Problems with Ayre's Company???

Tvad,

I agree that change can be a good thing but not always. Time will tell...

Tvad,

I appreciate your comments and understand your point. I guess it is just frustrating seeing good quality dealers who really care about their products and customers being pushed aside for the latest marketing scheme to sell high numbers of products. I just can't justify turning a cold shoulder to the very people that helped solidify Ayre's name in the industry.

Mimberman,

Thank you for your input. I do not want to get into too many of the specifics of the "unimaginable reasons". The local dealer I speak of would never say anything bad about the quality of Ayre products. He truly has a passion for his work and takes great pride in product selection. He has a long history selling Ayre products and runs a very honest business. Also I don't think that "underhanded" is the right description. We are not talking about anything illegal. It was more like a slap in the face to a reputable dealer. Like you said, forcing them to sell certain things in certain ways.

Zieman,

Interesting point. It is true that many of us buy used Ayre products and this can be seen as a lack of support to the local dealer. The flip side is that many of us also learn a great deal about high end equipment from local dealers which greatly influences our decisions. In addition, many times buying a piece of equipment used serves as a gateway to future new purchases once you discover how great a product line is. Regardless, it is obvious that if you only buy used products and never purchase anything from your local dealers then you would have little concern with this matter anyway.

Thanks to all of you for the strong response. Lets be clear that I agree Ayre is a good company with solid customer support and products. The specific problem relates to a new sales manager. I would like to know if any of you have heard complaints from your local Ayre dealers?

Theo,

My dealer was not guilty of the infractions you mentioned.

Driver,

In response to suggesting problems with companies or practices and using caution... that is why I posted on this forum; to see if other consumers have heard similar things from their dealers.

Tvad,

I personally have used the "gateway" method and purchased many things from my local dealer.

Thanks to all who have replied. I will use better care in the wording I use to post future questions. I did not mean to offend anyone. I understand your concerns from the casual reader who might not dive into the topic and only come away with the header. I admire the audiogon community and assumed that even the casual reader on this site would have more insight than to judge a company on a single line question? I guess there are people like that. At the same time I don't think these are the type of customers that are looking at Ayre equipment (obviously an opinion). Regardless, in summary, as Theo said, I was concerned about my dealer who I hold a great deal of respect for and I wanted to see if other people had heard anything from there dealers about problems with the "new sales manager". I truly believe that Ayre's products are top notch and agree that Ayre is a "pillar of the audio community". Thanks again for the responses!