High end stores closing do you really care

I had a retail audio store that was operated out of my house to keep overhead down. I went through hundreds of thousands of dollars trying wire and all levels of solid state and tube electronics. I bought many products just to try and use as a reference for listening to other items. I feel that the typical store environment does no justice to customers wanting to upgrade and improve their systems, rarely do they have a handle on correctly addressing the wires used in any given system. $3000 speakers will be demonstrated with the same wire and components that a $25,000 set next to them are run with which makes them sound like you will never again hear them.

I find it easier to be able to act as a free agent not bound with a lot of useless lines that are not my favorite products anyway. I can talk to any person, find out what he has in his system and what he's looking to do in the future and start an upgrade path that totally changes his reality as far as putting things on the right track and making bigger improvements that he's ever heard. And do that in such a way that they are not committed to something they don't like in their system, it's more like try this and see what you think.

I'm writing a book that goes a long way toward educating audiophiles in a way that they will be able to better use a store demo environment.

Financially[SP] I dont care,emotionally I do.Met some fine people and the window-shopping was fun.Between the net and the absurd prices I guess it was preordained.I do wish they can make a comeback though.....

Brick and mortar stores are a relic of the past, meaning that they can no longer hold the customer hostage with ridiculous and meaningless techno-chatter only intended to confuse the buyer into buying whatever the salesguy recommends, while treating his competition like dirt.

I know this is a stiff comment, but I honestly think that only a very few shops will survive, those that can really connect and provide some added value to their services.

Trouble is, the average Audiogoner probably knows as much if not more about hi-end than the typical hi-fi shop know-it-all.

Factor in the snobby attitude and the incredible mark-up profit margin these guys make, and you can wonder what really is their reason for still being around.

They have been scaring away the first-timers (instead of weloming them into the hobby) and shying away from selling ''introductory'' sytems in favor of higher single-order sales....and re-directing curious potential high-enders to the local Circuit City store.

No wonder great web communities like Audiogon and internet web-dealer-direct sales flourish.

What can I say, they asked for it.

Never encountered that type of snobbery. In fact, ten to twenty years ago, most were willing to demonstrate systems that they knew were well beyond my means. Some had plenty of advice and opinions that I took with a grain of salt. However, without that exposure to various brands, I would have had no idea how well music can be reproduced.

I've heard what really killed the high-end shops was the returns. A salesman told me that over half the gear was returned after a few days of test driving. Naturally, it could not be sold as new anymore and that dug into the margins.

It's a loss, mostly, to the younger generation that won't get the opportunity to develop a discerning ear.

This thread brings up some points that are central to what customer service and satisfaction are all about. Do you buy a car without a test drive? What about a business suit? Why should high performance audio be any different?

I recognize some items that you can't try before you buy, say a phono cartridge. But are you well versed in setting one up and have the requisite tools for doing it accurately for maximizing performance? I don't know about other dealers, but for example someone here in the Chicago area who buys a cartridge from me gets the full setup at his or her home included in a fair price.

Some mention that they find in home auditions difficult if not impossible to get. Wow, I can't imagine putting up with that. Someone who wants to try a preamp or CD player or even a pair of speaker cables has that opportunity, because I don't believe in forcing people to make snap purchasing decisions - been there, done that, regretted it later.

Some storefronts are going away, it's inevitable with the mail order and direct sales models and for dealers not pulling their weight, but not for the high end where careful selection and system matching are valued. My advice is, find a dealer in your area who goes out of his way to help you optimize system performance, and reward his efforts with your business and referrals. A 30 day money back offer is no substitute for an in home audition before the sale and support long after the sale. I suppose this may be viewed as self serving, but supporting local retailers is your only means to ensure they will be around to help, otherwise you will be forced to deal with box movers whom you never see before or after the sale, and the high end will vanish as the industry is dumbed-down and commoditized. It truly is a self fulfilling prophesy.