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Without the ability to purchase at accomodation prices...few would be willing to do it...

That's a bummer.

What it says is that without this "subsidy," the reviewers would not find reviewing "worth their time."

It says that the magazines are essentially taking advantage of a perquisite in order to cut their cost and "indirectly" raise the compensation package for reviewers.

So, would "buying at accomodation pricing" be considered part of their salary?

I hope that's not the case.

That would be as bad for the industry as anything I can think of...it would lead to a situation where the gear chosen for review could based on personal desire (avarice) rather than chosing amongst representative samples of the marketplace's products.

The feeling I get from Stereophile's reviewers is that this is not the case. I hope I'm right. Stereophile's reviewers, as a group, seem to show genuine interest in examining the broader marketplace - their fascination with Musical Fidelity not withstanding. ;)

However, and I know this is often called "jealousy," but it's not; when a reviewer pays an amount different than is representative of the marketplace and says, "So good, I bought it," it means less to me.

Now, if a reviewer said, "This product is so good, I paid what you'd have to pay for it," that would mean more!

Value statements lose some of their weight when someone is saying, "The Caliburn is awesome, I was willing to pay almost 30% of retail for it!"

For that reason, purchase price info would be cool to include for purposes of seeing what gear is really "worth" to a reviewer.

(No flames or ill intention intended.)





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