Really not sure that all the fuss about this guy is warranted. Folks seem to think he's making big money as a hi-fi ambassador, reselling gear that he got at a huge discount and making big money by doing so...
I was an analyst for many years. A few of us followed the mantra, "In God we trust, everyone else bring data" Success of people on youtube, and vendors that "offer them huge discounts" do so based on eyeballs actually viewing videos. Look at his channel. 36,500 subscribers. This is a pittance amount of subscriptions. Look at the number of views on any given video he puts out...3000-8000 views is common and occasionally 15 or 20K. Again..this is a microscopic viewership. A youtube woodworking channel I subscribe to (a woodworking channel) has 1.2 million subscribers and each videos runs about 250,000 views within 7-10 days of it's launch. And his youtube channel is not his only source of income.
From what I'm reading, it takes around 1,000,000 views on youtube to generate $3000 in income. Youtube takes 40-50% of that as their cut. So, if you add up viewership on all the videos Jay's ever made(2500), combined, you may come up with a few million views...let's be generous, say he's got a total of 10,000,000 views over the life of the current channel (5 years)..so $15K gross(his cut) over the 5 year period.
From what we see with respect to his channel..that income doesn't support his habit, a wife and kid(s), car(s), and a house.
So, either he's
> working another job for income (that he isn't disclosing)
> is financially independent from previous income (that he isn't disclosing)
> living off his wife's financially independent status or income from work (that he isn't disclosing)
Given his viewership on youtube, I really doubt he's commanding "huge discounts" and "making a killing" on the gear he's apparently buying and selling. It would be hard to believe the ultra-high-end vendors would be offering huge discounts for the minimal viewership he commands. From a pure branding perspective, ultra-high-end vendors would be diminishing their brands by actively (encouraging) associating themselves with such a minor player. They're selling a lifestyle to their target customers. You don't succeed in selling an ultra-high-end lifestyle to people (the majority of which can't afford your product) viewing a minor youtube channel.
I don't doubt having these products available to be viewed on youtube can and would enhance their brand, but it would have to be in a different "environment" than what Jay is offering.
He seems like a nice guy, but I'm not buying the whole schtick he's peddling.
