Another audio dealer closes his shop

Who needs them? High-end audio stores can only survive IF, their customers are CONSTANTLY buying and selling.

Other than that, the customer base is not large enough. We on this site, might be kool-aid drinkers, but the general public is not.

And lastly, the market place is always right. If you cannot survive in it, change your ways. Or change something!!

Cheers

"The rich and super rich already have 3 or 4 systems" It's funny you mention that. My sister lives in Beverly Hills so I've been in quite a few houses in that area. I did not see one house with a high-end audio system. Sure some people will have home theaters but not a dedicated 2 channel system.

I have found most people with high-end systems to be like me.
I'm middle class but spend most of my money on gear and music. I don't drive a fancy car or take trips to Europe. I'll never forget I went to look at a used TT some years ago and the guy had really expensive gear and over 10,000 records. The guy lived in a really small one bedroom apartment. For what he spent on equipment and records he could of owned his own house.

Phaelon,

I really wasn't trying to start an argument with you. As for the exceptions, were on the same page. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that.

"Another problem is that there is no qualification process, other than the market place, to determine who can operate an audio store. With manufactures and distributors competing for locations where prospective customers can audition their products, it’s too easy for incompetence to find its way into the audio chain."

I still say you are way off with regards to the above quote. I don't mean it to be a negative comment directed at you. I was just trying to show at the issue from a dealers point of view. When you say that there is no qualification process to becoming a dealer for a brand, thats simply not true. If you read my first post again, you'll see that I listed several general qualifications that most manufacturers require to become a dealer. Also, in your last post, you mention that manufacturers and dealers are not putting the customers first because of all of this. Again, I disagree. All of the above qualifications are put into place for the customer. They want to make sure their products are properly represented to customers, when they come into the store.

Zd542, No hard feelings here. We’re cool and I respect your opinion. But I still say no way on way off. What you've offered as dealer qualifications have nothing to do with insuring that the customer is getting expert service.

We both have experiences and observations that apparently differ quite a bit. I can live with that. Happy listening.

We have a high end dealer in my town, Summit New Jersey. They have been in business for a least 25 years. I doubt they do $30K per month, but I believe they own their own real estate, which provides a huge economic support for the business. I am sure they will leave the business soon as the opportunity cost of real estate will provide more profit. Most new dealers apparently have adopted the home/business model that cuts the overhead. Years ago I did inventory financing for some New York City dealers. While it was profitable for me, the dealers in most cases did not survive, and that was before the internet.