i know a number of brick and mortar dealers here in Colorado and in several other states. a few are, indeed, as angela describes them. but they're the lucky ones with stores in affluent neighborhoods that attract folks who want to buy what they're told is "the best." most such sales are in ht rather than the 2-channel end of the market. there are, however, a few dealers like trelja describes. one such is a now close friend whom i met first as a curious customer. his name is john. john has a wide array of loyal customers all over the country. he carries products from the mid to highest ranges of the highend. he chooses his product lines carefully and knows them all very well. john can help a budding audiophile put together an all-tube analogue system or assist grizzled veterans who are buying their 8th or 9th set of ss monoblocs. john routinely discounts, allows in-home auditions of everything he sells, does complex setups gratis and has 4-6 open houses every year to introduce new products and the real people behind them. cwlondon, when you are exiled to the colonies, you should make your way to the rockies so that you can actually meet "a dealer you can trust," my friend john. good hunting. -kelly
Dealer Bias: Do They Really Add Value?
Many posts refer questions to a "dealer you trust", "get advice from a qualified dealer" etc. Maybe I have lived in big cities for too long, but these posts strike me as very naive or possibly written by local dealers masquerading as members on this board. Do you really think that dealers aren't biased, often ill informed or motivated primarily by profit? I dont' want to take away from the sincere people and genuine enthusiasts in the business, but I can't even count the number of times a "reputable high end dealer" has suddenly decided that Levinson is actually better than Krell, or Burmester blows Audio Research away, or we started having problems with Martin Logan, Audio Research etc. only months after they were touting the very same brands as the best thing in the history of the universe. Brands of equipment that work well together are often not sold by the same dealer, or even in the same state. I don't know but it seems that hotly competing lines are rarely represented by the same dealer. I agree that we should reward and give business to dealers who genuinely provide an excellent service, build long term relationships, give good advice and really go the extra mile, but all too often dealers seem to whine about , a shrinking market, customers who don't appreciate their service and value added etc when they need to look in the mirror and ask how much value they really add. I go OUT OF MY WAY to give business to people who try to get to know me and really take care of me, but when I perceive a mediocre, biased, commodity service, I am more than happy to get my advice from all of you and shop for my electrostatics, exotic cables and monoblocks on the internet at the lowest possible price.