2. misc-audio
  3. 1198910576

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 2 responses by tobias

tobias
1,534 posts
 
Just to be ornery with Mrtennis ;o) I'll suggest from my experience that you _can_ "extrapolate" a dealer's demo to your own system successfully. It worked for me when I chose the monitors for my bedroom system, using none of the same upstream components. A comparison with other speakers of similar size helped, but the choice was ultimately very easy.

That's not to say that the decision can't possibly be difficult and ultimately require a home demo, but gee whiz, it worked for me that time. So perhaps it depends on what system characteristics you're trying to reinforce, or quell.

Just joking about being ornery, Mrtennis, and Happy New Year!
tobias
1,534 posts
 
Mrtennis:

if dealers were order takers and could obtain any product a customer wants without voicing an opinion, customers would be better off.

Audiokinesis:

So one of the roles I see dealers playing is assisting the audiophile in that journey of self-discovery

Now there are two opinions that are poles apart. It seems to me that the first one entirely omits the educational role of the honest and knowledgeable dealer. Honest meaning, among other things, honest to himself about any conflict of interest and willing to choose the customer's interest first.

Maybe such people don't exist outside my imagination but there are posts here that suggest the contrary.

If all a dealer does is take orders, and I am a newbie, I will never get the benefit of a better-informed opinion and I will just order anything. It could take decades for me to get a system I loved, if it ever happened at all. Along the way I might get discouraged enough to drop the whole idea.

So certainly, the hobby has a place for honest BAM dealers IMHO. I think that may be true of any field at all.
More to discover