It’s been three and a half years since Behringer began switching to its ‘super partner’ model, which has seen the company’s products being sold exclusively through a select network of major retailers rather than smaller, independent ones. Now, the company says that it’s exploring the idea of introducing an additional “direct-to-customer” shipping option.
As its name suggests, this would cut out any kind of third party and involve Behringer sending customers its products straight from the factory. “This would help ensure faster delivery and access to all our products, especially those not carried by our retailers,” says Behringer (via Facebook).
It’s worth noting that, at this stage, the direct shipping option is just something that Behringer is considering. What’s more, the company says that it wouldn’t mean the end of its current retail arrangements.
“We do cherish our super partner relationships and would consider this as an additional channel to ensure we can reach customers in areas currently under-served,” says the company.
Behringer is currently asking for feedback on the idea and, as you might expect, a lot of its customers seem pretty keen. It certainly wouldn’t be the first company to ‘go direct’: the likes of Fender and Focusrite have been offering this option for some time now.
Whether it would lead to even cheaper prices remains to be seen. When Behringer announced its super partnership with Sweetwater in 2021, it highlighted the cost savings involved in sending products straight to Sweetwater’s warehouses. By removing the retailer, which takes its own cut, it stands to reason that these savings would be even greater.
There are also questions surrounding returns and customer service - would these be on a par with what you’d get from a super partner? - but having opened the discussion around direct selling, our hunch would be that Behringer will be rolling it out sooner rather than later.
