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Could I be a Retail Wretch?

I started a discussion here this morning to get some feedback on whether an external DAC would make an appreciable improvement over an internal processor’s DAC. During the discussion, I said that I typically visit a local audio dealer, to experience the equipment and then, comparison shop to find the best deal. The particular dealer I was referring to, emails me weekly, sends postcards monthly and catalogs quarterly. It’s always with an invitation to “see and hear the difference”. So I visit, and occasionally buy some small ticket items. But, when it comes to spending thousands on nationally available equipment, I don’t feel any obligation to limit my shopping to that one location.

When I shared my buying habits with the forum, I received responses that said using any brick and mortar stores to demo and then buying elsewhere “cuzz” it’s cheaper is just plain wrong…

I was surprised at that statement. I’m a value oriented person. I enjoy quality items. But I search for them at the best price - is that wrong? If there’s no competitive pricing or added value, why should I feel obligated?


gwbeers
gwbeers OP
76 posts
 

jetter,

There’s no reason to feel sorry. I understand your point completely. However, if you look at some of the earlier posts here, you’ll see the shops I bought from, after my online searches ,are B&M shops with web and e-commerce sites, one does charge me tax (8.625%) and occasionally shipping. I do shop my local dealer for sundries and ironically he’s very competitive with those. But on bigger ticket brand names, there’s no flex.

So, I don’t feel an obligation to pay him $7000 plus tax for the exact same item that another reputable, authorized dealer sells me for $5875 that included tax and shipping.

You did make me wonder, if Mcintosh authorizes dealers who don't have B&M showrooms. I know there's a McIntosh presence on Amazon, but it's for third party sellers who sell through Amazon for their logistics. Most of the search results I come across are B&M sites who advertise  items either at list, "call for price" or "not available online". 


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wolf_garcia
6,723 posts
 
Not sure if they still do this, but Guitar Center had a computer station designated for shoppers to look up pricing on line (only new stuff) to compare it to their pricing of the same item, and if you found something for less, even if it was "sale priced," they would sell you the thing for that price. A great idea.
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
Guitar Center is an American music retailer chain. It is the largest company of its kind with 269 locations in the United States.


They dominate the industry already. So they also dominate pricing.

Not sure what they bring to the discussion.

In the case of the guitar center, it is them stabbing everyone else. Because they can.

That's what the computer station was about, IMO.


inna
7,297 posts
 
About a year ago, mostly out of curiosity, I asked Gryphon distributor for a current price list thru email. Next day I got the complete price list and also another email from a local dealer inviting me to come listen to Gryphon. Now that's different, they invited me. So if you come to a dealer and say that you have no intention to buy anything at the moment and you are still invited to audition that's alright.
No, I still didn't go to listen to Gryphon because I was not going to buy anything but I could have.
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