; (B) otherwise be in good standing with DISH and Echosphere; and (C) purchase DISH Systems directly from Echosphere and/or an Authorized Distributor. Sales of DISH Network receivers via 3
rd party auction sites is strictly forbidden.

Thats the only mention of auction sites, nothing was found on Ebay or Craigslist in those business rules.

 

[Hall]

They can't list specific names/sites, otherwise they'd need to update the rules every time a new auction site comes along. By saying "3rd party auction sites", they cover as much as possible. eBay is an auction site. Sure, they have other selling options, but they still consider it an auction site. Craigslist though, it's just an online classified site.

Fact is, the retailers now know the rules and pushing the issue by selling on Craigslist, for example, and arguing with Dish that "it's not a 3rd party auction site" won't help their cause...

 

[yaz96]

So, retailers can't sell, but end users can sell?

I guess we'll find out.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Thats how it appears to me.

 

[Peter Parker]

Why is this thread dated 10 years ago?

but don't you agree that the information is as valid today as it was when first posted?

 

[CK SatGuy]

It's still dated wrong. It's 2011 not 2010.

Sent from my iPod touch using SatelliteGuys

 

[ScottChez]

More Movies and More Music , I am excited

Now if they also add in there new Platform

1) Multiroom DVRs that can do HD to each room (today they do SD)
2) A low cost Netflix like streaming service (less than $7.99 a month)
3) Movie, News, Comedy and Sports Mix channels (showing 9 shows at once)
4) Keep PIP support on the main box

I will be super excited.
Sounds like CES will be a hot one this year.

 

[ekilgus]

Its all about buyer protection. Customer buys a used receiver on ebay thinking they can activate it as an owned receiver with no contract. They call Dish to activate it, and Dish looks like the bad guy when they refuse to activate it or make an excepton because its leased or owes a high ballance.

So the customer then feels they got ripped off by Dish, and decides to switch to Directv where they can get everything for free to start over.

Well, I just bought a VIP612 from a seller on ebay. The receiver was advertised as NIB for $169 (shipping included). I got the receiver and it was indeed NIB )shrinkwrap around the receiver and all accessories still in their plastic bags, etc. I installed it and called Dish for activation which went without a hitch. I don't believe the seller is a Dish dealer so I have no idea how he gets brand new Dish receivers. The folks at Dish would certainly know if the receiver was used, leased or stolen, right? The ebay seller has a gazillion positive reviews so I expect he's reputable. I can only surmise Dish's future refusal to allow receivers to be sold anywhere but where they want them to be sold is purely for profit as they can always decline to activate any receiver they consider leased, stolen, with a balance, etc.

 

[dfergie]

It's still dated wrong. It's 2011 not 2010.

Sent from my iPod touch using SatelliteGuys

Got it

 

[Hall]

Dish definitely knows if the receiver is leased and if so, they won't activate it. If it's stolen, well, they'd only know if it was reported to them as stolen.

If it were used, the installed s/w would be fairly current. If it were brand-spanking new (or remanufactured -- which is noted on the S/N sticker on back), it would have a s/w rev of L-zero-something-something (on the 722k, for example, it's L063). You can check the "previous" version too and if it's only taken one update since activating it, it will tell you this #. Go to MENU, System Setup, Diagnostics (I think), then Counters. Use Page-Up and Page-Down to see the different values.

 

[ekilgus]

Dish definitely knows if the receiver is leased and if so, they won't activate it. If it's stolen, well, they'd only know if it was reported to them as stolen.

If it were used, the installed s/w would be fairly current. If it were brand-spanking new (or remanufactured -- which is noted on the S/N sticker on back), it would have a s/w rev of L-zero-something-something (on the 722k, for example, it's L063). You can check the "previous" version too and if it's only taken one update since activating it, it will tell you this #. Go to MENU, System Setup, Diagnostics (I think), then Counters. Use Page-Up and Page-Down to see the different values.

If the receiver was stolen and the theft not reported, wouldn't they know when you called to activate it and it was already activated and/or registered to someone else?

 

[Hall]

I thought about that when I posted, but thought "what if I sell it (or it was stolen) and I didn't think about telling Dish that I sold it (or it was stolen)?". In this case, it would still be "active" on someone's account though, so yeah, it would likely raise a red flag too.

 

[Stargazer]

Perhaps Dish Network wants to increase their profits and this is a way of doing it. If the receivers are not available on ebay or other auction sites then that means that the prices of the receivers increase and people are more likely to go through Dish Network or their local retailer for a new or used receiver. It would also eliminate receivers a lot of receivers from being stolen if there was no easy way to sell them eliminating a lot of the black market. It could even help with the pirating situation if the cards ever became pirated again. That and it prevents consumers from buying receivers that were stolen, leased or with a balance.

 

[Slamminc11]

Does Direct allow their receivers to be sold on 3rd party sites like E-Bay and Craigslist by customers or retailers?

 

[harshness]

Also, the reason why dish's ARPU is bigger than directv is because Dish nickels and dimes you more than what directv does especally when your looking at 17 dollar DVR fees.

You misinterpreted what I said. DISH Network's ARPU is MUCH lower than DIRECTV's ARPU. The average DIRECTV customer paid $90.85 ($13.86 more) per month than the average DISH Network customer ($76.72) last quarter. For all the claims of nickel and diming to death, DIRECTV, on average, is wringing a lot more money (18%) out of their customers than DISH Network is.

What I was alluding to is that DIRECTV's ARPU was up only 3%, DISH Network's ARPU was up 6.4%

 

[Mr Tony]

Does Direct allow their receivers to be sold on 3rd party sites like E-Bay and Craigslist by customers or retailers?

if the receiver is owned, yes you can. There are some older units out there that are considered owned. I bought a R15 (SD DVR) for $5 last year at a goodwill-type shop and got it activated just fine

But most newer units are considered leased through D*

 

[Stargazer]

If Directv will still allow used receivers to be activated then that means that there will probably be more Directv customers in the future as they can buy used receivers one ebay but those that want Dish Network receivers cannot get them on there. This will not help Dish Network's subscriber numbers.

 

[harshness]

If Directv will still allow used receivers to be activated then that means that there will probably be more Directv customers in the future as they can buy used receivers one ebay but those that want Dish Network receivers cannot get them on there.

When customers can get leased receivers for not very much, why would the go out of their way to buy?