Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Future of Costco's KS 11 Hearing Aids

This topic is closed.

51 replies8.4k viewsLast reply

Jump
Link to this topic

In reply to @Psych1

@Psych1 said:

Once again, it is not a source of revenue, it is a loss like the chickens.

No telling what the overhead is for the at Costco. But several years ago someone posted that they’d seen the wholesale cost to the of top-of-the-line hearing aids, and, IIRC, the wholesale cost was in the range of $300 to $400 a piece. So, at $1,400 for a pair of KS10s, if $600 for a pair of two from Sonova, Costco has $800 revenue there before considering care costs down the line. Perhaps some of the Costco brands are made more inexpensively, too, than top-of-the-line aids from OEMs. If a Kirkland Signature hearing aid doesn’t work so well, it’s less skin off Sonova’s back than if there were a big screw-up with the Phonak Paradise as sold by audiologists and HCP chain stores, etc.

In reply to @cjj777

@cjj777 said:

The KS11 was a Phonak Lumity. Costco insisted that Phonak again lower the price so they would sell for $1299

Sorry that’s not right, Phonak and Costco have parted ways before K11 was even a thing, the issues were never resolved, both the rechargeable batteries and the charger unit were giving Costco problems with a higher rate of return, this was confirmed with a Phonak press release, and it didn’t just effect the KS10 (P90) Phonak withdrew ALL it’s products from Costco at the time.
I do hope they manage to sort their issues out and Phonak will again be sold by Costco.

Edited

I should have made it clearer. Of course the KS11 never came about with Phonak. But Costco was pushing Phonak to drop the price for a KS11. And we know how it went from there.

The chargers were an issue for Costco. Phonak resolved that before the dispute.

@cjj777 said:

The chargers were an issue for Costco. Phonak resolved that before the dispute

I’m not so sure, the dispute revolved around the rechargeable batteries and charger, a higher return rate then Costco was prepared to accept, it went downhill from there, ultimately Phonak pulled (or Costco removed?) their entire product line from Costco,it was seriously a big move, having Phonak back at Costco is a win for everyone.

In reply to @cjj777

There is something else we haven’t paid attention to. That Phonak also generated income from the sale of receivers, chargers and for the KS10/KS9
Phonak didn’t just make money from hearing aids.

In reply to @cjj777

@cjj777 said:

The chargers were an issue for Costco. Phonak resolved that before the dispute.

How was it resolved? I only heard about the workaround where they would send you a matched set of aids and charger. That happened after the split. How does that resolve the issue for those needing to buy another charger?

This appears to me to be an underlying manufacturing or quality assurance issue that never should have escaped the factory.

Edited

For those that they take what they read on the forum as a reliable “source,” remember that when we have discussions like this one, it’s all speculation. All we know currently is that 1) Costco is not currently selling a Kirkland model. 2)Costco has discontinued other Kirkland items. I’ll reiterate one of my favorite quotes reportedly by Yogi Berra. “Predictions are really hard, especially about the future.” Speculate away! :smile:

Just poking around, I found this article (which is largely speculation) Costco Considers Closing Food Courts At US Stores - AisleofShame.com20.

Costco closing it’s food courts would be far more “earth shattering” than not carrying a Kirkland hearing aid.

In reply to @markoo355

@markoo355 said:

That Phonak also generated income from the sale of receivers, chargers and wax filters for the KS10/KS9

Receivers, , cleaning were all free here in Texas. All part of the Costco package deal.
Entire replacement of hearing aids is never a problem either for the warranty period.

Quite a spicy stew of speculation here. Since I just came back from my overdue visit to tweak my KS10s for the first time, here’s what the Costco fitter had to say.

Apparently the Costco/Phonak/Charging kerfuffle came up just as bids were being requested for the upcoming KS11. Things went downhill fast for the relationship, declining to the point where now it’s similar to a bitter divorce. ‘I found more of your stuff. It’s in a box on the porch. You can come and pick it up.’

It’s gotten better, but there is no way Costco will be starting any new ventures with Phonak anytime soon. The good news is that Phonak support through Costco for their Kirkland Signature branded products is continuing without a hitch.

Also, the KS10 has been, hands down, the most popular, most value per dollar solution they’ve had.

And the KS11 is still coming. My contact is guessing it will be from Rexton, maybe in a month or so.

Or not. Who the heck knows?

@ctromley said:

Also, the KS10 has been, hands down, the most popular, most value per dollar solution they’ve had

For the time, the KS6, Resound LiNX, the first aid would dispute that.

After suffering 4 years with Rexton KS8, I sincerely hope KS11 are not Rexton.

I have been driven to the expensive Oticon camp.

In reply to @ctromley

Interesting. I was just at Costco too and also learned that no problem sending aids back to Phonak for repair. Did learn that repairs after warranty is over is a little more expensive. I’d still be surprised if a KS11 showed up. The most consistent info I’ve heard is that the employees don’t know what’s coming until maybe a week before it arrives. I asked about the new Phillips 9040, which seems like a safe bet and they knew nothing. Also interesting about the Rexton speculation. Just before the KS10 came out, I asked the specialist I was seeing (who I really liked) if he’d heard anything and he was guessing it would be Rexton.

They’re not available in their shops and am not aware of them being sold in store. I’m guessing they won’t, but purely a guess. For full disclosure, I’m a naysayer and I really don’t think hearing aids are going to be a big deal. However, they will likely separate a fair amount of people from their money.

might actually be a benefit to the “real” market. Less effort, less cost, no feeling like you need to go see the “doctor,” just buying some new tech.

When they see these new products making a difference but not measuring up in some ways (short battery life, not being adjustable enough, hard to dial in, etc.), people might be more willing to consider real HAs.

Think of OTCs as being a gateway drug.

Related discussions