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Supporting Local Audio Stores are we?

I know, money talks, bullshi* walks...
But having owned an audio store for about a dozen years, I know how tough it is to 'make a living' for a mom and pop store, without some sugar daddy/momma in the background funding the enterprize.
So, I am wondering if the nice folks of Audiogon support local businesses?
As I stated, "Money Talks" and I get it, we all want the best 'value' for our money. The question is...when does the price versus local support begin/end. When does the follow up and or service/set up outweigh the raw savings?
To be clear, I am not talking fantastic discounts, but a few percentage points off retail. I remember a painful transaction that I had once, during which a customer had taken home a particular CD player two weekends running, only to purchase elsewhere because he 'saved' $53.00 (on a $500. item). OUCH!
I contended that without the long term audition, he had nothing on which to base his purchase? How does everyone else see this?
Right now, its obviously a tough financial climate out there, but looking to more normal times, I am wondering how many of the readers/writers of Audiogon would forego price for service/set up? OK, forget buying great used pieces for fractions of original retail, everyone must probably assume that that's good for everyone, including the dealers, as this frees up customers who are now, 'back in the hunt'.

It will be interesting to hear back, it's been some time since the Brick and Mortar (at least for me) question was aired out.

Best,
Larry
lrsky
luvwine
44 posts
 
Macdad,

I would quibble with your analysis as I think $3,000 would be way cheap if dealer cost is $2600. Even $3500 would be a fine price and less profit than I expect they would need to keep the lights on. Still, I don't disagree with the "price fixing" issue in that I think if a store has paid the dealer cost, then they ought to be able to discount as they see fit. There are problems with this too as if they allow mail order then one high volume dealer will drive all the local shops out. Still, one commonly sees both price fixing and territory enforcement. Why both? Seems like one or the other ought to be sufficient and would allow for more flexibility of marketing strategy by the individual stores in their region if they were allowed to discount.
bikecommuter
30 posts
 
A million plus people in the local metropolitan area, but my/our high end store has long since gone to a HT focus. Before that, I bought an LS2B MkII preamp and a Theta Gen IIIa, both as demos, from them, and bought a V100 Mk II on A'gon after auditioning it earlier at the dealer because they stopped carrying ARC. I also had an out-of-town friend come to see me so he could audition speakers, and I was very frustrated at how the inventory had changed for the worse. It would be hard for me to buy some things from local dealers, since the local dealership is no longer high end. Agree with other posters, however, that auditioning comes at a cost, and that I owe something to a shop that permits me to listen to gear before buying.

Nonetheless, sure am glad this site exists.
macdadtexas
1,794 posts
 
I would take any retail business that would net me 15%, if there was a market for it. If you can't keep the lights on with that, there is no market.
s7horton
1,077 posts
 
High end audio (especially two channel) has become an exteremly niche market. WIth dealers closing up left and right (we lost the only two we had with the past three years, and they were not exactly high end) it's going to get worse. I have discovered so much more stuff than I ever would have because of audiogon and other audio related websites.

Buying new is tough because it always great to be the first to open the box and pull the plastic off for the first time, but it sure it tough to swallow prices from manufacturers that keep raising them. Since I discovered the DIY speaker hobby a few years ago, I can't bring myself to pay for the packing and marketing and research that is required for a commercially available product.

HT will stick around, but I think you will see less and less two channel gear. Sure, some will stay, and new ones will hopefully show up, but it will still remain something that only 1% of the population cares about.
mapman's avatar
mapman
23,042 posts
 
I have one local dealer who only carries only a few high quality, good value lines that cover most of the bases for most and operates in very modest quarters with low overhead. He provides discounts to repeat customers and has a nice assortment of gear to audition.

If I spend time auditioning and like what I hear, I am inclined to buy there if the prices are competitive and value is there, which it usually is. I bought my tube pre-amp there recently new for a very competitive price on one of the last of a highly regarded but recently discontinued model. I'll continue to frequent his shop as long as it is around.

I also buy direct from the manufacturer over the internet and used from ebay and here as well case by case.

I do not support ritzy "high end" shops around that incur a lot of overhead to provide glitz and cater to the elitist crowd. These are increasingly focused on home theater systems these days anyway.
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