Dealer Bias: Do They Really Add Value?

I have to disagree with a few of Angela100's points. First, the audio hobby existed LONG before the internet. I have been involved in audio since I was a child. If anything, there is a continued and steady decline in the amount of people who want to understand the hobby. True, we obsess over so much more now(cables, quality of AC power going into our components, the room, contact treatments, etc.) than in the past. But, many of us are the same people. We are just making progress. A lot of the people I see now(even on the internet) are in this hobby for inexplicable reasons. They must either have no idea what they are doing, or are impossible to please. Only in it for some type of status. Why else would they change gear so much with no rhyme or reason? Unfortunately, this has always been part of the territory, but so much more prevalent now. Secondly, I do not find the internet to be the bargain most hail it to be. How many products on this site can you buy in the box at a 40% discount??? Give me a concrete list of examples. I find many of the Audiogon dealers to advertise their merchandise at LIST PRICE. I have bought most of my equipment through brick and mortar dealers(and have even worked in a dealership), and have found them to offer discounts. Everything I have bought has been at a discount. And, I would even venture to say(via experience) that you may often be more likely to get that 40% discount at a brick and mortar dealer. The dealership I worked at discounted EVERYTHING right off the bat. Not typical, but not an anomaly either. And if you bargained(the same way you do for an automobile), you could get a GREAT deal. Example, I saw new PSB Gold i speakers(retail $2599) go for as low as $1300 for demos, and $1500 for new(in stock or by placing an order). Dealer cost was $1200. And what of used equipment? What had traditionally been something ALWAYS sold for 50% of original cost has changed drastically. Witness the prices asked for in these classified. Or even worse, the obscene prices fetched in auctions. I do agree that the internet has really hit the brick and mortars hard. But, some have also flourished. The place I worked at for example. We were strictly a local dealer. But, when companies like Adcom, Carver, PSB, etc. listed us on their websites, our business skyrocketed. No longer limited to people in the neighborhood, we had people coming in from all over the country(or ordering over the phone). And, when they found out the deals they were getting, word of mouth only expanded things. And before I am labelled a brick and mortar cheerleader, look at a lot of my past posts. I think most dealers are absolute slime(especially the one I worked for).

geez, settle down, Trelja. I clearly stated that this was my perception.
If you feel a need to argue, I'm not a worthy opponent. I'd rather be happy than right.

*Give me concrete examples*...Well, since you asked so nicely...

I recently bought an ADCOM GFA-7500 for our home theatre for $1000, ok, so it's only 33% off, but still an incredible deal. Kimber Bifocal XL's for $850, so it's 53% off, I was averaging.

Audio was around before the Internet? I did not know that. Did Al Gore have anything to with it?

I agree with Trelja on a lot of points. Some of the best deals I have got are from a dealer. No that you cant do better most of the time on the net but I always got 20 - 40% off and sometime up to 65% off for demo cables. I never paid retail and sometimes if you want something specific you cant find it on the net. Then there is the possibility of shipping damages and getting ripped off

I was also able to demo equipment at home without putting money down. This alone saved me money in the long run. There were so many particular pieces I planned on buying and didnt after a home audition.

I feel both have there advantages and the perfect road lies somewhere in the middle but I also admit to have found a great dealer.

i know a number of brick and mortar dealers here in Colorado and in several other states. a few are, indeed, as angela describes them. but they're the lucky ones with stores in affluent neighborhoods that attract folks who want to buy what they're told is "the best." most such sales are in ht rather than the 2-channel end of the market. there are, however, a few dealers like trelja describes. one such is a now close friend whom i met first as a curious customer. his name is john. john has a wide array of loyal customers all over the country. he carries products from the mid to highest ranges of the highend. he chooses his product lines carefully and knows them all very well. john can help a budding audiophile put together an all-tube analogue system or assist grizzled veterans who are buying their 8th or 9th set of ss monoblocs. john routinely discounts, allows in-home auditions of everything he sells, does complex setups gratis and has 4-6 open houses every year to introduce new products and the real people behind them. cwlondon, when you are exiled to the colonies, you should make your way to the rockies so that you can actually meet "a dealer you can trust," my friend john. good hunting. -kelly

I didn't mean to wind everyone up on price wars. My main idea is that there are all kinds of politics, relationships, and profit motives behind a dealer's lines which poison the task of delivering unbiased, value added service and advice. In the end, a single dealer is unlikely to put the perfect system together for anyone.