My reference to “no value” was purely for the online dealers. I get that many of them offered steep discounts on PS Audio products, and competed against each other for orders on PS Audio products, but that’s exactly the opposite of what a company like PS Audio needs/wants from a sales channel. That type of behavior commoditizes the product, which erodes both initial margins, as well as resale values.
I’ve also bought (virtually) from Underwood over the years, and while I can appreciate the value of a knowledgeable sales consultant, I would argue that there are more than enough sources of information on various competing products, and opinions about them, that audio enthusiasts like us will still be able to effectively filter down our options on what we want to buy (or demo in our own systems).
From the thrilling days of yesteryear, I recall two types of dealers. One was the patient, generous, helpful and honest breed who made your visitations to their shops a pleasurable learning experience.
The others were the snotty, arrogant, condescending ass-hats who took measure of how fat your wallet was on the way in. Those, I don’t miss so much, and good riddance.
Don’t disagree with the first paragraph, and I suspect that was main reason for the change. So wish they’d just admit that and stop trying to blame a supposedly doomed dealer landscape because, again, all of their competitors seem able to handle the same environment.
The reason I’m so sensitive to this is that the stated reason, even if unintentional, paints an unnecessarily grim picture of dealerships, and then others start to believe that they are doomed to fail. I think that is very unfortunate, and unbecoming. Just one opinion, respectfully stated, and I appreciate that it may likely not be shared by many here.
Interesting topic indeed. If we continue to go down the destructive path that we are currently on, it won’t just be HI FI boutiques that are going under, it will be all small businesses, and the only places left to shop at will be the Big Box retailers like Walmart and Costco. Sad.
I cannot speak too highly of my dealer. I also knew the previous owner because I was a customer and I was also an external advisor in relation to a dispute as a result of which the business went bankrupt. I therefore got to see all its financial records.
I’ve referred to two dealers above. What they both do are regular customer events. These range from open days with a garden party, manufacturer events (usually the top engineering team present a demonstration) and one day was a F1 track morning followed by a tour of the dCS factory. These events do three key things: lock in their clients, expose those clients to new products and give the client an opportunity to understand what a manufacturer/brand is all about. At my dealer one manufacturer has a dedicated demo room.
The dealer I now use exclusively gets to know their clients’ budgets and preferences. They sell systems for £1,000 to £1,000,000 or more. I have never been pressured to spend more than the dealer understands what I am comfortable with.
So the reason why I bought a pair of Wilson speakers last week was because the dealer had already exposed me to the sound at demonstrations and so when I was changing (mainly to please my wife) it was almost a matter of checking all was OK rather than starting from scratch.
If this system breaks down, I suspect it is as much to do with the manufacturers as the dealers. Every product is available online, so the retailer must offer something more that is of benefit to the customer.
As far as I’m concerned, online selling relies on brand loyalty, marketing and price. Marketing seems to be getting as many reviews as possible (which are almost always positive). I’ve never understood brand loyalty.
Meanwhile, I’m getting an education in basketball, Miami and someone else.
Brand loyalty is akin to dealer loyalty: How well does each bring product to you which you can rely upon as meeting your needs/desires? How well has each responded to problems?
If either fails to meet these requirements, buy elsewhere.
My dealer covers a vastly greater range of options than any brand can, as I presume other dealers do. The main component at issue are speakers, with brands sounding and looking so different.
The real skill of the dealer is selecting appropriate brands and working with them effectively.
I agree with kzk, it would be great to be able to audition all the speakers on my short list at home, but it is just not feasible. I’m looking to buy some new speakers around mid next year, and I have 3-4 on my list now, including the new PSAudio ones. But first I can’t order 4 10-15k speakers, then it needs to be timed such that they all arrive at the same time so I can audition them in parallel and then I need to send 3 back.
In comparison, my last speaker I bought at Upscale Audio and had two speakers on my short list, they prepared two room for me with each of the speakers so I could walk back and forth between the rooms and compare the speakers, that was awesome.
However, times just changed and now all speaker on my list are direct sale speakers besides one and that one none of close by shops have them for audition. To me it looks like the only chance to listen to different speakers nowadays is going to Hifi shows and hope that they did enough room treatment to be able to compare them…
We could, but this is what people want to discuss and there is currently nothing regarding new speakers. The discussion is also directly related to the new speakers.
I am getting everything from Kyomi. George introduced me to Stealth Audio so I chose to just roll with him on the entire system. The Cable Company would be very sad if they were aware of the gear I am buying from not them.
If someone is brand loyal and wants a particular component, they will go to their chosen brand first, which is pretty important if that brand is online only and cannot be found in a store. New customers presumably only by marketing (advertising, reviews, forums, etc.)
Dealer loyalty relies on dealers providing continually good advice and being proactive. It is perhaps more appropriate for people like me who have no brand loyalty. I am perfectly happy to have my dealer recommend a brand I’ve not heard before and expose me to new brands at open days, launches etc. Likewise, the other week I suggested listening to a brand and he said I would not like it, so I didn’t.
Brand loyalists will often be interested in every new product from their chosen brand. I’m only interested in the product that suits my needs at the time. I needed a new speaker so I went to my dealer to see what was available, a PSA brand loyalist would wait for the FR30.
Some people will buy a PS Audio loudspeaker simply on the basis of brand name. I get that, I consider it blind faith, but I think Paul appreciates he has to get the speakers in front of potential customers somehow and I am interested to know what this new marketing strategy is.
I’m always interested in new marketing strategies, because I think a lot of products are much the same and coming from a business background I’m interested how one gets ahead of the crowd.
The Upscale story is impressive. I bought some amplifiers from a German dealer that has 7 demo rooms all of different sizes. There are in the middle of nowhere, 100 miles from Munich. Apparently their customers travel from far and wide.
I don’t “push” any brands. I usually refer to companies I’ve investigated and products I’ve heard. I hardly ever mention Chord, probably PSA’s most direct competition in the UK DAC and amplifier market, because I’ve never heard those products. I do own a Chord Mojo, hardly relevant as PSA does not make a $500 portable DAC.
That said, last year I bought power cables branded Shunyata. I knew nothing of the brand and still don’t. I was surprised to hear they had taken time to deliver from the USA, as I has assumed from the name that they were Japanese.