I think that many knowledgable audiophiles could do without dealers, especially with resources like Audiogon available. But I also think that there are many "discriminating non-enthuisiasts", i.e. people who like good quality musical reproduction but don't want the bother of the techie side of the hobby. For them, a good dealer is a valuable source of information, advice and demonstrable products, as well as someone who can help with the design and installation of a system, particularly home theatres which might involve some home renovations. Besides, if you bypass the local dealer and deal directly with the distributor/manufacturer, would the latter not, in effect, become a retailer to you? In the end, you just replace one retailer with another, and it would be one that is physically farther removed and perhaps less responsive to your needs because of that distance.
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.
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.