Over the years I run into the same thing over and over. I go to a dealer of my favorite gear and he has a piece that's been on his floor for months. I ask of it can be sold at a discount and he states "My contract with the manufacturer prohibits me from discounting or else I loose my distributorship" . OK, fair enough but the the same gear with about the same hours on it appears on US Audiomart from a private seller and it's 40% off retail. What gives? I know a dealer has to make an honest markup for the cash he invested in inventory, overhead and his expertise but why can't the dealer "make a deal" and give a nice little discount to the loyal customer?
I asked my local dealer audioexcellence.us and he basically said this: "If there were free and fair discounting between dealers there would soon be no dealers as dealers with excess inventory would discount until almost all dealers were gone then the remaining dealers would 200%+ mark up new gear and the entire ecosystem would be wrecked. Consumers would enjoy a windfall discounts for a short time and soon thereafter there would be lost dealers, lost manufacturers and then price inflation like crazy plus crap innovation.
That made sense to me but can't a guy get a deal? What are your thoughts? Is your dealer worth his markup?
My conclusion was to support the guy who brings gear to my house and sets it up. I like him, he's not getting rich (or else he wouldn't be there sweating the install) and I'm better off having music (a system) that makes my spirits soar. Yes it's really expensive but I think I'm getting a non-diminishing return in joy and happiness.
What do you think?
