'In Home Dealers' are the future?

TVAD
It is true. I always went to a dealer who gave me a 20% discount or more. I can't in fairness to him risk broadcasting it because his product lines may insist that he only sell at full retail. An example from the jewelry business is Rolex watches not the excellent fakes but the real ones. If you are found discounting they simply pull the plug unless they say "dump your remaining emporor line" we are intrducing the economo-Rolex it's Swiss made from all the watches we can't sell, beside they were parts made elsewhere..
I actually know that no one ever discounted JM Focal when I got mine. Now I bet you could find some sealed in box opened to show you and sold as demos.

It's clear that I have been either buying from the wrong dealers, or I have been a "lay down". I've not pressed for deeper discounts because the few items I have purchased new were offered with in-home trials, so I thought the ability to hear the products was worth the extra smaller discount.

Funny, because I'm just the opposite when buying a car.

I expect an 'In Home Dealer' to give me a 30-40% discount off list price, and allow me a free in home audition. I've had it, but I can't say from too many 'dealers'. I do know the 'In Home Dealer' that I will go to in the future though, the same one that I've dealt with in the past.

I really don't see how B&M stores can compete....and they do not in my area.

Cheers,
John

I know a guy that does in home audio. He carries all the esoteric brands. He is really struggling in this economy. He will let you take equipment home for a few days to try it out. The most discount he will do is 10%. I only know of one dealer that offers 20% off. He owns his own building so he has low overhead. Most other dealers want full list if it is a current product. If it is discontinued or demo I have seen up to 40% off.

I think for a dealer to make it in these times, they are also going to have to be proficient at internet sales, and will need access to a large number of manufacturer lines. There are a few such dealers here on Audiogon, who can also have the equipment drop shipped directly from the manufacturer to help limit their overhead and storage requirements. The dealers like that I have worked with provided pretty deep discounts for a buyer like me who knew what he wanted, paid in full and didn't require a lot of hand-holding.