Avoiding US dealer markups


Looking at a phono stage by a UK manufacturer. The US authorized dealer monopolist seems to mark up by ~30% from what I could buy this for locally. On a $2200 unit, that's not nothing. 

I am considering shipping it to a friend who is local and having them ship it to me, at a relatively small cost.

Seems like a logical approach. I could buy 25-50 LPs with the savings.

Am I missing something?

saulh

Showing 1 response by sns

If the dealer is providing a service or benefit for you, they're worth it. In this case, easy to see dealer is providing value. Some non-US equipment may have switchable voltage on power supplies, so ok on this front, but then you have shipping costs, possible duty and warranty issues.

 

There are some manufacturers using different business models in that they sell direct, bypassing distributors and dealers.