If I have good local shops available, should I restrict my purchasing?


So, the title of this post is a bit tendentious — I'm actually interested in a canvas of the ethical landscape. Let me explain….

A few different reviewers I like (Guttenberg, others) have made mention of how important it is to support one's brick and mortar shop, should one have one near enough to visit. I actually have several, though a bunch of them are actually installation businesses that also sell gear.

As I've spent time in these shops listening and learning, I've also gained an amazing education online (thank you Audiogon, YouTube) about the variety of audiophile gear out there — including older gear, and gear made by small, independent artisans. They too deserve support and patronage.

What I'm struggling to determine is how to spend as ethically as possible. Assuming (1) a reasonably good selection and (2) reasonable prices, what do you think is the ethical thing to do as regards audiophile equipment? (I am NOT talking about major manufacturers such as Denon, Yamaha, etc.)

Here are some options, placed roughly on a spectrum. Where would you place yourself?

(a) "Totally limit to the local shop." All purchasing of audio would be restricted to what is available locally. No buying of gear auditioned locally online or used.

PLUSES: supports the local merchant and a place to hear new gear while providing the listener with products that meet the threshold of good audio.
MINUSES: Costs more, limits brand options, cuts out many small makers who sell from far away.

(b) "Partially limit to the local shop." Some (not all) purchasing of audio would be restricted to what is available locally. No buying used or online what is available locally. Exceptions would include products from small makers who sell direct.

PLUSES: supports local merchant, but not as much. Expands brand options, supports small makers. May influence local merchant to carry more artisanal lines (assuming they get the message somehow).
MINUSES: Costs more, less support for local merchant.

(c) "No limits where to buy, but truly audiophile-level products available new should be bought new." Purchasing could be done anywhere, but avoiding used versions of products that are presently available new would be prioritized to support the manufacturer and/or dealer carrying them. This could include the local shop or the online dealer.

PLUSES: Supports makers and those who carry new, good gear. Vintage gear is still ok to buy.
MINUSES: Costs more, reduces support for those making deals and discounts available.

(d) "No limits, period." Any product can be bought anywhere. You can go listen in your local shop and then surf online to buy it discounted or used. If this continues the trend of the disappearance of brick and mortar stores, that's fine. The number of direct to consumer companies will increase, and that model may be the next evolutionary step.

PLUSES: Cost savings (discount, used, etc.); flourishing of new direct businesses; continued health of used markets; increased importance of online reviewers (professional and amateurs).
MINUSES: Traffic and pollution from even more delivery vehicles; demise of curatorship role in audio stores, and the face-to-face relationships they foster. Demise of place to see gear simultaneously and do comparison listening.

This is just a sketch of the ethical landscape. I undoubtedly left our options and supporting/detracting pluses or minuses.

If you've thought about the ethics of your audio purchasing and have some thoughts, I'd like to hear what you take to be ethically relevant.

128x128hilde45
Excellent, thorough evaluation of different options!  Good job.

All "should" issues revolve around "personal preferences,"
what someone LIKES.  As opposed to some moral imperative,
dictated by some "code," right?

As you have noted advantages and disadvantages of different actions, maybe it makes sense to advocate "doing what you believe is appropriate, in a given situation?"
I will say my experience was I found a really good local dealer when I was fairly far down the road of buying/selling gear churning. Within a few years after that with said dealers help I was basically off the gear buying merry-go-round. Looking back had I tried the dealer approach first I would have saved a lot of time and money and probably had better sound along the way.

All that being said part of the gear flipping experience for me was the pure fun and discovery of it so not sure I would have wanted a purely dealer experience. For now thought my system is pretty stable I have no issues buying stuff used, mostly cables tubes and other accessories. My last major purchase, speakers, was through the dealer and I am thrilled with them. Keen analyses and good breakdown of options @hilde45!
I buy most of my gear second hand from a "local" shop in Portland. 

There is a really nice audio store about 20 minutes from where I live (Portland is over 2 hours away) and I know the owner pretty well and want to see him do well. 

Having said all that, I haven't bought much there.  Part of it is that he doesn't carry stuff that I like, or what he does have that I like is out of my budget.

Whenever I need something repaired, I always go there, and I've bought a few things, and recommend them, so I do my part to support them.

I recently bought some brand new Harbeth Super HL5 Plus speakers, and bought those from another great local shop, but I was able to negotiate a nice discount and get a good trade in on my old speakers (more than I paid for them).

I work hard for my money and will spend in the way that's best for me, not someone else, no matter how much I like or appreciate them.