[Stu Pitt]

What a pile of CRAP. You obviously have a vested interest in this discussion beyond the discussion.

james

I thought the same thing at first.  Hopefully he was misunderstood and was referring to Audio Advisor's competition and not Audio Advisor themselves.  I haven't seen any demo/discounted Bryston stuff on Audio Advisor. Trust me, I looked for it.

It's one thing if Audio Advisor discounted equipment and/or demo gear that's no longer current/has been updated.  It's another thing to open a box solely for the sake of selling it at a discount to undercut the competition.  I'm sure you've done your homework on Audio Advisor and this isn't the case. 

[srb]

I certainly wouldn't say Audio Advisor has a "never-ending supply of discounted demo units", but they do ocassionally have a few.  Right now, out of all the different available Bryston components, they have a 2B SST2, a BP-16 and a Speaker Switch Box demo units.
 
Steve

[Ericus Rex]

I certainly wouldn't say Audio Advisor has a "never-ending supply of discounted demo units", but they do ocassionally have a few.  Right now, out of all the different available Bryston components, they have a 2B SST2, a BP-16 and a Speaker Switch Box demo units.
 
Steve

Call them and ask them if they have a specific item as demo and let's see what happens.

[srb]

Call them and ask them if they have a specific item as demo and let's see what happens.

No, if you have interest in pursing this, you can call them.
 
Steve

[jaxwired]

One thing that's obvious, people are frustrated with the current state of affairs.  Dealers, Makers, Buyers, all frustrated.  Everytime this topic comes up it receives spirited debate. 

We are definately in a catch 22.  How do we transition from tranditional dealers without damaging the manufacturers?  I don't know the answer.  But what we have now clearly sux.

[James Tanner]

We thought long and hard before appointing Audio Advisor as our ONLY authorized online USA catalogue Bryston dealer and we did so for these reasons:

1. Some customers simply prefer the option of purchasing online or through a catalogue.

2. Many potential Bryston customers live nowhere near a high-end dealer

3. Audio Advisor sells at suggested retail.

4. Audio Advisor provides a no questions ask 30 day trail

5. Audio Advisors includes free shipping to the customer but so does Bryston to all our other dealers (if 2 pieces or more ordered)

6. And this is the big one folks:

Audio advisor puts out thousands of catalogue’s a year in direct mail and promotes Bryston in a big way. In fact most local Bryston dealers profit by this exposure as the customer takes the catalogue into his local dealer (if he has one) and 9 times out of 10 the local dealer gets the sale.

james

[Elizabeth]

great reply james.
And i have purchased Pangea cables, and a Sennheiser HD800 from Audio Advisor, but i bought my pre and amp locally.

[Ericus Rex]

No, if you have interest in pursing this, you can call them.
 
Steve

Grrrrr!  I'm sure of my stance.  I'd only be proving it to myself.  Anyway...

Thank you, James, for that detailed response.  I'm reassured that you considered the AA angle as much as you did.  I'm glad it's working out for you.  I still don't agree with your assessment that your local dealers benefit from your AA relationship.

I am not a dealer.  That said, I have two good friends who own two different struggling shops at opposite ends of the country.  Both have been stung by AA when AA picked up lines that my two friends carried (not Bryston gear).  Both experienced attempts at price wars from customers and both lost sales even after 'greasing' the customer with home delivery and extended auditions (darned AA demo sales!).  One friend dropped the line due to the unwelcome competition, the other kept the other line and rarely makes a sale from that line.  I'm in touch with this friend regularly and he's never had an AA catalog help him with a sale, only lose a sale.

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, and am perfectly willing to step off my soapbox and let this thread continue without any further input from me (You're Welcome!).  I just wanted to state that from personal experience the manufacturer/AA relationship is not good from the viewpoint of most dealers.  I have absolutely no doubt about how beneficial an AA relationship is to manufacturers and consumers though.

***steps off soapbox for good...I hope***

[James Tanner]

Grrrrr!  I'm sure of my stance.  I'd only be proving it to myself.  Anyway...

Thank you, James, for that detailed response.  I'm reassured that you considered the AA angle as much as you did.  I'm glad it's working out for you.  I still don't agree with your assessment that your local dealers benefit from your AA relationship.

I am not a dealer.  That said, I have two good friends who own two different struggling shops at opposite ends of the country.  Both have been stung by AA when AA picked up lines that my two friends carried (not Bryston gear).  Both experienced attempts at price wars from customers and both lost sales even after 'greasing' the customer with home delivery and extended auditions (darned AA demo sales!).  One friend dropped the line due to the unwelcome competition, the other kept the other line and rarely makes a sale from that line.  I'm in touch with this friend regularly and he's never had an AA catalog help him with a sale, only lose a sale.

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, and am perfectly willing to step off my soapbox and let this thread continue without any further input from me (You're Welcome!).  I just wanted to state that from personal experience the manufacturer/AA relationship is not good from the viewpoint of most dealers.  I have absolutely no doubt about how beneficial an AA relationship is to manufacturers and consumers though.

***steps off soapbox for good...I hope***

Ok thanks - I certainly appreciate your input.

james

[srb]

With the lack of back panel and interior photos as well as MSRP on the Bryston website, there isn't a lot to motivate someone to click on the Dealers link to find a local dealer.
 
But if you land on the Audio Advisor website, you will find many high-resolution color back panel and interior photos, the price, and other additional information.
 
In my case, I did click on the Dealers link anyway, and found that my closest dealer is 125 miles away.  As James pointed out, that is too far for many to choose a "local" dealer over Audio Advisor.
 
For those that are relatively close to a Bryston dealer, if the upcoming Bryston website overhaul includes at least as much info and color eye candy as the AA website, this might go a long way toward stimulating dealer sales.  Although there is a global link to Dealers, another Dealer or "Where to Buy" link on each product page would further help to reinforce the concept of local dealers.
 
Steve

[Elizabeth]

ANYONE who is into stereo equipment, and does not know of ALL the dealers within a reasonable distance, they are either new to the sport? or just really wearing blinders.
I know every dealer, for the past 30 years, even a few in Chicago (100 miles away) too, and know what they sell, how they are doing, whether they are worth going to see, whether i like each and every person who works at each and every one of the places. And i only go to look at the places maybe once every couple of YEARS at most.
So do not give me any 'stuff' about how are you supposed to not know where a dealer is, (if they might be around where you live.).
FOR EXAMPLE: i have known my local (20 miles away) Bryston dealer for over 25 years. i know he sold a variety of stuff. He used to, years ago, sell Magnepan speakers, he used to sell Threshold, he used to sell Keith Monks Record cleaning machines, he used to sell MoFi LPs, he used to sell NAD, he used to sell yadda yadda yadda.. He still carries Classe' B&W, Panasonic Plasma TV, BAT, Marantz.. yadda yadda... Well i wanted to buy Magnepan speakers. So nowhere closer than Chigago, (100 miles)
So  I am wondering how am I gonna go audition them and then for some reason i am looking at my Bryston dealers stuff and JEEZ he is carrying Magnepan again! Whoo Hoo! This was when i was just thinking about magnepan, like six months before i actually bought them. (And tell me folks suddenly one day say i am buying xxx today where can i find them, jeez better buy them at the Audio Advisor because i saw them on the internet...
 
So anyway i was lucky He decided to go back to Maggies JUST when i wanted some.

The point is i do check and see who sells what often enough to not be blind about where i can find what i want. And I cannot believe others find it difficult to know who and what is around them.
And i knew AA sold Bryston so what. So did MY dealer. NATURALLY I would use my dealer, UNLESS I had a prior beef with him.

The arguments that dealers are losing out to Audio Advisor on LOCAL sales can ONLY be because the dealer in question is a jerk. period. (yeah yeah i feel the cold harsh daggers already, but i have NO fear of speaking my mind!)
So that is my statement, good luck defending your local dealer losing out to AA. Jeez they MUST be total(xxx) and a bunch of(xxx) and (xxx) too. Now if it is over some product AA can dicker on, that may be, but it is not over bryston stuff. And AA is also a brick and mortar store. Your dealer could add an internet presence too, anytime.

So AA NOT selling Bryston IMO might force some " reluctant " folks to use a dealer they do not like anymore. But beyond that, no.
And i have to say. driving more than 50 miles is a PITA. and only if i really had to would i go to Chicago for stuff. Though in the past few years i have bought 3 $$$ item off Audiogon with local pickup in the greater Chicagoland area. (lucky too 'cuz one was a Furman REF20i and was over 85 lbs and the other was a PS Audio P600 at  70lbs plus ..so saving shipping was a bonus.)
And wish i had a "Saturday Audio Exchange" near me...
So maybe we need a survey: who actually know what dealers are in your area, and lists of what they sell? And if you do not. Why?
Without looking it up I can rattle off most of every brand each of them sells. (except some in Chicago.. a little fuzzy there, but local. hell yes.)
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