years ago, at a local shop by me, had same experience, rude, arrogant people, like pulling up in a pickup at a Caddy dealer, they just don't care.
Brought my ol trusty Sunfire 300 *at the time"
hooked up to snell, B and W, klipsch, etc, brought a few cds ( i had already been to the shop, and felt the ice on my baBrought a Exit 13 CD with me "ethos music"
played a few songs, asked for some volume , next song was "An Electronic Fugue For The Imminent Demise of Planet Earth" which is a full pure max volume of just noise (do not play loud) search it, and imagine the open jaw when this tune started with a high volume on their speakers.
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Based on 40 years of experience, Hi Fi dealers often tend to be kind of rude, but once you make friends with them, things often change.
I live in Milan, Italy, and I must say that the old Hi Fi dealers in my city (this was in the Eighties and Nineties - they have all closed since), where terribly rude, with very few exceptions.
I remember parking a brand new Porsche in front of a well-known dealer downtown Milan and, when I asked them if I could audtion a specific product, which I knew they had on display, they told mw to come back another day (the store was empty).
They lost a good sale.
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rude is never good...but how many hours have members here spent auditioning gear in stores, knowing they would buy it used on Audiogon...very different then when stores only had to compete with other stores...
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You can't confuse a hobby with a sales experience. Clubs and audio societies are all about learning. A retailer especially in audio these days can't be all things to all people. If you had walked in and said I want a new X (amp, speakers, system, etc ) and I have X $ to spend they might have been able to help you (and more willing to spend some time). Trade-ins have NEVER been a big part of an audio shop's business, although some might allow (grudgingly) an upgrade in something they sell a lot of. An even lightly used big brand AV box loses value about 10 faster than a new car. A good stereo is complicated. A good AV system even more so and many audio guys don't even bother. It's a specialty.
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There's a shop up here in Mass where on Saturday aftrenoons you can bring your LPs to play through their various vintage & high end setups & hang around a bit to talk about the gear: they'll even offer you an espresso or craft beer. That's my kinda spot, lol. Not sure about their trade-in policies but I know they have one. The guys that own the place are about as knowledgeable as anyone I've ever met. It's in a cool brick & beam loft space and is stuffed with incredible gear that they restore & ship all over the world. Guess this is where the industry is headed, or should be anyway.
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I traded in 2 AVRs 20 years old not used in years towards 2 new Monoblock power amps at PSAudio. They give you up to 30% of the new purchase as trade. They base the trade in value on the original retail value. So in my case I got $1800 for the AVRs.
It does not have to be for the same type of equipment. You could trade in an AVR towards a new DAC or speakers.
I use to live in Chicago but now retired in Tennessee and the closest dealer is 3 hours away.
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PS Audio only sells manufacturer direct in USA...incredible trade in policy...they often work in conjunction with TMR I believe...the trade in can cover up to about 30% of price of new PS Audio gear you are buying...
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find a child from a poor family and give him your receiver ... Do not look for gratitude - do not flatter your pride .... and then - audio luck will smile at you)))
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I think you have to be a snob to work for a certain shop in Denver.
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The closest “high end” shop to me is 2.5 hours away and 4+ hours to a true high end. As such, many times when traveling to major cities I will look up audio shops to visit. Sometimes I call in advance and sometimes walk in. The vast majority of high end shops do have an attitude of snobbery and usually want to see if I am worthy of being in their store by asking what I have. When I tell them Rockport speakers, VTL amp, etc. then the attitude gets a little better. But they typically only want to spend time with me or let me listen IF I am in the market for something that day. Having been in audio over 50 years I remember when audio shops wanted people to come in and sit down to listen. By doing so, people would get the itch to want to consider some type of upgrade. Obviously there are shops that don’t have an attitude and welcome people to come in and listen. An example I experienced was with Sound Environment in Omaha NE. I called, told the sales guy I was from out of state and would just like to drop by. When I arrived he gave me a tour of the store and then he took me to their state of the art room with Rockport Lyra speakers, D’Agostino amps, DCS digital, etc. We listened for hours. No I did not buy anything but I did help a close friend buy a $50,000 system from them
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Much used HT gear is E-waste today.
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Hi-end audio is a rotten business and one most have failed at. They have to act like snobs because they are charging far more than the performance of their gear really warrants. This is normal in the industry.
Beyond that, they can't take anything in trade for more than a pittance because they can't turn it around and sell it for much, if anything. If your old Yamaha whatever were worth so much, why couldn't you just sell it yourself? They can't either. It's a poor business model to pay anything for something you can't sell and make a profit on.
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I really cant stand the snobbery. Its uncalled for. I am lucky to have a few nice places near. They are businesses that deal with customers and future customers so be respectful and nice because you never know. Had bad service at a place near me. I left went to another place I had never been. Spoke with the owner for an hour an a half about gear. I was potentially looking to up grade my integrated amp to separates to drive my magenpan 3.7i’s. The guy let me trial a couple of pass labs amps. Who do you think got my business? Those pass labs never went back to the store. Agree it is a tough business but come on money and potential future money is why they are in business.
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Did happen to my Father and I.
we were rained out one day mid week, drove to the Cadillac dealer in our work clothes, walking around looking, sales guy comes out, asks what we drove in, Dad pointed to his GMC Sierra diesel,, and no crapola, within 5 seconds, “I have paperwork, I’ll be at my desk if you need me, no handshake, he just turned and left.
He could have bought 4 caddy’s that day if he wanted.
don’t judge a book by its cover!
the following weekend, Dad and Mom bought a nice 5 series BMW, for my Mom.
drove.to caddy dealer, spoke with the manager, guy received a tongue lashing about,missing the sale and being an arrogant untcay !
book,….cover!
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The store in Bellingham, WA the OP refers to is Reference Media owned by Rob Rivinius and his wife. I’ve purchased several products from Rob over the years and he is a true gentleman and a consummate professional. He represents several high end lines including Boulder, Acoustic Signature, Koetsu, Egglestonworks, Ortofon, Martin Logan, Rega, Sonus Faber, among many other audiophile quality name brands. Rob was kind enough with his time and expertise to fly to my new home in Idaho to set up and install $10k worth of tt, tonearm, and cartridge. No idea who is on Rob’s payroll currently but I’m not convinced by the OP’s story that anyone treated him rudely. More than likely he had an item he wanted to trade in that had no value to a high end store and which can probably be purchased at Best Buy or from any online retailer. If you are going to walk into a Ferrari dealer with a Pinto to trade in, you are probably in the wrong store.
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Also here to post in defense of Rob and Reference Media (from whom I have purchased Shunyata gear twice). Class acts and not snobs. Not taking a trade in on a $500 AVR is hardly an indictment.
There is no way Definitive or Seattle Hi-Fi (both of which I’ve also bought from) will take that on trade in either. Sell it yourself if you need the money and become a real cash buyer.
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@gabor2525 - Rob, Amber, Eric & Bobby are all great, sorry you had a bad experience, but if you were to Venture south, my recommendations would be to see Mardi at Olsens Hi Fi in Lynwood, Victor at Gig Harbor Audio, Gig Harbor and Matthew at Hawthorne Audio in Seattle (in that order). There are many, many more that I have visited, but these were my best experiences.
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