2. misc-audio
  3. 1354682622

Why are dealers so scared to sell product out of

state. I was calling a few dealers out of state looking for better pricing on a product. Another reason I'm trying to buy out of state is to save the high sales tax in Southern California. A couple of dealers I talked to refused to sell product out of state.They said they have an agreement with the distributor not to sell out of state. It's amazing how distributors have such a hold on the retailer. High-end audio Isn't exactly setting the world on fire yet they have all these restrictions for the retailer. I can buy a rolex watch out of state or even a ferrari. Why can't I buy audio equipment out of state if I choose to? Yes, I know there are mail order companies that carry lines they can sell across state lines. The problem is these firms sell at list price and I'm not going to pay list for anything including audio equipment.
taters

Showing 3 responses by phaelon

phaelon
1,038 posts
 
Jaxwired, I agree with you. Paying someone a fee in the thousands of dollars just to receive a delivery on my behalf and then swipe my credit card... well, that’s a fee that I’m going to at least try to negotiate.
phaelon
1,038 posts
 
Hi Zd542,
Thank you for the kind words. Yes, you’re right about my dealer friend; he was also a reasonable man. If a customer walked in knowing what he wanted and didn’t require much in the way of service, he would usually be offered a discounted price - at least for big ticket items.
phaelon
1,038 posts
 
In the same sense that it is neither unreasonable nor unfair to expect a certain level of service when the cost of that service is incorporated into the price of a product, it is not unreasonable to ask for a discount if one isn’t getting that service.

A friend who used to own a traditional high-end shop had customers who took months to finalize a system purchase. The way these customers would hang around the shop, it was clear that they wanted this to be a special experience. They took hours and hours of his time and tied up his listening rooms. He had no problem with that and frequently invited them out for meals, concert events and sometimes introduced them to other customers in their homes. In short, he earned his commission.

On the other hand, I have walked into shops that had exclusive territorial rights to an entire product line, but only carried a few products from that line. When I inquired about auditioning something from that line that wasn’t in inventory, I was informed that I would have to make the purchase before they would order that product because they didn’t want it in their inventory. In those cases, since I am receiving none of the services that one associates with a hefty retail markup, it’s not unreasonable to ask for that markup to be lessened commensurately.

On the other hand
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