Dealers hijacking the discussions


I’m a very long term member and look at the forums most every day. I’m personally extremely irritated by dealers injecting sales pitches into the discussions which has never really been a problem before. Dealers are biased as it’s the nature of business and this is fine but I don’t go to audiogon to see shameless promotion. There’s one guy in particular that needs to go away. The fact that you’ll all know who it is says volumes about the amount of posting this guy/dealer does on audiogon. Does anyone feel as I do. Just curious.
4425
I thought ‘hijacking’ was taking a discussion from say, amps, to a discussion about for
instance, DACs, being held by two or more members conversing about their new this or that DAC as if they were PM each other and totally irrespective of the topic, OP, or other member’s input.. Now, that sounds like a ‘hijacking’ to me.

Drifting off point into some esoteric essay loosely associated with the topic, but still in the ball park, is quite another scenario.

FYI One can never 'invade' or ‘bardge’ into a thread. They ain’t private, so bardging is a non thing.

Gaining new insights or ideas on gear never known of previously seems a pretty good thing. I have to admit AT has at least provided if nothing else, names of previously unknown competing brands to those I did know.

When I was in sales, there is a thing called ‘qualifying’. Its done thru talking to the customer as one tries to develop rapport. It did not take too long in the trade to see some folks are readily and easily approachable, and some just are not. Some need to find their own way and these will ask you directly about those points which interest them. IOW, leaving some alone adding absolutely no pressure, overt or implied, is the perfect way to deal with them.

Most audiophiles are the ‘hands off’ variety. Nuts and bolts sorts. Numbers and blueprints kind. Especially the ones who have been around the block once or twice. Options for this group is input they’ll meet with interest. If these options remotely contain inferences of sales, it is received as offputting.

‘Just browsing’ is the overwhelming attitude in forums, not inferences of sales past or future.

I’m pretty sure, and there may be many more, but once a poster starts throwing about w
ords like: sold; sell; sales; we sell; we liked; we preferred; we have sold: we used to carry that: we dropped that line; come visit; are not what members are looking for in forums, imo. I know I’m not.

How you say it is as important as what you say and don’t’ say.

Come correct! individuals are expecting individual input, not company lines, corporate policies, and so forth.

In other words in the forums, just be a person. One without the atmosphere or onus of strings firmly, loosely, or possibly being attached., then or later.


Given TAO’s above essay, the issue in commerce hinge on this: in a valueless society price, is king.

Predominately. Like 90% or grater. Quality may not even be in the equation, it may well be understood, but price remains unseated these days.

A correction is coming. Just like in real estate a couple years back when that market crumbled and crashed. Its on the horizon. As well it should be. The only unknown is its degree of impact.

Over at the DIYaudio forum, we started a thread  called 'thraedjacking'. all about changing the thread. I was so good at being off topic that I managed to practically own that one....

Why deal with one subject at time when one can deal with a dozen? Why crawl by the inch when you can fly in all directions at the same time?
+1 folkfreak
I appreciate all the dealers and manufactures insight. I have to say that I even treat the ordinary audiophile on these threads with a grain of salt until I can tell where they are coming from. Some of the others that have posted for a long time, you can tell where they are coming from and thus can enjoy their contribution, even though you may not agree. As many have noted even though it takes a while it all comes out in the wash. Or in time the fake posters leave and what we have left is a good core of regular posters on many subjects.  I might recommend this even though many of the good posters usually do this, ignore the ill mannered posts as hard as it may be to, ignore the attacks, don't reply to ones you cannot have a mutually good discussion  or address the undressed(that's suppose to be funny). Because what's left is a higher concentration of assistance and a shared joy in this hobby. And the most of ill mannered posters will eventually go off to other pastures.  
If having a website listing products and prices in addition to posting ads on Audiogon for same products makes one a dealer,  a dealer who chimed in above and said he wasn't a dealer actually is.

So much for dealer transparency on Audiogon.