Normally, brick and mortar specialty stores survive by providing services that can't be matched on the Internet or by mail order suppliers. Their overhead is higher, so their prices need to be a bit higher for them to stay in business.
What they normally offer the customer is a venue where they can see and listen to different models within their budget; and a place to return faulty or defective equipment and get it repaired or replaced without the hassles of shipping.
But in today's market I think they need a new gimmick or enticement to help them stay afloat. For example, maybe they could institute a "trade-up" policy, where they will give you something like 80 percent of your purchase price up to 2 years from the date of the purchase toward the purchase of a similar component, provided that component is at least 1.5x the price of the original component.
That is just an off-the-cuff example of a new service that could be enticing to prospective buyers and I'm sure there could be other things that could be done to attract business, such as holding manufacturer seminars and volunteering to host local audio club meetings.
The bottom line is that brick and mortar establishments can't just sit in their shops and wait for business to come to them. They have to adopt a proactive attitude and use their creativity to go out and grab the attention of prospective buyers.
Also, it is beyond my comprehension how certain retailers can afford to be snobbish toward any customer in this type of economic climate. I would think they would need to be as cordial and helpful as humanly possible...
What they normally offer the customer is a venue where they can see and listen to different models within their budget; and a place to return faulty or defective equipment and get it repaired or replaced without the hassles of shipping.
But in today's market I think they need a new gimmick or enticement to help them stay afloat. For example, maybe they could institute a "trade-up" policy, where they will give you something like 80 percent of your purchase price up to 2 years from the date of the purchase toward the purchase of a similar component, provided that component is at least 1.5x the price of the original component.
That is just an off-the-cuff example of a new service that could be enticing to prospective buyers and I'm sure there could be other things that could be done to attract business, such as holding manufacturer seminars and volunteering to host local audio club meetings.
The bottom line is that brick and mortar establishments can't just sit in their shops and wait for business to come to them. They have to adopt a proactive attitude and use their creativity to go out and grab the attention of prospective buyers.
Also, it is beyond my comprehension how certain retailers can afford to be snobbish toward any customer in this type of economic climate. I would think they would need to be as cordial and helpful as humanly possible...