Personally, I feel no obligation to subsidize local high-end dealers out of either some bizarre form of guilt or because, for some reverse-trickle-down, voo-doo-esque theory that I don't buy, I believe I am subsidizing the entire high-end industry. None whatsoever. The fact that there's a viable and vibrant market for used equipment means only that the market for equipment at all levels is and will remain viable and vibrant -- so (even if the middle-man is incapable of competing or surviving in an increasingly global market defined by consumers with unprecedented power to perpetuate the useful life and value of products through communicating with large groups of other consumers to trade and resell items) I can guarantee that manufacturers will find a way to continue getting their products to people who want them, as long as they continue to want them, even if they have to come up with new means to do so. Ive bought a lot of equipment new from dealers, but now I almost exclusively buy used through Audiogon and other online sources. Its a market economy, folks, best product for the best price takes the prize.
Its just that simple. I could easily adopt a more apologist stance and reason that: (a) I would never, under any circumstances, purchase a Meridian CD player at anything less than used prices, (b) I considered Meridian only because there was a used market, (c) I got one, and (d) because I and people like me purchase used Meridian gear, the market is better able to support retail pricing due to the fact that the resale value is an inseparable component of the product -- so a viable used equipment market, in no small part, supports the hyper-inflated retail market. Also, cites like this one do at least as much to create desire and fuel the retail market as they detract from the retail market simply by increasing the knowledge and power of the consumer (which is what they do). But all of these arguments, any many more like them, though true on many levels, miss the essential truth -- best product for the best price wins. Peoples conceptions of what is best may change from moment to moment, but if my personal conception of best happens to leave the local dealer out in the cold on any given day, so be it. I dont see the need to rationalize or apologize for it.
When I walk into a shop just to check out how something sounds and with no serious intent to buy anything, thats what I tell people. Simple, straighforward, no BS. Their decision as to how they want to spend their time with that info is their own. That said, I've walked into a store with that intention and walked out with new gear -- "best value" is fluid. No apologies.
Its just that simple. I could easily adopt a more apologist stance and reason that: (a) I would never, under any circumstances, purchase a Meridian CD player at anything less than used prices, (b) I considered Meridian only because there was a used market, (c) I got one, and (d) because I and people like me purchase used Meridian gear, the market is better able to support retail pricing due to the fact that the resale value is an inseparable component of the product -- so a viable used equipment market, in no small part, supports the hyper-inflated retail market. Also, cites like this one do at least as much to create desire and fuel the retail market as they detract from the retail market simply by increasing the knowledge and power of the consumer (which is what they do). But all of these arguments, any many more like them, though true on many levels, miss the essential truth -- best product for the best price wins. Peoples conceptions of what is best may change from moment to moment, but if my personal conception of best happens to leave the local dealer out in the cold on any given day, so be it. I dont see the need to rationalize or apologize for it.
When I walk into a shop just to check out how something sounds and with no serious intent to buy anything, thats what I tell people. Simple, straighforward, no BS. Their decision as to how they want to spend their time with that info is their own. That said, I've walked into a store with that intention and walked out with new gear -- "best value" is fluid. No apologies.