My brick and morter dealers have been wonderful and I support them 100%. Due dilligence, one cannot get a full sense of system synergy when adding a new product until after having added it. My dealer has saved me several thousand dollars by allowing me to demo products in my home, at no charge and return them if they did not work out the best. These were all very good products but what might be great for one person is not for another. As far as 40%. Yes, that is a typical margin except some small items and some cables may be higher. A very, very well run business that can reduce overhead cost to 25% margin for break even is doing very well. Add that many long standing dealers will make deals of 5%-10% off and that leaves about a 5%-10% profit margin. Not get rich quick figures. Now, if you don't have a good dealer in your area or have not been able to develop a good relationship with a dealer thats too bad, your missing out. Just don't lump all dealers in the same boat. You may even find a dealer from a long ways away that can be very supportive and helpfull. It's worth it.
'In Home Dealers' are the future?
Seems there is growing trend for various distributors to be doing business with 'in home dealers'. These appear to be audio hobbyist that are selling factory product from their homes, at 20 to 25 percent off list. Certainly not fair to the dealer network, but it seems to move additional product, especially at these soft purchasing times. Your opinion?