Would you trust a local dealer to help you put

Dealer disclaimer:

After reading most of you guys posts, I thought to myself what a bunch of cynical, bull.

I have worked in the NYC market for 17 years, before opening my own shop, and I worked for two of the biggest high end audio dealers in the city, and over the years there were many excellent salesman and many happy and satisfied customers.

As with purchasing anything there are good dealerships and salespeople and bad dealers and bad salesman.

A good dealer is one that is trying to do right by their clients and put together a magical system for the client no matter what the price point is.

A bad dealer is one who sells their overstock stuff or pushes equipment that is in stock to the wrong client and is serving themselves.

A good dealer will have a wide selection of equipment and will spend the time to educate a prospective client and provide expert setup and installation services.

Yes it is true that only the client will know what sounds good to them but without having the ability to be educated

and experience the difference that changing electronics, or a digital source or cabling will make a neophyte can find the entire process extremely challenging to nearly impossible and that is what a good dealer is all about.

If this gentleman has a good local dealer or dealers then he should bring some music and start demoing and maybe he will put together a great system and become a happy audiophile instead of someone who can't stop upgrading because their systems that they put together themselves sound dreadful.

I'm surprised by how many people think that dealers are driven only by the profit margin. Everything except one CDP, and one pr of speakers, I bought from my local dealer. I walked in in 1985 to buy a particular speaker. He could have took my cash, and I would have been gone in 10 minutes. He instead asked if I could come back tomorrow, and he would have some others I could demo. Long story short, I ended up with something else, which I still have to this day. We became great friends, and for 3 years now, I've been listing things on Audiogon for him. (we do still have the local retail store BTW)

I never pressure anyone. In the last few weeks, I actually told several buyers I thought they were better off going with something else. After emailing with one for a day, and telling him a subwoofer was wrong for him, I spent about an hour on the phone, telling him what I thought would work best. (several brands I can't get) I also basically turned away a 4k sale on a recvr in this same time frame. When the buyer told me what he had, I explained he may like mine better, but, his set-up was first rate. I honestly didn't see it being a big step up for him.

I'm not looking for a "pat on the back" I'm simply trying to say that all dealers don't try sell what they are over stocked on, or what has the biggest profit. First, and foremost, I'm an enthusiat. I like talking to people, and I like to help them when I can. If I can't, I'm honest and tell them so. Better to be in it for the long haul, and make some friends, than to make a quick buck and have to run and hide. (we all know someone like that)

Maybe I'm a "dreamer" but I like to think most dealers feel/treat people like I do. If you go to a big box store, all bets are probably off. Then you are dealing with part time employees, who really need to sell to get paid.

Thats my honest take on it. Others will surely disagree. So be it.

Emerson,

In order to achieve a goal, the goal must be clearly defined. In home audio, that means knowing the sound you want. To know that, one must actually have heard it and known it prior to achieving the goal.

Have you heard it? What is your reference system that you have heard? You have to have that reference standard to achieve your goal. Dealer systems at dealers can provide that. Then the dealers job becomes helping you achieve that sound as best possible in your quarters.

The positive exeriences are nice to read about. However if you are new to audio, How exactly will you just 'by chance' walk into a dealer who honestly wants to help you? Instead of the dealer who wants to just use you as a cash cow?
No one wrote that all dealers are bad. The problem is a new person has no idea ifa particular dealer is just selling whatever is the best for the dealer, or what the dealer thinks is best for the customer.
So if one does not know.. Isn't it better to be a little cynical? than too trusting?

Even my own favorite dealer, i can tell he is internally pressured to try and sell stuff he needs to sell. No way is he going to just disregard his own self interest to the point he goes bankrupt.

Cmalak, interesting. I got soured on Goodwins High End, when in the mid '90's, I had just bought used B&W M802 speakers. I was a total newbie to high end, & they were pretty useless on giving me any kind of guidance re component matching with those speakers, claimed to not really know anything about them (even tho they're extremely well known speakers), etc. They also wouldn't give me a penny discount (off of list) on anything, no matter how many components I bought.

Then they hired a tall guy from the now defunct audio place in Arlington. (I had bought a lot of stuff at that store). One day he went off on me, LOUDLY, in the front part of the store, in front of other customers & employees, ranting about how horrible my speakers were, while bragging about how many of them he sold at his old store (!?). (If they were so horrible, why didn't he tell his old customers that?). I never went back there.

After also getting clueless (but not rude) advice at a couple of other audio stores in the area, I started relying on advice from other hobbyists on A'gon & elsewhere, & buying & selling used gear to make upgrades I couldn't possibly do always buying new. (A salesman at Natural Sound in Natick--who I like--& overall like the store--& is a B&W dealer--tried to convince me that I could easily power B&W M802's, with a 70 wpc tube amp (!?). Most of his other advice is spot on tho.

But I'm glad you've had good luck there (Goodwins High End). It is a nice store, great listening rooms, & not a zoo like some other places. I just felt they had the most "attitude", & it's far from the first time I've been insulted by an arrogant audio salesman--I don't know what it is about that job that attracts (some of) those "pompous" types....