I guess it was the way it was said - I have no idea if this is what was done, but if a dealer said that to me in a manner that came across as: “what an idiot thinking £1500 would buy any sort of hifi: what you’ve bought before is complete trash, you numbskull”, or “you think I can be bothered to get off my fat arse and serve you for a paltry £1500? Come back after my teabreak”, then I’d walk out too!
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Yes, probably. I was a bit short and blunt with my comment. Sign of the times I’m afraid.
dealers can give good advice if you listen to them. he told me to stick with passive SBL and 135’s and improve source before active with 250’s. I followed that one and agree.
he told me not to bother with that s/h 252 and keep the 52. I didnt follow that one and now agree with him - luckily still had the 52!
Depends, IMHO. What I cherish a lot about my dealer is that they always ask what I want to spend and what my max. limit is, and pretty much refuse to demo anything beyond, arguing that I’d never be happy with my purchase if they did.
I think we basically agree and it is about a dealer understanding each individual customer.
Some customers have a strict budget and will not be deflected, other customers have a budget range and are happy to be shown more expensive options.
Again it is down to the skill of the dealer to judge.
And a good dealer some times comes up with a deal that enables you to get a bit further up the Naim ladder than your budget would predict. You never know about moving demo stock on…worth asking if it is not initially offered.
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My local two dealers have been very good during lockdown. Loaning me stuff and for me it has been business as usual. But that could be because they know me. One in particular says business has been good for him during lockdown. The other much less so.
Absolutely. I have been the beneficiary of such ‘offers’ on more than one occasion. A dealer that you have formed a relationship with is also more likely to give you good trade in prices to sweeten deals even further.
I agree. You might find a better deal on the internet than offered by your local dealer but over the years there tend to be other benefits or freebies that balance this out. An example is my LBS (local bike shop) - I buy my bikes and get servicing done by same shop. I could buy bikes over internet at a slightly cheaper price. However, if I need minor jobs doing my LBS will do them for free because I buy bikes from him so in the end it is no cheaper buying over internet IMO. Some customers’ aim is to get lowest price full stop and that is entirely legitimate. However, I think there are benefits both financially and from personalised experience perspective from developing a relationship and it is a win-win situation. Each to their own
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Depending on advert plenty of easy to answer details, age, serial number, history, any damage, missing items, original packaging? Got my Star ex demo, the original advert included all the above and the dealer was local and is very well respected so was easy but have seen plenty of ex demo ads with virtually no details other than price.
I also don’t think we disagree. Just saying that I like it that they respect limits. It’s easy to make a customer go over their limit by demoing something more expensive. And last time it was cute and almost comical as I had started with not being sure I wanted to spend the price of a NAP 200, but then I changed my mind and it took a fair bit of convincing them to make them swap in a 300. Which I ended up buying, 30 seconds in 
I believe mine also did quite well with many people being home a lot, spending less for going out and so on and building a bit of a cushion, and having lots of time to become unsatisfied with their setup. Myself included 
The bike dealer at the corner where I live told me that there are actually people who come in to ask if it is ok to order on the internet and have it delivered to the shop for final assembly 
My dealer has been SUPER busy these past months. Hi fi has done pretty well. Wine sales are through the roof.
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It depends if course on your rate if purchase… I’ve only bought one new bike in my life, that was about 11 years ago. The bike before that (about 16 years earlier) was secondhand. The one before that next to nothing from a friend 20 years earlier… I did buy a second bike last year to have a go at iff/road cycling - cost £40 in an auction. Servicing I mostly do myself. So no chance to build a relationship with a dealer.
Hifi is little different really - much bought secondhand, with on average something new only every 5-10 years. There are dealers where I’ve had good service and would bd my first port of call when I want something, but beyond that no relationship. Of course, the fact that I’ve moved around the country in my adult life probably doesn’t help.
And of course there are the folks who will demo at a dealer and then buy hifi from cheapest place on internet 
Just been reading through some of the comments, thanks for the responses.
A little bit more info from me, I was looking to spend £1500 and had my eye on the Rega Elicit-R, i’d seen some good reviews and thought this was the direction I wanted to go in. At the time, I had a recapped Audiolab 8000a and into which I was running a Cambridge Audio Streamer CXN v2.
Discussed this over the phone and whilst chatting, I was invited to bring my system in - we’d try the new amp with my streamer etc and because a week day was easier, I booked the day off of work - even though I had £1500ish, I was prepared to spend that cash - the fact I took my gear with me, booked the day off would’ve suggested to me at least that I was committed.
From the moment I arrived, to leaving - I was treated as the biggest waste of time that this salesperson had ever come across, I’ve no idea as to why - maybe he was having a bad day, I don’t know. We didn’t even listen to the Rega that I’d come in to see and was demo’d a Naim system - attached to my speakers - I don’t even know why I was asked to bring in my own amp and streamer? I was asked whether my interconnects were directional (they quite clearly wasn’t) and these were tossed aside - there were no real questions asked of me, the tone throughout was just awful, condescending and arrogant - at one stage I think we were sat there listening to a SN3 and NDX2 - which is quite amusing as this is where I’ll probably end up .
The new dealer couldn’t have been more different, or more helpful - we chatted, it was his suggestion of trading in my 8000a and CXN, utilising my £1500 and offering 0% on the outstanding balance that helped me head off in a different direction. As mentioned, I’ve since gone back and upgraded to the SN3.
Some time last year I’d flown to London for a meeting, only for it to ne cancelled. With best part of a day to enjoy it occurred to me to wonder where the nearest hifi dealer was, selling Naim and PMC - maybe a chance for my first hearing of a Naim amp! (PMCs because I know the MB2, Fact 12 and 25-26 have similar character to my own speakers, and I know the differences, so any of them would give me a fair reference point.)
Discovered there was one just three miles or so north of where I was, found it was on a direct bus route, so off I went. When I walked in the shop there were two members of staff at a desk, no visible (or audible) sign of any other customers: good, I might have a chance. I nodded good morning and had a little browse: Hmm only small PMCs visible (in fact I’m not sure there were any floorstanders of significance.
I went to the desk. Paragraph I had to wait a minute or two before one of them looked up. I asked if they had any of the larger PMC speakers - only to be informed that I did not need big speakers! This is without asking me anything about what system I have now, taste and likes in music, etc!
I left, went to a nearby pub, and planned some other things for my afternoon. It is extremely unlikely I would have bought anything that day, and uncertain whether if I was interested I would buy from somewhere so inconvenient to me (though possible if I was impressed): but they did not know that, and they weren’t exactly rushed off their feet.
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Hmmn…i have had the same treatment at a well known chain of hifi shops…now with a shop, who own, live and breathe hifi.
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Yes some Hifi shops are like their clothing equivalents ‘too cool’ assistants and an attitude of
‘If you pass a few tests then we may and we mean may let you spend your hard earned money here’