As someone who's been around hi-end retail sales for a good portion of my life, and who knows exactly what it takes to build very good to WORLD CLASS AUDIO/VIDEO SYSTEMS and environments, I can easily say that the way "Rogocop" has conducted his buying desissions has landed him AN INFERIOR AUDIO/VISUAL EXPERIENCE!!!!...as it does 99.999+ percent of the internet buying public! I don't care if someone reads every article and review ever printed, and takes every audio salesmans advice and "sucks his brain" for knowledge! It still won't help you end up with a quality experience!... NEVER HAS, NEVER WILL! How can I say that, you may ask? Even without knowing what he ended up with, who he delt with, and what he paid for his gear? ...SIMPLE!!!!... because, HE'S MISSING OUT HAVING SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING (LIKELY LIGHT YEARS BEYOND WHAT THE AUDIO NEWBIE CAN DO ON HIS OWN) PUT THE SYSTEM TOGETHER FOR HIM!!!
One of the major things I've learned from selling audio gear to people over the years is that YOU CANNOT REPLACE EXTENSIVE TIED AND TRUE KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, SKILL, DEDICATION, DESIRE, AND SERVICE!!! Yes, indeed buying things over the net takes the "people" out of sales! The end result is that any potential "team effort" goes away!
I've personally assembled over 1000 systems in my 20 years around this business. And I know without a shadow of a doubt, that the buying public is not getting what they think they are bargaining for!!
So, I ask you everyone here..."do you think it's a better deal by saving money shopping for gear on line?" "Is Rogocop getting a better deal by saving a bunch of money with on-line purchases?" If you ask me, I don't think so. Infact, I'm EXTREMELY CONFIDENT that, iF I was a retail salesman that Rogocop had purchased the same equipment from, and he paid me more than double what full retail price was, and he let me install the entire system, design the system out, place the gear, and basically make it all come together for him(with compromises even), that he would end up with EASILY 200% BETTER RESULTS AND EXPERIENCE!!...giving him a better quality of life experience day in and day out with his gear!!! ..In escense, a quality of life improvment far beyond what he could get "without the relationship"!!!!
So, for me, since service is where it's at, I wouldn't sweat the "net" any if I did retail!!! Because people REALLY AREN'T GETTING BETTER VALUE BECAUSE THERE'S MORE MONEY IN THE POCKET INNITIALLY! Infact, if these buyers, like "Rogocop" ever catch wind of what's the potential of an AV system to be had in a room, I think he might end up respending all over again!!!..and again...and again, if he wants a world class AV system some day, and insists on doing it the way he's chosen. My two cents....
One of the major things I've learned from selling audio gear to people over the years is that YOU CANNOT REPLACE EXTENSIVE TIED AND TRUE KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, SKILL, DEDICATION, DESIRE, AND SERVICE!!! Yes, indeed buying things over the net takes the "people" out of sales! The end result is that any potential "team effort" goes away!
I've personally assembled over 1000 systems in my 20 years around this business. And I know without a shadow of a doubt, that the buying public is not getting what they think they are bargaining for!!
So, I ask you everyone here..."do you think it's a better deal by saving money shopping for gear on line?" "Is Rogocop getting a better deal by saving a bunch of money with on-line purchases?" If you ask me, I don't think so. Infact, I'm EXTREMELY CONFIDENT that, iF I was a retail salesman that Rogocop had purchased the same equipment from, and he paid me more than double what full retail price was, and he let me install the entire system, design the system out, place the gear, and basically make it all come together for him(with compromises even), that he would end up with EASILY 200% BETTER RESULTS AND EXPERIENCE!!...giving him a better quality of life experience day in and day out with his gear!!! ..In escense, a quality of life improvment far beyond what he could get "without the relationship"!!!!
So, for me, since service is where it's at, I wouldn't sweat the "net" any if I did retail!!! Because people REALLY AREN'T GETTING BETTER VALUE BECAUSE THERE'S MORE MONEY IN THE POCKET INNITIALLY! Infact, if these buyers, like "Rogocop" ever catch wind of what's the potential of an AV system to be had in a room, I think he might end up respending all over again!!!..and again...and again, if he wants a world class AV system some day, and insists on doing it the way he's chosen. My two cents....