I read this thread exactly as Dan and Audiofeil did, and the post of 11/20 really surprised me - this, after the extensive private coaching I took Sunnyboy through - for someone who is not even my customer.
We now learn that Markd51 has also gone out of his way to help a member of our analog tribe. This is a great and helpful group of individuals, and Markd51 went the extra mile to help Sunnyboy.
My bullshit meter pinned to the right side of the dial however, (it's an analog meter after all) when I read Sunnyboy's 11/20 post.
Sunnyboy not doubt panicked, and this likely resulted in his hasty post, but I still am completely puzzled why he let his dealer off the hook when the time came to ascribe responsibility. In my experience, dealers are the weak link in the distribution chain, and this dealer was getting a free ride, IMHO.
I have to admit, that in these conversations with him as well as how the early part of this thread unfolded had me thinking about a dealer who had neither the interest in earning their markup nor the competence to do so by helping Sunnyboy recover from his error.
One of the reasons I've been very slow to adopt a dealer distribution model is because of the vulnerability it exposes one to - being able to count on your dealer network to support your product in a competent and ethical manner.
In the old days, an analog dealer knew more than than just how to mount a tonearm and dial in a cartridge. I am friendly with a dealer in Ft. Collins for example who recently went to his drill press and tapped some holes to solve a problem.
This is a disappearing breed ...
Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier