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My Thoughts re: Dealers Posting on Audiogon

I originally posted this in a thread in the Speakers forum.  It's more appropriate here:

As a former audio dealer and long time Audiogon member who has walked the tightrope I will say that, while I do not have a problem with dealers posting on Audiogon, I do feel that there are some basic rules that should be observed, both by the dealer and by everyone else:

For dealers:
1- Clearly announce that you are a dealer
2- Try to be helpful, objective and educational
3- Understand that an Audiogon forum IS NOT a sales venue
4- If you mention or recommend on of your products, mention again that you are a dealer for this product so that it's clearly understood that you have a finalcial interest in your recommendation
5- Don't trash the competition or other brands

For Audiogon members:
6- Don't complain about dealers posting in Audiogon forums. They are A'gon members like anyone else. If you don't want to read dealer posts them just don't read them
7- Just because a dealer makes a recommendation in which he/she has a financial interest does not automatically make it a bad recommendation. If the dealer comment is in the spirit of the discussion and or answers a question then it's probably appropriate, IMO
8- Dealers, well *many* dealers, have a lot of experience that most just audiophiles do not have. If a dealer is posting to be helpful to the group and not just trying to sell stuff then take advantage of that experience. Their answers to your questions will guide you as to whether they are interested in being helpful members of the Audiogon community or just pushing gear.

I hope that this is helpful guidance. Just my opinions...
br3098
soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
756 posts
 
You guys are pretty tough on dealers. Soon there won't  be any dealers. Very soon. Then you can rely on the advice of guys that own 50 year old Advent speakers and Pioneer receivers. They can give you advice on 50K speakers.

As a dealer my advice on audiogon was based not just on products I carried, but from my listening experience to lots of gear I had listened to at both the CES  the RMAF.

If I were asking a dealer for advice I would want to know if they go to these shows and if so what rooms they like and why they like those rooms. Dealers who go to shows hopefully to listen for what they think is the best sound they can offer to their clients at price points of their clients.  Dealers can be expected to consider whether the products will have the support of the manufacture/distributor and advertising is often a deciding factor. 

Personally I struggled with that advertising issue. Few of the products I carried were heavily advertised or even advertised at all. I often chose the sound over the advertising. 

There are a lot of dealers that really believe in their products for good reasons.
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rbach
200 posts
 
@soundsrealaudio

With all due respect, think you might have miss the point of a lot of the posters on this thread. Most are not against ALL dealers that post in this forum, just the ones....ONE who posts daily pushing his products and dismissing products he doesn't carry, then arguing with posters that don't agree with him.

Again, pushy dealers with one purpose only (in the forum) are the real offenders. Dealers the post occasionally with good advise are a real asset.

prof
3,474 posts
 

I have few qualms about dealers posting on forums. It’s up to me whether I find their posts useful or not.

That said, and especially having been back in the speaker market again over the past few years, I can not remember a dealer who has ever offered me advice of any worth. Even the nicest most well-meaning dealers.

First, they have something to sell, so their view is inevitably skewed towards those products.

Second...I don’t care how much experience they’ve had with gear they sell and others. They’ve come to their own conclusions and those are not my conclusions. When they are talking about gear I know and have heard, I often don’t agree with their take on it, or if I do then they haven’t added anything to my own. (Even in the speaker forum a certain dealer-in-question who has posted a description of a speaker I've auditioned, and it didn't match what I heard at all.  I have no reason to rely on such accounts).  

When I go gear shopping I’ve done my homework and I bring a lifetime of audiophile experience in knowing what I’m looking for. I don’t need a dealer to say a darned thing; I just need to hear the gear for myself. Nothing the dealer says matters at all if the gear doesn’t meet my standards and criteria.

soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
756 posts
 
viridian

As a dealer I learned early on never to promise anyone anything, I changed my wedding vows and simply said

 " I will try to stay with you through thick and thin with as few transgressions as possible" 
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