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What Are Your Audio Morals?

Assuming:

A. We all want to audition equipment before we buy it;

B. We all want the most for our money;

C. We all can find the same equipment cheaper on the Internet than from high end dealers;

D. We all know that you can't audition equipment on the Internet.

Therefore, the question is: How can you morally audition equipment at dealers when you know you won't be buying there?

After all, the dealer is giving you his time, his advice, the exclusive use of his listening room (all at the expense of customers who may actually biuy from him), a pro-rated percentage of wear and tear on his equipment, and a pro-rated share of his rent, electricity, salaries, advertising, taxes, maintenance, etc.

What do YOU do when you want to audition equipment? Do you:

1. Use your local dealer and buy from him?

2. Use your local dealer and buy elsewhere?

3. Don't use your local dealer, but buy elsewhere as long as you can return it?

4. Take a chance and just buy based on reviews, thinking maybe you can sell it if you hate it?

5. Other?

BTW, I am not a dealer. I'm just aware that if we all use dealers as free audition services knowing we'll buy elsewhere, local dealers will soon be extinct.

Maybe that's OK. Perhaps, with the advent of the Internet, local dealers serve no purpose anymore. That may be a future topic of discussion.
plasmatronic
garfish
1,840 posts
 
Fpeel-- such language :>) What did we do before the advent of the internet? Personally, I've only used i-net purchasing for the last year and a half or so. Prior to that, I used a combination of a good local dealer (and their annual 20% off sale), and mail order dealers.

In those not so distant days, I paid much more for audio gear too. I think the real issue is can "brick and mortar" high end audio dealers stay in business without using the internet? And how will they compete?

It's my feeling that it's going to be really tough for them. I personally think that only those manufacturers and dealers that can find a way to compete with/in cyberspace are going to survive. My local dealer has survived by getting into HT like so many others-- and inevitably they are carrying less pure audio gear.

As to this specific topic, I use a combination of a local dealer and the internet for my audio purchases. But I don't abuse the dealer. Cheers. Craig.
jhunter
45 posts
 
Fpeel -

You got me to go back and read your original post. For the life of me, I can't figure out why anyone would rate it negative. Then again, I've gotten "-2,-2" for mentioning that I'd be in LA soon and would enjoy meeting to audition power cords!

By the way, are you talking about Bay Area Audio? They carry those exact lines. And like you, I stick my head in every few months for the exact reasons you gave (although I did buy a CD player from them in addition to the cheap cable).

Cheers,
Jordan
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
Sorry Plasmatronic for disrupting your very thoughtful thread with the above uncalled for comments. Not my proudest moment. Also a sincere apology to anyone who read and may have been offended. Sincerely Will
rockvirgo
587 posts
 
my audio morality is simple: if you can satisfy me i'll do business with you. here's the trip... when i started buyng separates 30 years ago i made myself a rule: buy the top of the range from any manufacturer. in this way i'd never feel like i got second best. but as my tastes matured so did the price tags and this philosophy became difficult to rationally implement. but with the advent of online used shopping i've refound my compass. sure the stuff i dig now is ten years old, but i can rest easy knowing it was once the best of its kind. however... when only new will do, i research on my own and go to a dealer fully intending to buy from him; back stabbing never enters the picture. otherwise i wouldn't be there and this is why i am... over the years, roughly a third of my new purchases have been defective right out of the box. beyond that i have never suffered a malfunction *knocks wood* in any 'high-end' piece of equipment, new or used. so besides acting as the means of my instant gratification, the primary service a dealer provides me is making good on defective new units. so ok, who wants to sell me a cherry threshold fet ten/e with a silver faceplate? *s*
fpeel
455 posts
 
Jhunter, those are the guys. I've found them to be the most helpful and upfront reseller in the area. My initial joke aside (note the smilie, morons), they carry a good variety of excellent products, don't mind answering questions and keep reasonable hours. They even have a smidge of used equipment for sale. The owner, whose name escapes me, is especially pleasant. BAA does have a BIG focus on custom installations of HT systems which according to the owner is really their bread and butter. Hey, whatever keeps the doors open, right? Highly recommended store.

On the subject of the negative voting, I checked yesterday before allowing myself to get good and agitated. From a high of over 70+ in both categories I'm now down about -10 in each. My goal now is to irritate Arnie's Kids to the point that Agon kicks me off their site. At this rate it shouldn't take much more than a week. It'll certainly free up a lot more time for listening! Hang on Tireguy, I'm coming! (There's a joke in that line somewhere...)
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