If I have good local shops available, should I restrict my purchasing?


So, the title of this post is a bit tendentious — I'm actually interested in a canvas of the ethical landscape. Let me explain….

A few different reviewers I like (Guttenberg, others) have made mention of how important it is to support one's brick and mortar shop, should one have one near enough to visit. I actually have several, though a bunch of them are actually installation businesses that also sell gear.

As I've spent time in these shops listening and learning, I've also gained an amazing education online (thank you Audiogon, YouTube) about the variety of audiophile gear out there — including older gear, and gear made by small, independent artisans. They too deserve support and patronage.

What I'm struggling to determine is how to spend as ethically as possible. Assuming (1) a reasonably good selection and (2) reasonable prices, what do you think is the ethical thing to do as regards audiophile equipment? (I am NOT talking about major manufacturers such as Denon, Yamaha, etc.)

Here are some options, placed roughly on a spectrum. Where would you place yourself?

(a) "Totally limit to the local shop." All purchasing of audio would be restricted to what is available locally. No buying of gear auditioned locally online or used.

PLUSES: supports the local merchant and a place to hear new gear while providing the listener with products that meet the threshold of good audio.
MINUSES: Costs more, limits brand options, cuts out many small makers who sell from far away.

(b) "Partially limit to the local shop." Some (not all) purchasing of audio would be restricted to what is available locally. No buying used or online what is available locally. Exceptions would include products from small makers who sell direct.

PLUSES: supports local merchant, but not as much. Expands brand options, supports small makers. May influence local merchant to carry more artisanal lines (assuming they get the message somehow).
MINUSES: Costs more, less support for local merchant.

(c) "No limits where to buy, but truly audiophile-level products available new should be bought new." Purchasing could be done anywhere, but avoiding used versions of products that are presently available new would be prioritized to support the manufacturer and/or dealer carrying them. This could include the local shop or the online dealer.

PLUSES: Supports makers and those who carry new, good gear. Vintage gear is still ok to buy.
MINUSES: Costs more, reduces support for those making deals and discounts available.

(d) "No limits, period." Any product can be bought anywhere. You can go listen in your local shop and then surf online to buy it discounted or used. If this continues the trend of the disappearance of brick and mortar stores, that's fine. The number of direct to consumer companies will increase, and that model may be the next evolutionary step.

PLUSES: Cost savings (discount, used, etc.); flourishing of new direct businesses; continued health of used markets; increased importance of online reviewers (professional and amateurs).
MINUSES: Traffic and pollution from even more delivery vehicles; demise of curatorship role in audio stores, and the face-to-face relationships they foster. Demise of place to see gear simultaneously and do comparison listening.

This is just a sketch of the ethical landscape. I undoubtedly left our options and supporting/detracting pluses or minuses.

If you've thought about the ethics of your audio purchasing and have some thoughts, I'd like to hear what you take to be ethically relevant.

128x128hilde45
+3 @tvad (or whatever the + count is at this point). Very well said.

Tablejockey 2-22-2020
So, everyone here is being ethical, by claiming EVERY out of state purchase they didn’t pay sales tax on...RIGHT?
I doubt it.

I for one have always been scrupulously honest in declaring "use tax," as sales tax on out-of-state purchases is referred to in my State.

BTW, there was a thread here a year or two ago in which that issue was discussed, and it turned out that a number of very experienced audiophiles living in States in which use tax is required to be declared and paid were not even aware of the requirement, even though it presumably appears as a line-item on their State tax returns. Presumably that kind of public unawareness has been contributing to States increasingly working out arrangements with online sellers for them to collect use tax at the time of purchase, and remit it to the State.

Finally, FWIW, I’ll mention that a major criterion I personally use in selecting audio products for purchase is that I strongly prefer to give my money to manufacturers who have established top-notch reputations for responsiveness to and supportiveness of owners and potential owners of their products. Even when I don’t foresee a need to ever call upon a manufacturer for support or even with questions, I simply prefer to give my money to that kind of company. If a product under consideration is made by a company whose reputation in those respects I perceive to be mixed or worse, it usually seems possible to find comparably good products made by manufacturers not having that downside. That is a major reason why products made by Herron, Pass, Daedalus, VAC, and Bryston are or have been represented in my system. And although I have never owned any Atma-Sphere products, based on Ralph’s extensive participation here and on the many comments I’ve seen about the exemplary manner in which he conducts business I would certainly also include Atma-Sphere on my personal list of exceptionally responsive and supportive manufacturers.

Best regards,
-- Al



+1 Almarg: "I strongly prefer to give my money to manufacturers who have established top-notch reputations for responsiveness to and supportiveness of owners and potential owners of their products. Even when I don’t foresee a need to ever call upon a manufacturer for support or even with questions, I simply prefer to give my money to that kind of company."

All I can add is that sometimes a company is so new (e.g. the Billie amp) that they don't even have a track record. That's also problematic; of course, everyone has to start somewhere.
I have a great local dealer who works with me and their employees all know their stuff. I’ve purchased new and used and traded in equipment on new. It’s awesome to talk with people who have had many different customers all with different listening preferences. I’m able to describe the sound I’m after and they know the equipment that is most likely to achieve my goals.
 I have backed off from selling the products that I hand craft due to expenses incurred for the option of 'if you don't love it, send it back.' This rarely happens, but since I don't make a profit on my hobby status, it turns out that I eat most of the cost. This is the price for customer satisfaction. In the future, I will simply raise my price a bit to overcome these costs. I can't imagine what it takes to make an honorable business survive enough to pay the bills, and for that reason it was best to leave it to the business minded.