Could I be a Retail Wretch?

I would say that when it comes to supporting our locally owned businesses, I find it wrong to sample from one and then buy online. I am not going to claim that it is morally or ethically wrong as I would not think this discussion goes to that extreme. I would just find it thoughtfully wrong. These local Mom & Pop shops have set up their business in our communities to make our lives better. Part of that is making enough money so that they can stay open to benefit us. Of course prices are going to be a little higher to account for that benefit. I do not own anything outside the objects in my home so I believe there is no bias in my view. But I do recognize that those whom have invested significant funds in their communities need to be supported. I am personally willing to spend a little more locally to help keep them afloat. Of course if one is talking about thousands of dollars in price difference then that speaks for itself. But if we are talking about a hundred or two dollars to have someone who will take care of me in the midst of sour times, then it is highly worth it. My 2 cents.

Anyway, I am someone on a tight budget with expensive taste so I'll have to buy used. Except maybe new tonearm and couple of cables and of course cartridge. But I don't need to audition them.

I think it’s perfectly normal to shop around and definitely not embarrassing to discuss competitive prices with your local dealers.

It’s not your obligation to buy stuff, it’s the dealer’s job to sell you stuff.

Now let me be a bit tough on the B&M dealers. We’re not talking about cheap plastic no name toys from Ali express here. We’re talking about products that cost thousands and their MAP prices are fiercely protected by manufacturers to ensure every dealer makes a good profit. By good profit I mean 40% of the MAP price. Yes, on a $10k product your local dealer can make $4k. That’s kinda excessive if all the dealer did was talking to you for 10 minutes. So the dealer has to be prepared to either make a lot less on the item or have a lower chance of selling it.

Regarding internet retailers. When it comes to the brand names, online retailers are often at disadvantage because they can not advertise below MAP price and don’t have a face-to-face contact to negotiate a lower sale price. At the same time, they often have to pay sales tax just like B&M. Many brands refuse to open accounts to online retailers without physical locations. In order to make their deals attractive online retailers have to put a lot of effort in monitoring competition, analyzing which inventory to keep, where to acquire the inventory including used stuff, open boxes, etc., creating package deals, holiday sales, and much more. As a result of their hard work, instead of pocketing $4000 they make $400 from selling that same $10k item and yet manage to survive.

Now the question why can’t a B&M dealer survive by charging the same prices? Expensive rent? Not enough walk-ins? Bunch of inventory that doesn’t sell? Failure always has an explanation. All that has nothing to do with a type of business, that’s just a sign that the business is poorly managed.

Don’t get me wrong. Most of the time online retailers know little about the product, hardly can advise on anything or inspire a sale, but they are hard working people. On the contrary, I’ve seen B&M guys that know little about their products, don’t look inspiring and are just plain lazy. When lazy meets hard-working it’s destined to lose.

Someone mentioned Best Buy here. I noticed in the last few years they’ve reinvented themselves. They have a nice selection of cool innovative products, stuff you can’t see or touch anywhere else. Their prices match Amazon’s. I found myself enjoying the store again like 20 years ago. I have no problem buying from them and a peace of mind knowing that the price is right.

And final note on the brick and mortar. While many of them close, Amazon is looking to open brick and mortar locations. So is it a brick problem or a mortar problem? I think the problem is in the way old school B&M businesses are managed.

@david_ten  "Are you suggesting your moral and ethical standards are 'the' standard? : )"

Not at all. But, I do believe that there are standards for moral and ethical behavior. Most of them widely held. This issue does not rise to that level. The shop is open for demos. There is no contract for purchase.

But you bring up a good point. If there is no standard or basis for moral and ethical behavior then all any of us are really doing is asserting our own moral standard....which is an oxymoron by the way....the net effect of which is that anything goes as long as it meets my own or your own personal standard.

In which case the end-point is the same. If the OP is within his own standard then who are we to say he's wrong? That's the slippery slope of of having no concrete moral standards.

@inna- the last dealer I used in New York was actually not based in New York, it was Bill Parish, of GTT Audio based in New Jersey. Interestingly, the geographic distance–– about an hour from my house in the lower Hudson Valley––was never a problem because Bill made house calls: he would bring equipment, come to troubleshoot, bring over manufacturers, provide loaners, etc. There was no obligation to buy something immediately and in one case, I knew out of the box that I did not like the sound of a particular piece of equipment compared to the unit I owned and said as much. One thing I liked was there was no salesmanship-- he let me make my own evaluations and respected my views. During the course of about a decade, I had never even been to Bill’s place, but he made plenty of trips to my place over the years we did business. (I visited him shortly before I left New York).
I lost touch with Bill by the time I moved, but he provided an exceptional level of service.
As to paying a premium, I don’t think I was charged more than I could have gotten any piece of equipment, new or used, on the open market. I was a good customer, but hardly his biggest fish. But there was enough volume over the years, with enough expensive gear, that the relationship was a positive for both of us.

For many years, starting in 1981?, I used David Wasserman at the Stereo Exchange- this was before David had a big, fancy shop-- he was basically a clearing house of used hi-end. I was treated fairly, David was not an audiophile and had no pretensions about it-- but we enjoyed a long, positive relationship. (There came a point where my interest in hi-fi led me to more esoteric stuff but I still stayed in touch-in fact, I called him recently just to chat-- he is now semi-retired, and has a small shop by appointment).
The others- Andy, Lyric, etc. I did business with, but it didn’t stick --
Among the newer dealers, I thought very highly of Jeff at High Water Sound, though I never did any real business with him. At one point, I was hunting for vintage step-up transformers and he talked by phone for at least a 1/2 hour with me, largely about products he didn’t sell. My impression is, he is one of the ’good guys’--
I’m not going to make any moral judgments here- but on a purely self-interested basis, a relationship is a two way thing, and over the years, I suspect the dealers to whom I gave business rewarded that with service and opportunities that I might have otherwise missed. But, I do think it takes a dealer with some savvy, and a good sense of business relationships and how to maintain them. I’ve certainly encountered my share of dealers that who did not meet my expectations (I’m being charitable here) and they did not get continued business from me. There’s a lot more to this than salesmanship in my estimation. And it reflects my experience in other pursuits.