2. misc-audio
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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

Showing 1 response by taters

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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