Margin on speaker sales by high end dealer

The reality is that the vast majority of audio dealers are not getting rich.  The only way to make real money in this business is to scale up large and push a ton of volume through every month.  Music Direct and Upscale Audio do this and probably make very hefty profits below the line.  The rest are hustling for every sale and I therefore prefer to work with the little guy whenever possible.

@ p05129  - going to shows, that's probably the very best way to truly get an overall view of the marketplace, and experience it for one's self. When I am able, that's surely a goal of mine, thanks.

Curious why the animosity towards someone who is attempting to even the playing field. I assume those of you throwing stones also refuse to use internet tools to find the dealer pricing on that new auto you are considering? Why are audio dealers a protected class? If a dealer is providing excellent service, most buyers should be able to assign a value proposition to the transaction. Why all the fear? I am truly curious.

I assume those of you throwing stones also refuse to use internet tools to find the dealer pricing on that new auto you are considering? Why are audio dealers a protected class?

Why would you assume that? It’s just a flat-out wrong assumption. There’s no fear, and audio dealers are not a “protected class.”  The OP was implying audio dealers make a lot of money most of the time for doing next to nothing, which is oversimplified and just not true — witness the ever-shrinking number of brick-and-mortar audio stores. And yes you could say the same thing about auto dealers and it would still be wrong for much the same reason. But that said, if anything auto dealers are the more protected class because almost all cars have to be bought from a dealership where they all have the same overhead costs to bear whereas audio components can frequently be purchased online from a site with next to no overhead. Apples and oranges in that regard.

Fair enough and my assumption may have oversimplified. Car dealers are in fact protected by state dealer laws. All that being true, if the OPs experience has been that his dealer is acting purely as a middleman without the service that some of the best provide, I still do not see his questions as being over reaching. And prepping oneself for a negotiation is prudent in my opinion. Further, the reduction in audio dealers Is not dissimilar to a consolidation in nearly every space- maybe even more so due to a shrinking customer base, suppliers consolidation causing a change in focus. I don’t intend to create argument- my initial point was that the OP has a right to gain as much knowledge as possible to negotiate his best deal.