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life without audio dealers

currently there is a thread eliciting comments regarding the purpose of audio dealers. i would like to go a step further and consider the question:

what would it be like without audio dealers ?

in order to answer this question one should analyze the activities of audio dealers, such as:

providing an opportunity to audition stereo systems.

possibly lending components.

providing advice as to component selection, providing repair service for components under warranty and providing information as to how to deal with component "malfunction" which do not require a technician.

the obvious, namely, ordering and selling components, both new and used

i maintain that auditioning components at a dealer's store is usually not helpful. if you cannot listen in your own stereo system, the demo may be useless.

some dealers may lend components over the weeekend , or for longer periods of time. this is a very useful service.

advice may not be useful, as there is no guarantee that a recomendation if purchased will satisfy your needs. providing advice when a component acts up may be helpful at times. providing service during a warranty period is of value.

lastly selling a component may be necessary if one wants to buy new and is willing to pay the price.

as a consumer, i prefer buying direct from the manufacturer. in that context many of the dealer functions are now provided by the manufacturer.

it would seem that a dealer is not indispensable and while there might be some inconvenience in absence of dealers, i don't think i would suffer too much if there weren't any dealers.
mrtennis
kthomas
911 posts
 
I could live without B&M dealers. That said, if it was the case that B&M dealers disappeared completely, I believe that the environment would "morph" a bit, and there would be more hi-end manufacturers who would have to offer alternative methods of interaction. Direct sales, with generous return policies, and continued enhancement of the information that is available online would yield an environment that I could comfortably interact with ethically and get good value for the dollar.

I don't really think the current model works very well to begin with. There are several manufacturers that I would love to explore auditioning / buying, but my best option is to wait until something comes available used. There is no reasonable way for me to interact with a dealer even if I was wanting to, so I'm not sure that I'd be missing anything if the dealers suddenly went away.
mrjstark
1,112 posts
 
- If no one payed retail....there would be no second hand.
- Nobody likes to pay retail...that includes me.
- Dealers are important to audio industry.
- Find the one you can trust - build relationship.
- Can you make it without them ??? YES
- Where do you audition ????? Dealer !!!! then you buy some place else - no wonder you can not build healthy relationship. Trust is everything, You just have to find it ( not an easy tusk ). When you do - it is great.
There are good and bad dealers. Good ones will be in business for a long time. Bad... will slowly die out.
The dealers I deal with...will always take care of me. If I want something that he does not have I will let him know, so he has a chance to find a similar product from his line or try to get it from the manufacturer. If not - no hard feelings. I trust him- he trust me. We help each other, talk about new products, laugh, listen to music. There is no......Yes sir, No sir. It is a relationship based on friendship. But it is very difficult to find.
Trust me, I dealt with many, many guys....and most are a.....s to say the least. But every blue moon you meet a good guy. Then it is worth it. Otherwise shop here or direct.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,229 posts
 
If you can't reliably and repeatedly extrapolate the listening evaluation from a dealer's showroom to your own system it implies that the sonic differences between equipment is very small yet somehow still critical, which is something of a contradiction. Or it could mean that a 2 or 3 hour listening session is not sufficient to judge a product's sound which would throw into question all the hifi show judgments and most "at a friend's house" listening sessions that are recited here on Audiogon.

A good audio dealer is hard to find, but once uncovered and a working relationship established they are most useful for their facilities, opinions and experience. To use their services knowing that you're going to be mail order/internet is far worst than even going slow in the left lane.
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
What would it be like without B&M dealers?
My last purchase from a B&M store was a positive experience. The owner (who had never seen me before) allowed me a two week loan on a set of speakers, spent ~ 2-3 hrs with me and gave me a great price on some used stuff I wanted to unload. He was rewarded with a sale. I will certainly return to that store when its time to upgrade. What is interesting is that this was 9 years ago. He is still in business and appears to be doing quite well selling equipment that is well beyond my budget in a medium sized Midwestern city. My guess is that he will still be their 20 years from now, because he has made himself a unique asset that can't be replaced. If he doesn't survive, something valuable will have been lost. I'd be in the store more frequently, but I just can't do $10K for a new amp. He respected me, so I respect him and won't abuse in store time or home loaners.

During the same period of time another half dozen B&M stores have come and gone. My experience with those stores was a waste of time. See the post of Stubby above. Nothing of value was lost at their closing.

Look, this is an expensive hobby that is fueled by discretionary spending. Most of us have limited time, and little patience with arrogant salespeople who don't respect our time and money. I'll pay within my budget for service, but I can get insults and irritations for free at work and at home. It's really pretty simple.
taters
1,149 posts
 
The high-end audio dealers I know all have money. They didn't make their fortune selling audio equipment. These guys have boats, homes, exotic cars, etc, etc. They sell audio equipment as more like a hobby than a business. They carry the products they like. They are not going to go out of their way for you.
Some of the dealers will lend out gear and some will not. One dealer I know owns the building where his store is at. He told me he doesn't care if people buy from him or not. He never will sell less than retail and he will get insulted if you ask. Another dealer works from his home and will let you audition gear overnight. He carries very esoteric gear that costs more than most people make in a year. He is very opinionated and will tell you to you're face that your gear is crap.

The 3rd dealer I know has carried the same gear for 20 years. He doesn't follow the trends and sticks to the tried and true. He's still in business but I really don't know if he makes any money. He enjoys what he does and is not concerned about sites like audiogon or audio asylum. I have a feeling he will be doing this until he gets ready to leave this earth.
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