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soundnsecurity 
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Location: Louisiana, United States
Posted: May 30, 2012 at 9:34 PM / IP Logged  
a lot of time an authorized dealers hands are ties as to what prices they can sell their gear for. the manufacture makes you sign an agreement that you wont sell under certain prices. UN-authorized dealers that get their stuff out the back door dont have to deal with that.
basically it comes down to this, car audio simply isnt as big as it used to be. to be able to sustain a true custom shop with talented employees and good product you have to sell your equipment at a much higher price just to stay in business. GOOD INSTALLERS COST MONEY. and the market for custom jobs just isnt there like it used to be so customers usually opt for a regular "make it work" installation and they wont pay premium prices to have it done by quality installers who know what they are doing.
customs shops these days do more fixing than installing because of people who buy from the internet trying to be cheap, then they try to install it themselves trying to be cheap, and so the only money the shops see is for troubleshooting when something blows up.a lot of what comes through this forum testifies to that because there are many more posts from people with problems than from people looking for advice before they buy.
honestly the internet itself is just as much to blame because with the amount of information floating around that would normally be acquired by experience i guess it just makes people feel more confident about doing it themselves.
terminat0r 
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Joined: May 28, 2012
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Posted: May 30, 2012 at 10:35 PM / IP Logged  
soundnsecurity wrote:
then they try to install it themselves trying to be cheap
Not necessarily trying to be cheap. If a shop would offer me a free install, I would say no, and install it myself. Why? Because it's a hobby, and in the end I'll be more satisfied with the result, because it was done with my own hands. Same as a fish you caught yourself is more satisfying to eat.
[quote] and so the only money the shops see is for troubleshooting when something blows up[/quote]
Come on, it's on as bad you draw it. I know tons of people are clueless when it comes to connecting 2 wires together. I'd say a very small % out of the bunch does this themselves.
[quote]a lot of what comes through this forum testifies to that because there are many more posts from people with problems than from people looking for advice before they buy. [/quote]
It just means an advice is optional, but fixing a problem is not.
[quote]honestly the internet itself is just as much to blame because with the amount of information floating around that would normally be acquired by experience i guess it just makes people feel more confident about doing it themselves.
[/QUOTE]
And I think it's a great thing.
soundnsecurity 
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Posted: May 31, 2012 at 7:00 PM / IP Logged  
yea i dont mean to sound like i have a problem with anything, nor was i talking about you specifically. that was really just what i see going on all the time. theres nothing wrong with wanting to do something yourself, i personally do as much as possible myself because it just makes sense to want to save money wherever possible. BUT, i know my limits too. i use the internet more for a resource to cross-reference against what i already know. some people use it like a DIY bible and assume what they read online is always true and complete, which gives them the courage to try things that are way out of their league instead of having it done by the people who do it all day every day and know what they are doing.
KPierson 
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Location: Ohio, United States
Posted: June 01, 2012 at 1:49 AM / IP Logged  
To me this is such an interesting argument. Ultimately, terminat0r is right in saying that "the consumer" wants the lowest price and they don't care about anyone but themselves. If the consumer is given the choice of paying more money to support a small, local business or paying less money to support some illegitimate operation that most likely isn't even paying taxes (and hence able to sell for significantly less) they will typically go with the lower price.
Take a look around at the economy - big box electronic stores are suffering. Small Mom and Pop operations are suffering. It simply isn't possible to pay good employees and cover a businesses overhead while competing with shady internet pricing. And unfortunately, as a small business owner myself, I find myself defaulting to discount internet sites for purchases instead of paying more and supporting local businesses. But, at this point I almost have to, otherwise I would have to raise my prices and lose even more business to online shoppers!!!!!
Kevin Pierson
DYohn 
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Joined: April 22, 2003
Location: Arizona, United States
Posted: June 01, 2012 at 9:14 AM / IP Logged  

Kevin, yes you've described exactly what is happening and why so many of my friends are no longer in this business.  To survive you either have to live with 2% margins and sell everything at cut-rates and hire part-time high school kids for minimum wage who may or may not know a torx wrench from a blow torch, or you have to go super custom and try to find those few high-end customers wanting exclusive installations and hope they happen often enough to pay the bills.  Or get a job saying "paper or plastic" to support your family.

I blame Wal Mart.  Gotta blame somebody.

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awdeclipse 
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Joined: August 05, 2007
Location: Michigan, United States
Posted: June 01, 2012 at 9:22 AM / IP Logged  
Personally I give myself a 10-15% rule for most "local purchases" If I can pick an item up in the store same day, pay sales tax and end up roughly 10-15% more then online and waiting for it to ship I'll gladly pay the extra for both getting it now and supporting a local business. (sales tax too I guess, assuming they actually hand it over to the state...) More often now I am seeing the ability to just buy something local become less and less possible. Bigger stores (Target, Home Depot, Sears) are carrying more and more items "online only" so I can't even pay more to get it that day if I wanted to. I blame the internet.
I try to give the "mom and pop" shops my money whenever possible, and lately they have been able to compete with the bigger stores whether its electronics or home improvement stuff. Keep in mind the little stores don't have a fraction of the buying power as the big shops so when they have lower or competing prices I'm going there to buy. I have always been leery or suspicious of extremely low prices and am a firm believer of "You get what you pay for".
And most importantly, when I am trying to decide what to buy and I see a "Made in the USA" sticker on a product you can dang well guarantee it is going in my basket without a second thought and I'll gladly pay the higher price for it.
There is a lot more what I will call "Consumer Responsibility" given how a lot of stores are suffering these days. I guess I take the stance of "Pay a little bit more now so you have the option to buy it local at a later date" I've seen enough hardware stores close to enforce this. The stores you go to because you know they have the random off the wall part you are looking for.
KPierson 
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Joined: April 14, 2005
Location: Ohio, United States
Posted: June 01, 2012 at 10:07 AM / IP Logged  
WalMart is very much to blame. For example, they were the final nail in Circuit City's coffin (my former employer). When WalMart entered the large screen TV game margins drastically dropped overnight on TVs. Circuit City was using these margins, at the end, almost exclusively to keep the doors open. Large TVs are just one example of what a super large company who cares little about it's employees can do to the economy.
Sure, at the end of the day consumers are happy because TVs are now more affordable but look at all the people without jobs now!
Kevin Pierson
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