Does anyone or does everyone pay retail price?

I have paid retail but ... I have always received something in return !

Discounts can be hard to come by in some situations but incentives can be had in the form of on hand/in stock merchandise . I have received interconnects , speaker cables , speaker stands and CD's as a 'reward' for doing buisness with retailers .
It doesn't make a lot of sense but it works for me !

Good luck .

I think there may be a 'sample bias' issue here in that many Audiogon users actually use the commercial side of this website. As some mentioned, the 'installation' and design/customization business has grown significant, and effectively, those people 'pay retail', even if the equipment cost plus the time cost is less together than it would be separately because the dealer is effectively getting more money for his time than he would without the package. In addition, there are plenty of people who pay because their time is worth more than the difference when they kibbitz. They are happy to pay for great stereos, but they also have decided they do not need to spend a lot of time learning about it and feeding the habit. They have the money but not the time. There are times I wish I was in their shoes.

I paid retail for my ESP Bodhran SE speakers plus freight. They were custom built with my requested finish. So, it would be unlikely to receive a discount on a rare product custom built to your order. If I ever sell them, the next buyer will be getting the great deal.

I paid retail for my Cary Sli50 and don't regret doing so. Most of my other equipment i purchased used here on A-Gon so I got a good deal on those pieces.

If it's something you really want, I don't think it's wrong to pay retail. I often receive discounts from my local dealer, but I don't demand it.

I've never paid list with one exception, a DAC ordered direct from the manufacturer.

I paid retail once, the very first time I bought hi-end amp. I had bought whole system for 15% off at first, then found out the 200 w amps not good enough. To upgrade within first month to 400 w amp, i had to pay full price for the amp. It was worth it though as I kept the amp for a long time and it was very very good.