The smart dealers do it. When I wanted to get my secondhand purchased 282/HC/250 serviced and DR’d I was going to snd it myself to AV Options. When I mentioned it to my dealer they offered to handle it for me. They took my boxes, shipped them to Audio Plus, and saved me money too. When it was all done I went back to the dealer and picked it all up.
Since then (i.e. in the last 12 months) I have spent tens of thousands on other gear. My dealer is smart about taking good care of customers, and not getting bent out of shape if I buy used gear somewhere else.
@anon4489532 Mr.Lockes mistake was trying to explain in purely objective terms how Focal/Naim works in the US. I think your reply is rude, condescending and extremely parochial.
So you’d would EXPECT an independent retailer to spend their time to help you, on some Hypothetical Speakers. Are said Hypothetical speakers a brand this dealer carries? are they out of warranty ? Are you going to pay for the repair and shipping cost and their time?
Oh and @Naim_The_Dragon Mr. Lockes reply was much more an explanation of process than an argumentative post.
Having previously lived in the U.S i understand its a different market. When my SBL,s had a driver problem i contacted Naim in the UK who directed me to the distributor, based in Chicago. They picked them up, returned them, fixed them, free of charge…rather than being directed to the dealer down the road in Michigan.
@elmarko Naim dealers are required and should graciously help out owners if the unit is under warranty. The issue is an old out of warranty item. If the Dealer is on the ball she should certainly help out. You never know who the next big whale is plus it’s good karma.
Their incentive to help – the incentive is that they can recruit a new customer. It’s so easy – be a good sport, help an obvious hi fi hobbiest, and earn their business. That is who I want to do business with – not the type of dealer you mentioned @Duckster.
Fortunately for me, I work with 2 dealers in your network, neither of whom subscribes to your “point” no. 2.
Perhaps all sides are ‘missing something in translation’ culturally.
While I suspect all dealers have customers who can be a frustration in some form or another, the issue seemed to be about getting something serviced/repaired and I’d assume the dealer would get/take a cut of the fee - perhaps the margins are too low for dealers to be interested/bothered unless it’s really worth their while?
It does not bode well for a brand however if you can only readily get servicing/repairs at the store where the item was purchased - if that store failed, no longer stocked the brand or the customer moved state/country it could prove a real nusiance and would put people off buying the brand to begin with.
Naturally dealers are likely to prefer a new sale, but they’re more likely to get one in the future if the customer has confidence their older item can be serviced/repaired through any current dealer.
Rather than buying traded-in gear off the customer, my dealer sells it on eBay on the customer’s behalf. It works well and I think some other dealers also do this.
I’ve been on the other side of this too. Some years ago I saw an XPS advertised on eBay by a highly respected dealer, so I put in a bid which came second. However, the winner didn’t come forward with the cash so the dealer offered it to me at the price I had bid and I accepted this. Then the highest bidder suddenly emerged with his money after all, putting the dealer in the difficult position of deciding which customer to disappoint. What he (the dealer) decided to do was sell the XPS to the highest bidder and offer me a nearly new demo XPS at the price I had bid, telling me that he had a reputation to maintain. He retired a few years later so I had no opportunity to spend money with him but I would certainly have done so. (And I bought on spec without audition.)
I can understand if a dealer does not want to trade in used equipment. It’s a different proposition than dealing in new and under warranty equipment.
But being willing to take clean used equipment in trade-in does seem somewhat necessary these days, as most hi fi people trade in/out/up over the years.
Of the 2 dealers I’ve mentioned in this thread, one has a nice business selling off the gear he takes in trade - my 252, SC and 300 were all sourced from him as ~2 yr old trade ins. My local dealer takes my used gear in trade, but puts it up on Audiogon. He has essentially no in-store business in used gear.
I’ll chime in once again regarding used gear and a plug for the local Naim dealer.
My Seattle based dealer has sold me a ‘demo’ Nait XS 2 and my Ovator S400 speakers. He has taken in trade from me the XS 2 when I moved to the SN 2. He took my ProAc D2’s when I moved to the Ovators. I have also traded in a ND5 XS and NDX in route to my NDX 2.
He has a fair trade-in policy for equipment and also provides equipment for home demos.
He currently has a listing of used Naim gear, CD Players, Tuner, Pre/Power/Integrated amps, speakers, and accessories on his website with several other brands as well.
I have also looked occasionally at the other two local Naim dealers in the Seattle area who list used Naim gear as well.
From what I have read on this forum over the past few years I certainly believe that the UK dealers have a stronger affiliation with Naim and their services are elevated compared to what many US dealers offer. With that said, I am extremely pleased with the customer service I have received here in Seattle. They have been in the Hi Fi business since 1946, and they certainly have the customer service skills needed to keep the doors open.
My dealer seems similar to yours. I have been a customer for over 25 years and keep going back because they do a good job, are fair, and don’t get bent out of shape when I buy used gear elsewhere.
I have been wondering about Gene Rubin in CA, he used to be an excellent, first class Naim dealer and a friend of Julian Vereker’s, and then one day he stopped selling Naim?
plus it’s good karma.