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Manufacturers pushing their products and agenda in the forums.

In the deep, dark, past manufacturers participated in the Audiogon forums with a general sense of decorum and a sensitivity to other products that they did not manufacture themselves and which were, from a design standpoint, philosophically opposed to their views. 

What has happened? Manufacturers now post into the forums dogmatically espousing their myopic view of the hobby, shamelessly pimping their own products and view of the audio world and, even more disturbingly, running down opposing brands. 

IMHO, it may be time to throw the baby out with the bath water and ban manufacturers, distributors, retailers and importers. If they can’t get their act together they should take it on the road.
128x128viridian
milpai's avatar
milpai
2,323 posts
 
I don't mind audio retailer providing information regarding the products and services. But don't diss another product that you don't sell, even if you don't like them - cause you have no long terms experience with the product.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Two quotes from PT Barnum,

Every crowd has a silver lining.

When a product isn’t marketed something terrible happens. Nothing.
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jimclarkstereo
38 posts
 
Its interesting being a dealer who also likes to talk audio on forums. I really don't try to sell anything, other than responding to thread topics about products we carry, and offering risk free trials. The products can try and earn their position in a clients system.

There is no final sale, until the customer is happy. My post get removed fairly often, so I guess offering trials is crossing a line.

michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio
1,019 posts
 

I see some manufacturers are taking notice and having threads pulled that their dealers are on, a wise move.

I don't think some of these dealers have any idea how much damage they are doing to the manufacturers they are representing. I've seen two in just a short time that I have felt horrible for all because the dealer could not control themselves. If I was these brands I would yank my product out of these stores so fast they would be gone before you could spill a hot cup of coffee on your britches. To boot I would make sure the memo got out to never get near this dealer.

For the folks who don't realize how much times are changing, having a reckless dealer out there can burn your company to the ground. I'm going to give one example without mentioning the brand.

We brought in a product 2 years ago that we were considering having at a show mixed in with some of our toys. The products were very high dollar and get mentioned here often. We did our usual evaluation and setup this highly reviewed product to only have it blown away by a $29.00 CDP tuned up by us. Their amp went through the same process and failed miserably against literally every other amp in the house except for one, who it barely held it's own against. The company behind the scenes bought back the components and asked we not mention their name.

People need to realize that we are not living under the rule of reviewers anymore and their less than legit ways. Frankly there are some amazing products out there and more coming out that not only compete but many times are taking on the high dollar brands. These products cost pennies and those getting wise to them are scoring big time.

I'm one designer who has been around forever and am not going to be shy about helping the lower cost products make their way into listeners homes. I mean it's like buying a perfect new york pizza for a penny, why would you not share this news. Sorry dealers and manufacturers you should have been more up on your designing and thinking less about how to squeeze the last dollar out of good people. This wonderful trend of getting more for pennies is not going to go away by intimidation, it is a serious paradigm shift and well over due.

Michael Green

yyzsantabarbara
4,563 posts
 
I propose that the regular Audiogon site become a SAFE ZONE and a new area is created on the site called the audio DARK ZONE. A place where manufacturers, dealers, and anybody else can participate without worry. You enter the DARK ZONE at your peril but you can always feels safe in the regular SAFE ZONE.

I believe university’s have a similar arrangement for speech related issues.
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