Arthur_Noguerola%es.UUCP@lectroid.sw.stratus.com (03/14/91)
Yes there are many dealers (NO I am not one nor have I ever been one) who probably are sleazy con-artists. They dispense poor and useless advice and onoy want to move the brand or unit of the week. But have any of you ever considered that a few dealers may actually be trying to make a living and enjoying their favorite hobby. That maybe these dealers (sleazy or not) have business expenses like salaries,rent, advertising,stock/inventory costs,etc. That maybe they don't sell 10,000 Jadis amp/pre-amp combos a month and reap enough profit to pay the S&L bailout bill. That maybe all the folks (many of ourselves by the articles here in) who hang out at the audio emporiums and take up a dealers time only to tell the dealer they better beat someone else's price costs not only the dealers time but money since the two may be equated??? Some said here recently that maybe the best idea is to find a good dealer (read 'dealer you are happy with') and cultivate that relationship. You will win more in the end. I would seem that so many folks here want the equipment, want the dealers time then a discount and then after a time its off to the races again. Off to the next piece of gear and the cycle starts again. How many of you pass the used equipment on to friends or others with an equivalent discount to the one you wanted so much from the original dealer??? Lets be honest here folks. Do you sell your used equipment at 40% off what you paid for it? Especially after you got your (hopefully) 40% off from the dealer? I don't think so. Do you haggle over every item you buy for normal daily activities or is this only bandwagon to ride on. Try haggling for those expensive meals you have. Hey get the damn record and CD companies to lower their profit margins. Now we talking rip-offs artists. Find a good honest, knowledgable dealer and cultivate them, bring a friend. Don't make haggling or nickle and diming the hobby here. If you can afford to buy a $5k piece of gear be thankful for that.
chowkwan@priam.usc.edu (Raymond Chowkwanyun) (03/15/91)
In article <10206@uwm.edu> Arthur_Noguerola%es.UUCP@lectroid.sw.stratus.com writes: >I would seem that so many folks here want the equipment, want the dealers >time then a discount and then after a time its off to the races again. I follow the rule that if a dealer demos something to me, then I'll buy that piece from him, if I decide to buy. True, the dealer has overhead and has to eat. But speaking of overhead, it surely takes less overhead to sell an entire system than to sell the individual components item by item. The original post was asking about such a discount. Then the discussion got diverted into discounts on individual items. My dealer spent a total of two hours demoing to me. I bought a complete amp system and he agreed to absorb the sales tax. I think that worked out for both sides. BTW it helps when you're negotiating for a discount to say something like, "I know you've got overhead to absorb and you've got to eat, but it surely costs less to sell a whole system than individual components". I know of two excellent high end dealers in the LA area. I'm not sure if it's nettiquette to post their names and addresses. I will gladly respond to email enquiries. These people have dedicated listening rooms. When they demo a speaker, it will not be standing amongst a forest of other speakers. You can make an appointment, block out a chunk of time, and have the room to yourself. Arthur's advice about bring a friend to the demo is very good. No matter how excellent the dealer is, he's still a salesman. In fact, the more committed he is to good sound, the more passionate he will be about the lines he carries. I have no problem with that. If he doesn't believe in his stuff, who will? But it's really useful to have an independent third party as a reality check. -- ray