Buying new on Ebay vs. Dealer?

[It Hertz 10+ year member]

there has always and will always been a market for "sideways" product the difference is the manufacturers that are willing to fight to protect their lines from these people. the companies that allow this to be done with their product are only devaluing their products, if you can buy it for half or less than the local retailer sells it for how can anyone find real value in that?

 

[It Hertz 10+ year member]

I understand your problem. I go to a shop and see a setup I like for 2-3K and you can buy it online for 6-7 hundred. If you by locally you usually get good warranties. I know most of my local shop specialize in a few select products and offer between 3 to 5 years worth of warranty. You cant beat that.

Very true on the warranty part, if you are using quality shops they will also be more knowledgeable about the line then any online seller who is just trying to make numbers and move product.

 

[jlwardn 10+ year member]

I sell new cars so I try to buy local when it makes sense. I want people to buy from me instead of going out of town to save a buck or two.......but when it is a huge difference I will buy on ebay. I do try to buy from someone that is on ebay and an authorized dealer. Some shops supplement their in house sales with Ebay to make a little extra profit. Remember if they make $10 per item and another $5 on shipping and can sell and extra 1000 units per month off of the internet.........they can make $15,000 profit from low profit and volume sales. Even at $5 over cost it is a good way to make a living.

 

[Horsemanwill 10+ year member]

may be a good way but the companies that have you sign a contract saying you won't sell that way or at lower then a certain cost are doing it for the sake of their other customers as well as the consumers. it's been said many of times....it's called the "race to 0". ppl trying to undercut the other guy to where sooner or later it's basically given away. that's y ppl selling sideways or transhipping are getting the brands pulled to where they are no longer an authorized seller. signing that contract is giving your word and if that's something you can't keep then how can i trust you to sell me anything or work on anything of mine?

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

may be a good way but the companies that have you sign a contract saying you won't sell that way or at lower then a certain cost are doing it for the sake of their other customers as well as the consumers. it's been said many of times....it's called the "race to 0". ppl trying to undercut the other guy to where sooner or later it's basically given away. that's y ppl selling sideways or transhipping are getting the brands pulled to where they are no longer an authorized seller. signing that contract is giving your word and if that's something you can't keep then how can i trust you to sell me anything or work on anything of mine?

I would think some companies couldnt afford to cut off a dealer that buys so much....especially if the company is a huge mainstream brand

 

[atsaubrey 10+ year member]

Bottom line is it is indeed a "race to zero" but I dont know how to really stop it unless the manufacturer really really steps up to the plate. For instance Zapco, doesnt include any software or manuals with the DC Reference or DSP models. they do this to ensure you are bying it from a brick and mortor store. Crazy idea? Maybe but it works..to a point. Look at all the great names in car audio from say 1990 and look at the names to today, most of the "names" are still there but the gear isnt even close to the same......they finished the "race"

 

[Horsemanwill 10+ year member]

I would think some companies couldnt afford to cut off a dealer that buys so much....especially if the company is a huge mainstream brand

alot and i do mean alot of companies don't care and they do let the "dealer" ship it sideways. sometimes it's not the company but the sales rep for that area. they'll let it "slide" so they can make their money too. but for a "GOOD" company it shouldn't be about the money it should be about the customer service.

 

[Rusty...WCA 10+ year member]

Thats a hard one to comment on, I have been in the car audio scene since the mid 90's and no internet then so i paid top dollar for everything, i paid 850 dollars for 700 watts of sound stream power back then =] . today with the internet i can get 4000 watts of used power on the internet. theres not a lot of money for retailers anymore. Thats why i sold my Store. I saw more and more people turning to the cheaper internet prices. I dont blame them. People are broke and looking to save money anywhere they can, But we need to remember, the small shops are what car audio was built on, we need them. They are the reason Car Audio is still what it is. There slowly bleeding outand when they die they where will all the big car audio guys turn? eBay stores?? why will they continue to spend money on R&D when theres no car audio stores left exept corners of big box stores. Im not saying one way is right and one is wrong. Just saying if you can support a shop then gtry. if not then maybe walk in and buy a set of RCA's or something. If the store is full of douches then hey.. I wouldent go there either but most specialty shops know whats up. If you dont got a local shop then maybe try out a shop thats owned by someone that has dedicated his life to car audio and needs it now to survive. Look at Mike Hughes. http://www.spl2k.com/

 

[letchcore 10+ year member]

Alot of great point brought up. Some stuff is not worth saving a hundred dollars on with no service or warrenty. Growing up I had a great local car audio shop and I had no other option but to buy from them. They also taught me eveything I know about car audio. Even though I did all my own installs. They now do custom install on Home Audio and have made a fortune on that.

If anyone knows a good car audio shop near Nashville(I just moved their) let me know.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

Stereo One is in South Dixson

 

[vellocet 10+ year member]

I prefer to buy used gear off forums and ebay. One of these days I'm going to get burnt doing this. Usualy there is no warranty, but replacing gear at that price isn't super expensive unless your replacing really high end stuff.

 

[It Hertz 10+ year member]

not sure how close to tullahoma you are but you can talk to chad at Radio Active Audio there. I can get you Contact info if you need it.

Stereo One... I think that is Brad Eubank the shop number there is 6154467533

He is one of the best in the country.

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

I purchased speakers on eBay because the idiots in this town will NOT work with you! For the Alpine SPR-17S components, the local dealer would not go below $250 and that was his cash price. I purchased the set on eBay for $130, including shipping. Supporting your local shop only goes so far....

For the savings, I didn't mind taking chances because I can get ANOTHER pair of components and spend an additional $10 above what ONE set would have cost locally. The funny thing about this particular shop is that he has been *****ing that he can not compete with internet prices. What an idiot!

 

[Horsemanwill 10+ year member]

alot of companies have a set MAP price that dealers are not allowed to go under. Image is one of them there are a few others. And that dealer is right brick and mortors stores can't compete with the internet that's why alot of business's close down. So he's not an idiot he's a business owner. Not just someone out to make a quick buck and not care about what happens after it's sold.

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

alot of companies have a set MAP price that dealers are not allowed to go under. Image is one of them there are a few others. And that dealer is right brick and mortors stores can't compete with the internet that's why alot of business's close down. So he's not an idiot he's a business owner. Not just someone out to make a quick buck and not care about what happens after it's sold.

Oh, if you would see what his shop guys recommend and how they install, you would change your tune quick.

In lieu of upgrading the alternator and battery, they push capacitors! Almost EVERY install has the bass boost set @ 75% on the amp, or they hide the remote bass knob, with the bass boost set @ 75%.

They will NOT build a custom enclosure. Most of the enclosures they sell are made in China. If the customer insists on having a custom enclosure built, they charge a minimum of $250 for your basic slot ported box and it goes up from there!

Oh, and I forgot to tell you the kicker on this moron. Even though there is this thing called the internet available to everyone and his brother, he still uses the common practice of putting the in-store price ABOVE MSRP, and then his sales associates come down to MSRP as if they are giving you a "deal". This practice worked quite well 20 years ago, but for anyone capable of using Google, it doesn't work.