Supporting Local Audio Stores are we?


I know, money talks, bullshi* walks...
But having owned an audio store for about a dozen years, I know how tough it is to 'make a living' for a mom and pop store, without some sugar daddy/momma in the background funding the enterprize.
So, I am wondering if the nice folks of Audiogon support local businesses?
As I stated, "Money Talks" and I get it, we all want the best 'value' for our money. The question is...when does the price versus local support begin/end. When does the follow up and or service/set up outweigh the raw savings?
To be clear, I am not talking fantastic discounts, but a few percentage points off retail. I remember a painful transaction that I had once, during which a customer had taken home a particular CD player two weekends running, only to purchase elsewhere because he 'saved' $53.00 (on a $500. item). OUCH!
I contended that without the long term audition, he had nothing on which to base his purchase? How does everyone else see this?
Right now, its obviously a tough financial climate out there, but looking to more normal times, I am wondering how many of the readers/writers of Audiogon would forego price for service/set up? OK, forget buying great used pieces for fractions of original retail, everyone must probably assume that that's good for everyone, including the dealers, as this frees up customers who are now, 'back in the hunt'.

It will be interesting to hear back, it's been some time since the Brick and Mortar (at least for me) question was aired out.

Best,
Larry
lrsky

Showing 1 response by trelja

My recent experience in selling off a bunch of equipment has taught me that people buy on price, price, and price. There isn't all that much more to it than that. No matter how low that price is or how much of an opportunity/bargain it is, the lion's share of people will will still try to wiggle as much of a discount out as possible.

Of course, I have racked up a ton of stories during this time that will hopefully help me make heads or tails of things going forward.

It must be incredibly difficult operating a high-end audio store these days. The folks that do certainly have both my empathy and admiration. That being said, it's incredibly easy to see why the less flexible ones are really skating on thin ice - a depressed market for high-end audio componentry combined with intractability is quite likely a recipe for the failure of one's business.