General Asylum

Posted by digitaldunce (A) on March 08, 2003 at 09:18:56

In Reply to: Support Your Local Dealer! posted by jazzmonk on March 07, 2003 at 17:04:19:

Reality check here.....dealers make their money from HT and high margin, well advertised, well reviewed, well marketed products that provide their neophyte clientele with an upgrade path.

I do not fault them for that. They are entitled to a profit. I live in San Francisco where there are about eight shops within 30 miles of me. (not counting Circuit Shitty.) If I want Levinson, Krell, Dynaudio, B&W or Tara.....then OK, these dealers serve a purpose. These dealers also have never even heard of the Audio Asylum.

I bought my first system from SF Stereo (Krell, Dynaudio) in 1997. When I visited there recently, I was horrified to hear that all the little sales dudes were telling stories about the audiophiles who come in and never buy. HT and affluent 30 and 40 somethings make their biz. Again, nothing wrong with that.

The reality is.....if you're on this forum, you are a better educated buyer who knows that dealers push their product lines backed up by the latest Stereophile review.

An interesting thread may be, "Do you buy retail anymore?"