Dealers hijacking the discussions

Agree with soundermn.  Would be hesitant to venture anywhere close to any establishment managed/run/owned by either.  

I generally lurk here but the desire for the old days resonates for me. I agree this used to be more hobbyists discussing used equipment and the pitching was on the For Sale section of the site. Changes creep up on you slowly. Imperceptibly even. Then here we are in pissing matches with characters unfamiliar. 

Years ago I was in the market for a CD player and bought one for some several-thousand-ridiculous-dollars. The guy selling me the unit said then that his future was not looking good. He’s got bricks and mortar to finance and the future is not this mechanical gizmo, but rather a chip the size of his fingernail. And now it’s all come true. The fact that dealers comb online fora for customers is a result of the collapse of their industry. 

I remember growing up in the 60s and there was plenty of flimflam then, but dealers were busy in their shops and listening rooms with little time for used equipment hobbyists. Call me old fashioned, but I like the old amp with knobs you have to jiggle to get it just right. 

I’m grateful for the select group that’s still here with a grounding wire still hanging off their ear. 

As the the original poster I now find that I’m not the only one tired of dealer verbosity on what should be non commercial member discussion.
One another note I’m not sure who posting here has their business in their home but those that do aren’t going to be able to carry brands such as Wilson and ARC. I would think that would create even more bias against certain products. 
As it turned out my thread did pretty much get hijacked. There’s one poster/dealer that just needs to go elsewhere IMO. 

Soundermn
Well Done!  Two thumbs up!  And while I'm at it, I'd like to include Sabai and geoffkait to your list of childish posters.  
While some may say, "Just ignore posts by childish posters", it's hard to do when the back-and-forth bickering can dominate up to 80% of a thread.  Especially, since most of the bickering regresses into arguments that are completely off-topic, and on occasion, have totally derailed a worthwhile discussion.
I would love it, if as one poster suggested at the begining of this thread, if the OP could have some posts or some peoples posts removed. The OP should have some say-so and control over how the information is progressing. 
In my opinion, if the shills, the marketers and the childish don't like the way I restrict my topics; let the marketers, shills and the childish ignore me for a change.