Do Dealers think it is sinful..........

Got news for you. There aren't many people who waltz into a hifi shop and drop 5K on a set of speakers.

Many dealers go out of their way to demonstrate and educate prospective customers with the hope that they will grace them with a sale.

If an "audiophile" demands a discount from a dealer, the dealer is likely to blow him off. Dealers are savvy to the behavior of the typical "audiophile stroker" and don't go out of their way to accommodate them. The dealer knows that after he has demoed the product and invested time answering questions, the stroker is just go buy it somewhere else for 2% less $.

FYI: Vandersteen's have a markup of 35%. That isn't much after you consider the cost of shipping, capital outlay to stock them, etc.

Hey Nostroke. So sorry.
Do you work for the CES ? The waltz part really hurt.

I was referring to an entire system for 5K. My Vandersteen price came from a local used high end dealer who has been in audio for 20 years or so. I'm a good customer to them.

This topic addresses the purchasing ethics of high end audio and the inquisitive nature of audiophiles as related to the internet and the hardship of running a high end audio dealership.

I theorize that most dealers are audiophiles and that ironically their most frustrating customers are probably just like them. The internet has affected high end audio forever. Customers are less captive. As a correlating point I state my own purchasing choices and patterns. Good dealers do provide experience and value for their services and deserve to be paid for this. Absolutely. I made a conscious choice to not use retail dealers and do my own legwork. Completely fair. I state my own bad experience to illustrate the abrupt motivation. I gather almost all of my information from magazines, forums, friends and actual ownership. The internet has made this possible. It's more interesting too.

This particular dealer was unprofessional and did not deserve my business. If that speaker was my choice, I would have purchased it new from him. Without a doubt.

Customers are right sometimes too.

Gents, there are very good dealers and very bad dealers. Some treat their customers like gold and some treat their customers like dirt. It is a shame when a few bad dealers tarnish the public's view of all dealers. I still think that if a dealer services you properly and takes a consultitive role in your purchase it is not ethical to threaten him with taking your business elsewhere if a sizeable discount is not offered.

Notreallybitter98@notme.com & Nostroke@ces,.org: you guys are really lame using those fake email names. besides, you give yourselves away by using your paragraph indents. finally, you have to be nearly as stupid as your posts not to realize you can be "pingged" so we can trace your domain address, etc. if we wish. if i were an audio dealer, i wouldn't let either of you in my shop, let alone offer you discounts. our motto: "no shirt, no shoes, no brains, no service." come outta the closet guys. if you want any respect, don't put on fake beards and glasses. i, for one, know who you are. happy holidaze, JERKS!

What about the MFG price protection? It always seems like when ever I ask for a discount, the dealers would give a MFG price proctection lecture....and how they can't give any discounts because the MFG would pull the plugs on them? Isn't this against the law? ...a.k.a price fixing? Then again..isn't true that some MFG price the products for branding status? Non-audiophilers may simply associate a more expensive piece of equipment to a better performer and vice versa. This is a normal practice in the automotive industry. I can even recall a case study about Marantz I read back in a marketing class during my college days. I can't remember exactly when, but there was a time when Marantz tried to lower its price hoping to capture market shares, but ended up lossing sales because consumers started associating the brand as a cheap product. It took Marantz many years, if not more, to get the brand back to "hi end" level in public's mind.