certin speaker makers harder to get dissounts fro

A discounted sale is better than no sale at all. Anyone that goes in and pays retail in this hobby is either a fool or very wealthy. The reason most of us want a discount is to get the most bang for our buck. We all usually strive for gear above and beyond our budget. LUSH wants to scold us for not being sheep and paying retail for gear marked up 40-60%-but admits he only buys used gear. So while LUSH won't support his local dealers by buying new gear at retail-he expects the rest of us to be loyal audio fools. LUSH-when you pull your foot out of your mouth-please then kick yourself in the a$$ with it. Its all supply and demand-99% of audio gear is grossly overpriced. The manufacturers are the ones that need a reality check. If the dealers continue to close up-it will ultimately put the manufacturers out of buisness too. The popularity of this website proves that their are endless audiophiles looking to spend alot of money on gear-were just looking for fairly priced equipment that gives us the most bang for our buck...........

A large part of being a succesful retailer is to get people in your store(physically) Regardless of whether you buy something or not it gives the retailer the oppurtunity to win your buisness. That buisness may be today/next week/or next year. If your in their store during buisness hours it doesn't cost them anything to provide you with information and equipment demonstrations. This is their oppurtunity to win you over as a customer. I've kicked many of tires in my day,and I've also spent thousands of dollars in audio shops. My money will always be spent with the store that bends over backwards whether their making a sale or not. Buying audio for me is a process. I'm going to take my time and road test the gear/and drain the salesperson for every drop of information I can get. If the store/salesperson isn't willing to do this-and provide me with a realistic discount(10-20%)off,I'll go somewhere else. You put your foot in your mouth by preaching to us about supporting our local dealers-and not beating them down for a discount. Yet you don't support your local dealers because you only buy used gear. You buy used gear because you can get more gear for your money-and thats all any of us are trying to do regardless of whether we buy used or new. My whole point is that your in no place to scold people looking for the best deal they can get. Ultimately the dealer can just say no. It still beats a store full of gear and no customers.

A good dealer is very important/and a good customer from a dealers perspective is equally as important. This hobby goes both ways. The internet has changed the whole marketplace of audio(and everthing else) With these changes dealers as well as manufacturers need to change their marketing strategies. The internet has increased the competition. This is great for the audio consumer. This is nothing we should apologize for. Finding the best price we can,and still expecting support(from the store and the manufacturer)is something that should be strived for and expected by an audio consumer. I think a large part of the problem lies in the lap of the manufacturer. Their prices are ridiculously inflated. Thats the part thats squeezing the audio shops. The vast majority of high end gear you would be lucky to get 50% of retail 6 months after its sold. This is gear in pristine condition. If this is the case-was it really worth what it originally retailed for?