Dealers loosing out on Storm2

Some might say a blessing in disguise, other’s will be in tears. However, Blackberry’s Storm 2 seems to be causing a bit of a … fracas over at Vodafone Mobile News reports. Dealers are going to be loosing out on a few bob for every Storm 2 sold so they are simply refusing to sell it. The original Storm was not without it’s complaints when it came to hardware and now the Storm 2 seems to be suffering from a new foe, Commission structure:

Vodafone dealers claim that poor channel offerings are forcing them to refuse sales of the BlackBerry Storm2

Vodafone dealers have been "forced" to turn down sales of the BlackBerry Storm 2, due to poor channel offerings. Dealers claimed they would lose money on the sale of a Storm 2 as the handset cost outweighs Vodafone’s commission package. The handset is exclusive to Vodafone and is the successor to the Storm.

Dealers said that at the launch of the Storm in October last year, Vodafone said it would consider altering commission for the device following dealer complaints. But, dealers told Mobile News the commission has not changed. The cost of the device is £320, while Vodafone commission is around £256 for a business tariff and £240 for a consumer deal. Dealers lose between £64 to £80 per sale.

One B2B dealer said: "Vodafone has set the price tag on its website at £35 on an 18 or 24-month contract for the handset so we can’t increase the price to break even.
"We’re forced to tell customers to opt for another device instead. "Vodafone says it’s hungry in the business market but it’s not showing signs that it is with this kind of commission."

Vodafone said: "We value our dealer partners and we are
in regular communication with them. We work hard to ensure commission is competitive."