Why not?

[Ali1 10+ year member]

1. If I buy something from a shop I am paying for the product the warranty and the information and knowledge of the shop and the ability to get it that day and leave with it. I buy in store if the warranty is void from buying online (if product is of good quality shouldn't need to worry about the waranty though) I usualy know more about the product than the guy selling the product so not going to pay for the info and knowledge that is less than my own. I can wait 3-5 days to get the product usualy.
2. I will install anything and build anything that I know I can do as well as the guy I am going t pay to do so... though If I can not do the quality of craftsmanship and cost is going to be less for them to build it than for me to learn how to do it and only need to do it the one time or is something I just don't like to do then I will pay some one to do something for me simple installs heck no I can do it better than they would do anyways its my car I will take more pride in it and know things wont be broken when finished and if they are I will just be mad at myself and know it couldn't be helped. not to mention gives me a reason to drink with some friends lol.gatta love summer projects.

very good point, in which most of us share the same experience

 

[Ali1 10+ year member]

As I stated before, this is a problem between the shops and the manufacturers. We as consumers shouldn't feel guilty for searching for the best deal. End of story.
Once again, walmart is just an example. Obviously I don't expect a shop to be like walmart and sell billions of dollars of products a year. But here's some simple math:

A shop buys an amp for $400 from the manufacturer.

They mark it up 100% to $800 and only sell 4 a year. That's $1600 in profit.

Now they mark it up to only 50% and sell 10 a year since the cost to the consumer is less (and more likely closer to online prices). Thats $2000 in profit.

That trend TENDS to continue as their prices go down. There aren't any guarantees of course, but if shops want to move product faster they have to be competitive.

Granted that is an extremely plain and simple example, but that's just the point I'm trying to make. I probably used "less overhead" in the wrong context; I was trying to show that shops would less likely have equipment sitting around for years and years that goes unsold because their prices are too high. Yes they will have to buy more products because they will be moving more stuff, but with the way shops are now, I walk into the same shop every year or so and see the same exact shit sitting on the shelves because they can't move the stuff. Their prices are always so god d*mn high. You can't make money on the stuff if you don't sell it, and that's the overhead I'm referring to.

Do you think walmart started off as a billion dollar corporation? Come on. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

But the bolded and underlined part is the point I really want to drive home.

just curious.... are you talking about soundmasters on 122 western?

 

[tommyk90 5,000+ posts]

just curious.... are you talking about soundmasters on 122 western?

It's like that at every shop I've been to. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[Ali1 10+ year member]

It's like that at every shop I've been to. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

you been to soundmasters? Those cadence amps have been there for ages.The thickness of the dust on those amps seem more appealing to the eye than the amp design itself.........//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

 

[Ali1 10+ year member]

Just a couple quick questions.Please do not provide long winded experiences and just try to keep it short and sweet and label your answers 1 & 2 to correspond to the questions.

Maybe 1 line if possible.

1. Why not buy your car audio from a retail store (not online)?

2. Why not have a professional car audio retailer install your product?

1. I called and asked a shop on 1/0 by the feet. he said $10/ft(granted it was stinger). Nuff said

2. Shops don't pay attention to the details we, as car audio enthusiasts, do.

 

[Rashaddd 5,000+ posts]

1. I called and asked a shop on 1/0 by the feet. he said $10/ft(granted it was stinger). Nuff said
2. Shops don't pay attention to the details we, as car audio enthusiasts, do.

lmao $10/ft...nice 150% markup...my god.

 

[Ali1 10+ year member]

lmao $10/ft...nice 150% markup...my god.

i bet you think I'm lying to. 708-396-2880. call and tell me what they quoted you by the feet.

edit: i just called again and a different employee quoted $8/feet

 

[PaulD 10+ year member]

A shop could not make money paying attention to all the details we do

 

[THUMPPER 10+ year member]

I don't buy on line...cause the warranty service sucks balls

and I refuse to pay some kid who has more experience using

crimp connectors and black tape than actuall car audio

I like everything soldiered and heat shrinked..not to mention I can

build anything I have seen fabricated by any installer at a fraction

of the cost

 

[WhoSayWho? 5,000+ posts]

The overwhelming majority of shops that I have visited do not offer anything of value in return for the premium you pay:

1. They do not know the products they are selling.

2. They do not have the products displayed on manner that gives you meaningful information about how the product performs.

3. Generally, they are full of misinformation about car audio.

4. What is considered "middle of the road" here is the locals' "high end." Because of the high retail price they sell few of these items and therefore they are especially ignorant about products that most of us would actually be interested in.

5. As far as install, in some ways they certainly have an edge over someone like me who only installs once in a blue moon. The flip side is that they often use inferior materials. Also, even though they do installs on a daily basis even I can tell that their ideas of how things should be done are just wrong and for some reason these guys are frequently hardheaded.

 

[mcsoul 10+ year member]

I do go to shops for the work I do not want to do at home.

For instance, I do not like installing head units, or running wire

to door speakers. I'll pay someone $40 bucks, my time is more

valuable. Not to mention it's friggin hot in my garage or on my

driveway.

But amps, especially when the power's already run, it's a no

brainer.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

1. money

2. money