This is indeed a difficult topic with many sides to the argument. The entry of Goldfinch Acoustics in another thread sparked me to write (and the fact that I wasn’t cooking in ages).
Before we hang the dealer, some introspection - our behaviour.
I know quite a few friends who come to my place and say “your system costs what?!!” But they drive really expensive cars. While my friends do like and listen to music, but perhaps with the intent that I use my car perhaps - just gets them there. However I don’t know how many of them compare the cost of their car abroad versus in India?
I also don’t grudge people their living. Would I like to get paid more for the work I do - answer is yes! Are the dealers ripping me off? I don’t know.
Let us look at our psyche. I know of a very rich person to whom my wife introduced a tailor - she asked if she could talk him down Rs 100. Perhaps she does with Versace also, but he lives in a slum (and has helped more people during the Covid shut down than her). A man of dignity (and perhaps some false pride too), the tailor said he won’t work with her anymore!
So how much is the dealer ripping you off? Does he have children whom he would like to send abroad for an education?
Also, can he meet the volumes (distributors have minimum volume agreements) needed to make a business if only a tiny section is interested in hifi. Remember the cost of carrying inventory could be at least 15%. And the fellow probabily needs to pledge his house as security.
Furthermore can you imagine the hassle of getting parts back and forth during the warranty period. Or the rental costs in Bombay
Then finally among us the audio loving community also. I think this write up covers it well - want service, the nice listening experience (a decent espresso too perhaps) and want a deal.
https://www.soundstagehifi.com/inde...-uk/1426-hi-fi-shops-the-death-rate-continues
I must admit I havent read this whole thread. On the other side of the coin, I agree with what Panditji says. The dealers don’t promote a brand (can they, with minimum volume commitments?). Many of them are a fount of audio garbage without a feel for the sound or music. Perhaps it’s just a way of making a living for them (home theatre is much better than hifi would be my guess). And renege on service, which is a crime!
And the inability to listen (audition my a$$) before buying is another frustration. What good is having a distributor in Bangalore for me? Or one in Bombay who won’t have a demo sample for home audition? Or are they broken with many a bad experience with ruthless customers? When a dealer says people just ordered it without listening, I grit my teeth. That is perhaps how we buy - good price based on peer and press reviews. So Panditji, can’t blame the dealer.
Why did the prices go up when the distributor changed? We won’t know unless we know their P&L account. Perhaps the first guy ran aground thinking of volumes that never came and second guy decided margins are the way to go, and that anyway people bargain.
I am still friends with my first hifi purchase which was from an audio dealer. He did not give me a discount on the Naim Nait or Roksan turntable even though I had a PhD student scholarship only. However, I am still in touch after all these years and go to him for advice - just the reliability of his thought process and his communication. And a sense of a larger interest in me rather than my wallet. What a good sales guy? What a good person!