"High end" store snobbery


Our county lies in a fairly remote part of the country.Our major city of 100,000 has one "high end" shop so to speak.

I visited them yesterday.The store has limited selection of decent  stuff-a few McIntosh amps.Marantz.Paradigm ,Focal,Sonus faber etc.No Wilsons or Bel Canto category.

I asked then if they take trade ins-I want to upgrade my one year old Yamaha RX4 AVR,worth $500 retail.

They said they only take high end components for trade i.e.McIntosh etc.

After that conversation, the 3 store employees pretty will ignored my presence and I continued browsing their meagre inventory.

 

Lo and behold!

In a corner I spotted about 30 items-old Pioneer,Yamaha amps and even an equalizer from the 1970s.Prices ranged from $75 to $500.

 

I asked :"what are these"

response from employee:"oh, those are items we are familiar with as they were swapped out for upgraded gear by our customers."

 

Thanks for tolerating my rant...

 

Gabe

 

 

gabor2525

It happens. Typically, I would never go back. 
 

If you are really interested in audio, then a trip to a major city can be really worth it. Call and explain where you are in the process and what you like. Then they should make sure they have time for you. Take your partner for dinner and a mu vie or something. 

gabor2525

 

Where are you located? I would certainly seek out a better Audio shop. A 1-shop town is no good.

 

Happy Listening!

You can play smarter and present your Yamaha near the end of the trade leaving little space for them to think. Anyway bad service, but they are not the only ones, and it is strange for a smaller city.

Jaf and Pet:

The place is in Bellingham WA.

One shop for "X" product is the norm here.No competition.

 

Anyway,I'll check out Seattle,seems like there are some very decent shop shop there.