Do dealers believe in their products?


Do dealers believe and test out the products they sell or just stock what the industry says is good? I suppose once you are a dealer for a product it would be hard to just dump the mfg'r when a better brand comes along. Then there is the ethics if a customer asks if there is something better out there and the dealer does not believe in what he sells.
I ask because I remember going into one of my first stores. The dealer had been around for decades and I got the impression he knew of a way better system for half the price. Then a home dealer was demoing bright, shiny $5,000.00 speakers but stuck in the corner where some huge dirty speakers from the 70's. That's what he listened to on his own time, hhhmmmmmmmmmmmm.
cdc
I wouldn't be a dealer unless I could sell stuff I genuinely believe in. It's too darn much work and drudgery otherwise, and there are other industries where that much drudgery pays much better wages.

Would you invest thousands of dollars of your own money in something that you didn't really believe in? Isn't there something better you could do with that money?

Duke
i think a more basic question is: do dealers care about sound or sales ?

unfortunately, many are less concerned with the performance of the stereo systems they set up and more concerned with telling the customer what the "best" products are.
I have been an audiophile since the 70's and recently became a home based dealer. Yes, there are politics involved as well as other issues, but I truely believe that you need to believe in your products and have a real passion about them. Loving music and the hobby in general goes hand in hand with believing in your products. Otherwise, I say go sell insurance or something like that.

Unfortunately, many dealers are not passionate and look more at the business end, and the dealers that were once passionate may no longer be. I know of one dealer who has been around a very long time. He started out as an audiophile and turned into a businessman. Thats no fun.

Although I am into the real super high end, I also carry products that are generally affordable that I would own myself given budget restrictions.

Just my perspective as an audiophile/dealer.
Vocation kills avocation. It always happens. If the endless flow of product doesn't wear you down, the customers surely will. After a while it's all just business.