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In Reply to: Re: I'm not trying to be an antagonist here, posted by TomLarson on March 7, 2007 at 16:18:59:
at least for the consumer. we will find out quickly who really loves the hobby 'as a consumer or hobbyist does', or who is using an accomodating situation to fuel an appetite for luxury items. the shake-out will indeed happen naturally, if 'real' rules are in place. one 'code' fits all. it will be a revelation how many mega priced components will suddenly 'not' be touted as the greatest. the hobby and the industry will both be better for it. friends will remain friends, but as in the world outside of audio circles, those whose friendships are based on monkey business, will fade. no individual writer should disclose anything provided magazines state that their contributers are not allowed to receive accomodation from manufacterers period. otherwise its a shell game.
Follow Ups:
Accomodation and loans are completely OK in the audio business.
The reasons are several:
First, manufacturers have to make something to sell at about 50% of the selling price or less. This must include: actual manufacturing costs, overhead, profit (if any) and advertising costs, as well as anything else that I might have overlooked.
IF a reviewer pays, let's say 50% of the retail cost of the unit, it hurts no one, because the only person who has been left out is the retail dealer, and perhaps a marketing firm who might get a percentage of each sale. The retail dealer still stands to gain by the additional exposure that this unit will be given by the audio reviewer, but that should be enough, because the retailer has not had to stock or demonstrate the item to the perspective buyer (the reviewer in this case)
The best audio equipment is costly, and will always remain costly, because of the cost of designing and building an exceptional audio product, and the way the unit has to be packaged in order to sell to discriminating audiopiles. They just won't take a tin box, drilled out in some garage, even if it does sound great, and this at least, doubles the cost of the unit.
In any case, accomodation is a tried and true way of dealing within the audio community, and it works.
What hurts is the demand for gifts or refusal to return (loaned) audio items submitted for review. That takes directly from the manufacturer, and often obligates the reviewer too. Also, small manufacturers can't keep up, if larger manufacturers can use gifts to promote their product and it will ultimately raise the cost of production, whereas accomodation does not do this, and large and small manufacturers can do this without loss to their income.
the problem with accomodation is...not everyone states that the accomodation price is 50% off list...or if there was a loan to pay that....if a writer for the detroit free press (who does consumer car reviews) flys to alabama to test drive and write about a new bmw, he or she doesn't do it on the car company's nickle. if the newspaper doesn't send them, they don't go......if there is no accomodation, speaker company A(a big company) and speaker company B(a smaller company),know the rules, and most will live by them. its not foolproof, and there will always be cheaters, but a code is a good thing for the industry and the hobby.
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