certin speaker makers harder to get dissounts fro

It's people that expect the big discounts that are killing hifi, plain and simple make no excuses about it. If you had worked in retail for even a week you'd realize this. I can't imagine a dealer discounting those prices, he simply can't. Yes, he's making a markup, but he's investing time and effort into you. If you don't appreciate seek a better deal elsewhere. But DON'T waste his time then beg him for a lower price. You're insulting him and making yourself look like a fool.

More then 20% off at a high end dealer is mind blowing. For as much as you might think you're spending alot of dough (And you are if your in this hobby) you have to realize, this dealer isn't a big box store. He makes this 50-60% because he HAS TOO in order to survive. If you think I'm wrong check out how many hifi dealers there are, they are a dying bread. I guess that's ok right? Well it isn't because soon you'll be buying online only and dreaming of the days you could actually audition stuff in a store and learn from somebody.

How much are you willing to pay, and is the price worth it for what you get?

Discounts are just a marketing tool on a lot of products.

Remember that companies can always over-inflate the MSRP in order to offer a larger discount. Double the price, then offer 50% off....

Look at cars. People liked getting large rebates on American cars, so Detroit just raises the price so after the rebate they're getting the price they want anyway.

on my car a brand new quest i paid 3% above dealer cost. I understand how to deal with auto dealers. Its a little bite different with this game, its a little harder to put on a poker face when the gear is so sexy. 50 to 60% mark up to me is just wrong. I am not aware of any other bussines that dose that except for the medical field. As aparamedic if i put a bandaid on you which costs my company17 cents we charge the insured $6 dollars. I get the reasons why for this mark up but whats the repercussion if the dealer sells me the wrong speaker? Not much, I just take it back.

Any intelligent audio consumer shops for price value. Just because someone is fnancially solvent enough to buy 11K speakers doesn't mean it's a smart purchase. Get your tools out and look inside most of the equipment. Very few speakers are hand made start to finish, most are mass produced to some extent (maybe not in consumer-electronics numbers, but assembly-lined nontheless). Like countless others have said, there's this true-ism "it's worth what you'll pay"
Here's my question to people who have Lush's retail phlosophy:
If I have 11K to spend and there's two different salespeople in stores next to each other on a street. They both offer excellent service, are very knowledgable and have quality audio equipment. Do you know what separates them? Think hard. Yep, it's the discount. One sales person is coming to me and one is making me come to him. Guess who gets my money?
Audio retail has, in so many stores, skewed the sales hierarchy. Somehow retailers have placed themselves at the top as the most important and the consumer has tumbled to the bottom. The disgust directed at consumers who don't immediately buy something at their price and on their terms is epic.
So many reatilers have their head in the sand in regard to the competitiveness in the audio world. Unwarranted "sense of entitlement" is one of the most destrucitve human characteristics

Dealer cost of most items they sell, including speakers, is 60% of retail price, generally, not the 40% someone above is implying; lower priced lines like Marantz and NAD may give them even lower margins. Exception is cables, which seem to have a higher markup, particularly at the manufacturer's end. High end dealers generally do not have the volume and profit margins car dealers do, so I'd cut them some slack--remember that they have operating costs that eat into that 40%. My suggestion if you want to buy from a dealer is to buy the dealer's demo speakers (assuming it's a competent dealer that knows how to set them up and doesn't blow them out), you'll save 20-25%, even more if the dealer is desperate, and they'll be already broken in as a bonus.

By the way, in answer to your question at the top of the post, Thiel always used to, at least, try to keep a leash on their dealers to keep them from discounting much. I bought my CS3s as demos when I first got into this hobby, they served me and my friend to whom I sold them well to this day!