Store auditioning and then buying on-line from others. How do you feel about it ?

I think that you are mis-quoting me. I said “can’t stand” not “hate”. Do you understand the difference? Likewise Cleeds deduces that I am angry at dealers and this is not true either.

Having lived in New York City and Los Angeles for protracted periods of time, as well as smaller cities I have found, too often, that dealers fail at the mission I have outlined in the post above.

Many are more concerned with their needs and likes than that of the customer, which is reflected in their recommended gear as well as the music that they choose to play.  And many that I have met got into the business for a love of music with minimal business background and precious little customer service experience. This becomes very problematic, very quickly and, frankly, I would rather buy and resell on the secondary market than have to suffer one more dealer.

Kudos to Terri Inman at Stereotypes in Portland OR, who seems to be a model of how to do it right. But I really can’t bother to pan through all of that sand for a few nuggets of gold. YMMV.

Soundsrealaudio, thanks so much for sharing that. And have a happy holiday and a prosperous new year. I am sure that you are one of great dealers out there. 

It’s theft. And not the cool kind of theft that comes from desperation and need of basic necessities like food, shelter and clothing. It’s the narcissistic type of theft that comes from a lack of a moral compass.

And interestingly, I can’t stand dealers and find them to be the dial telephones of the new century. But I would never use one for showrooming.

Cleeds, not angry at all, just don’t see the utility in dealers. That said, they have every right to run their businesses as they see fit and should not be used for showrooming as it is stealing their time and resources, IMHO.

The dealer doesn’t have to be your friend. But he, or she, has to add value, by keeping you from wasting money on gear that is not consistent with your system goals and listening bias. And by letting you verify that, preferably in the context of your own system, at home.

Those services are either worth some monetary amount to you, or they are not. And if they are not, do not steal your dealers time and resources. Just order what you think you need on line. Or purchase from the secondary market.