Since this has become a dealer promoting thread, I will put a shout out for Audience Bath. Can’t fault them in any way. They have customers all over Europe who once lived in Bath and continue to patronise Audience. It’s not difficult to see why.
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A good relationship with a good dealer is very worthwhile. I have bought Naim kit over the internet, saving money on the purchase, but don’t go down that route anymore, I value the help and advice my dealer provides when I require it. If he is a couple of hundred dearer for a purchase by the time I factor in trade in and technical assistance to me it’s a better deal. You can get a better price but you own the problem and have to find the solution as opposed to your dealer. A recent experience of this, I bought an Innuos Zen server and had real difficulty in transferring files from my existing Unitiserve, they worked at it and got a solution.
Also if I have issues with Naim he chases them up, which recently has been invaluable.
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Sadly a lot of good dealers get squeezed out. The old forum was rife with tales of the self entitled that demanded a dealer give them the full personal service, match the price of Richer Sounds and discount retailers, chuck in freebees, and give part exchange on old junk. Plenty of documented outrage at not getting all of the above.
No wonder decent dealers are going out of business.
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Due to moving a few times as I started out in my Naim owning experience I changed dealers a few times. However, since living in Sussex I have had a longstanding relationship with one dealer, Jefferies as it was when I began it, now part of Audio-T.
I trust them and seek advice about upgrades and changes to my system over the last 30 or so years. I have purchased new and secondhand from them and always received excellent service as have many others. What I like most about Julian, Paul and John is that they treat you equally well if you are buying an entry system or a top of the range Linn - Naim system. If you have Linn, John is one of the best people in getting the best out of a Linn.
My view is a good dealer relationship helps you get the best system for you at all budget levels, they offer guidance, stock products they believe in and will find out what is important to to. They won’t try to make a fast buck from you, instead will want you to be a returning customer.
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Practices do vary widely, UK vs. US. The tales of service from dealers in the UK sound overall far more geared to in-home and personalized service. That’s rarer here, but still exists. Or maybe we just have fewer States-based participants.
When enquiring about in-home setup of my recent speaker purchase I was informed that that’s a service they charge for by the hour. I decided to do the positioning work myself. Now if I had purchased $75,000 Magicos instead, maybe there’d be no hourly charge? I didn’t ask; no reason to.
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Oh absolutely. After leaving the UK 20 years ago I realised that they are probably the best dealers on earth. Partly because they can be with such a small island to cover. Many of their services are just not practical in the rest of the world.
There was some particularly vitriolic opinions from UK members on the old forum that were close to stating, if the dealer made one penny above break even then they were ripping off the customer. I’m exaggerating of course, but the sense of entitlement was, in my opinion, off the charts and explains why so many have such a hard time these days.
The point I’m getting at, is forgo the dealer relationship at your own risk. The additional services they provide instead of bargain basement prices are generally worth more and can save you money in the long run by avoiding short lived unsatisfactory purchases. Of course, if some people do feel they know better and don’t value the dealer’s advice or demo facilities, then they are probably better suited to lower cost, least involvement relationships. And that can be fine. God knows, there are a lot of know-it-all on the forum (sayings involving pots and kettles do spring to mind, I admit).
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This is true, Linn & Naim being based in the UK, has me communicating with Tom Tom, and Signals. And I reside across the pond, in search for an SCDR! Nice guys, I almost pulled the trigger! Shipping and insurance/main conversion.
Yes i saw the Supercap had gone from the Signals site…they are just up the road for me…much easier for me.
Signals do very reasonable used prices, unlike quite a few other Naim dealers who then appear to “sit” on their gear for a very long time…
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If you have ever had a strong relationship with your dealer you will understand how useful it can be. I have used Billy Vee for more than 30 years and their service and support has always been excellent.
A general point for me is that I rarely if ever ask for a discount. I want the dealership to remain in business long term, and in return I have a certain expectation on the quality of service that I get. This builds trust and confidence on both sides. It works for me anyway, especially as they are a dealership for both Linn and Naim.
Stu
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I always ask - a “what’s the best you can do” ask. Low key but gets the point across. And when he gives me a response, I view it as a ‘take it or leave it’ response; I don’t haggle.
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It’s a personal thing Bart. We all love a bargain and I have no such thoughts when buying a car. My Hi Fi is my one bit of bling and I appreciate the confidence of first class support for what is a large investment on my part.
Stu
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@tomfooleryi regard my dealer as a friend who gives me invoices!
i have used them for 20 years now and in that time I have bought a reasonable amount of not only NAIM but also other HIFI, the offer suberb service and advice, any NAIM equipment you can borrow for home demo to ensure it is right
i get the same level of support and service regardless of New or Ex Demo or PX stock, the other main benifit is @Cymbiosis are regarded as one of the foremost LP12 dealers in the UK so best of both worlds
the other added value is demo days with NAIM and other of thier close suppliers this weekend new SNAXO with Kudos which I am really looking forward to, and off to the mother ship in September with them also
I am sure NAIM care very deaply about thier dealers and how the end customer feels about the expereince of NAIM as our dealers are our main contact
is this the cheapest route? well thats individual choice but for me the right one
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When I bought new speakers, the manufacturer arranged for a dealer to come to my cottage and install them. I was allowed to audition them for a week before making a decision on whether to keep them. This was all part of the service, there was no obligation to buy. I didn’t ask for a discount, but they were still less than advertised. And they were definitely not £75k speakers.
I guess we are lucky in the UK.
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Yes it’s no mercy for old men…
I completely agree. I hadn’t considered this “issue” much prior to this purchase. I absolutely would not feel comfortable asking a dealer I’ve not purchased from to assist in this way. I suppose I was merely curious as to whether such a service is part and parcel of dealers being affiliated with the manufacturer. But should the worst happen, I am indeed happy to deal with the initial dealer, despite the geographical distance.
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That made me laugh Adam!
Truth is there are good and bad dealers, and good and bad customers. I believe that being a good customer, and having found a good dealer I get the best long term support. I want them to make a profit, and I want to feel the love of great advice and customer care. I dislike cattle prods though…
Stu
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I think a good dealer is invaluable particularly when buying speakers. The first (very local) dealer I bought Naim from lent me a pair of Kudos to try for a couple of weeks in my room. And when I was moving on from my Nait XS and unsure of whether to go for a SuperNait or 202/200 gave me his SN, HiCap, 202, 200, NAPSC to play with over the whole of the Xmas holidays. In both cases it helped me make an informed choice.
Unfortunately this dealer eventually decided to focus on AV, so I had to look for and finally found another rather further (55 km) away and they have also been most helpful. When I recently wanted to try out new speakers for suitability in my lounge, they not only let me borrow their shop pair but drove them here, then when they were needed for a shop demo, drove over to pick them up and returned a couple of weeks later to deliver and install my own pair (and take away the previous system). What’s more the streamer/amp I also ordered was late coming from the supplier so they have lent me their model until mine arrives, which will mean yet another visit to chez moi. So four visits, three entailing moving speakers weighing 35kg a piece. I call that service.
Roger
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In the States again it’s a little different. While the dealers are not affiliated with the manufacturer, they ARE affiliated with the distributor. It’s the distributor who must ‘make it right’ when things go wrong. So a good dealer, who has a good relationship with the distributor, remains quite valuable.
My long-distance dealer has such a relationship and it’s worked out well for me with two instances - one Naim and one Rega. Long distance means I have to box it up and ship, rather than box it up and drive it over. I keep all my boxes!
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Fully agree. A good business relationship benefits everyone. My dealer has been nothing other than excellent to work with, full of good advice (to the extent of advising against various things he could sell me…). I expect to pay a fair price for good service. And a good dealer needs to stay in business and make a fair profit for us to benefit from their service.
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