Best internet prices?

[admin_exported]

Hiya,

Where do you guys shop online for your kit once you've decided what you want? It seems like there's absolutely no competition between the companies selling hifi gear - they're all sticking to the exact same prices

Any info on good value sites greatly appreciated!

Katy

 

[Anonymous]

Superfi match Richer Sounds in price most of the time, and in my opinion offer much better service..

 

[Anonymous]

Katy23:
Hiya,

Where do you guys shop online for your kit once you've decided what you want? It seems like there's absolutely no competition between the companies selling hifi gear - they're all sticking to the exact same prices

Any info on good value sites greatly appreciated!

Katy

We (correction: I ) usually only 'shop' on ebay. Used hifi is the best bargain you could get- when you know what you want, that is.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Do 'we'?

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew Everard:Do 'we'?

Maybe you don't, but I do. And I would certainly advise against buying online without hearing or buying from internet while having auditioned at hifi shops. It's the last nail in the coffin for your local hifi shop.
So my advise stands, if you want to buy cheaper, go ebay or end of stock/last years from your local hifi retailer.

 

[Anonymous]

Solomon1:Andrew Everard:Do 'we'?

Maybe you don't, but I do. And I would certainly advise against buying online without hearing or buying from internet while having auditioned at hifi shops. It's the last nail in the coffin for your local hifi shop.
So my advise stands, if you want to buy cheaper, go ebay or end of stock/last years from your local hifi retailer.

The above doesnt make sense though, You said "we"........"you" or "I" is not "we"

If Andrew doesnt and you do.........where is the "we"

 

[Anonymous]

See Solomon1's first response for clues...

 

[Anonymous]

Octopo:See Solomon1's first response for clues...

See Andrews first response for a clue, think he was wondering who the "we" was.....

We as in, Solomon and his missis... or as a forum consensus as a whole for example, and the response Solomon gave did not answer this, he gave his own personal view instead, nothing wrong with that, but its not answered who the "we" was.

 

[Anonymous]

We as in 'Duostereo2'. Typo.

 

[Anonymous]

Katy23:It seems like there's absolutely no competition between the companies selling hifi gear - they're all sticking to the exact same prices

I think you've got a point here. They usually do stick to the same prices.

Not too long ago,however, some previous arcam models were being sold for a fraction of their original retail price. Could check that out; cd192 should be good.

Other than that, you could bargain a discount when you intend to buy a complete system from one retailer.

However, I find the best way of getting a bargain is by buying ex-display speakers (for say 50-75% of the original retail price isn't uncommon). Speakers need to be run in anyway. Thus they are no worse than brand new ones you need to run in for yourself.

 

[Anonymous]

Meeeeaoow!

You boys are even worse than the girls!

So, from all that, the recommendations are Superfi or Richersounds?

Katy

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Pretty much. Hyperfi can also do some good deals.

But I do stick with the ideal that if you use a dealer for demonstrations, you should use them to purchase.

Obviously, if you are happy to purchase on the basis of recommendation rather than demo, one of the three above should do the trick!

 

[John Duncan]

Hi Katy.

Well here's the thing - I have found that striking up a relationship with a dealer has big advantages, not least that he will 'lend' you stuff to try at home - in fact a clever dealer will give you the really expensive stuff that once you've heard you won't want to give back.

Furthermore, as pointed out further up, the savings you can get online (end-of-line and ex-dem aside) are so minimal, or are from places that have bricks-and-mortar stores anyway, that it doesn't make sense not to shop in a store where you can See/Hear/Smell/Touch/Taste.

Lastly, many of brands which one ought to be hearing won't allow dealers to sell mail order anyway - Marantz and Arcam for starters.

jd

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Katy,

** My 2p worth**

Part of the "experience" of Hi-Fi is the legwork that goes into the decision of "what to buy". Reviews/forums/friends/recomendations are part of it, but the key thing is auditioning. The exact same Hi-Fi setup can sound like a pea in a tin can to one person and like a choir of Angels to someone else {all part of the joy}.

Hence, I'm all in favour of checking retailers/dealers/websites for price comparison, but the bottom line is I'd always buy from a bricks and mortar dealer where they had taken the time to set up and demo my requirements.

Quite simply its a case of "if you dont use it - you'll loose it".

Pub's, Postoffices and town centers are all gradually becoming a thing of the past. Opting to buy all your gear from the internet will hasten the demise of the High Street Hi-Fi retailer.

A few years ago there were 4 retailers within 15 miles of me. This year we are down to 2.

I hope that sufficient numbers of customers continue to support their "local", so that our children have the opportunity to compare Hi-Fi in the flesh, rather than having NO choice but to click "add to shopping basket"

As they say - "You pays your money and you takes your choice"

We all free to shop as we like, but the majority decision will dictate how we do it in the future.

Just my 2p worth

;-)

Serenity

 

[Anonymous]

Absolutely agree with that Serenity. After auditioning systems at two different dealers, I emailed the dealer who we didn't buy from to explain what we did buy and where from - didn't want him thinking we'd just gone and got the same thing elsewhere after the time he gave us! The quality of service from a lot of hi-fi shops is very high (and not just the independents, the service I got from Sevenoaks was excellent), and being able to demo expensive kit is absolutely essential - I wouldn't spend £20k on a car without test driving it, so no-one in their right mind should spend £2k on a hi-fi without listening to it first.

It would be a very sad day if we lost local dealers. I applaude the manufacturers who refuse to allow retailers to sell online/by mail order. I certainly don't resent paying a bit more for the service (not to mention the after-care).

 

[scorps]

i agree with calls to buy from local shops but the value for money you can get from buying second hand are also valid

many years ago i went round several shops to get the kit that sounded right for me or at least as close as i could get as all retailers dont sell all the speakers , amps etc that ud like to audition so you take a bit of a risk if u think say that the roksan in shop A sounded better than the musical fidelity u heard in shop 2 but the speakers in shop 2 sounded better than the ones demoed in the shop A. As also stated dealers will let u listen to kit way out of your price range but in years to come you remember them and buy them secondhand prob ending up costing u less than u orginally paid for your 1st system but with a substantialy better sound

ive just got back into hifi after being out of it for few years since my acoustic energys blew up and my marantz cd player skipped more than a double dutch team

my brother had recently bought a few bits extra online and told me of the benefits of knowing what kit sounded like from our younger years. one of best sights ive found for secondhand hifi along with ebay is http://www.audiophilecandy.com/home.asp which sells a lot of different gear and is where i purchased my exposure 18 mono blocks for the princely sum of £450 and also bagged a bargain with some monitor audio GR60s for £800 my densen beat 200 preamp being bought off ebay for £373 and equinox 3 tier stand for £75 all in all adding up to a veritable bargain in my eyes. due to the cheap prices you generally pay for these items it is quite conceivable that if u dont think they right for you resell em for near enough same price and buy something else.

id just like to add that this is only my view and like everyone else dont want to see independant retailers dying out or we will end up with more rows of burger, kebab and pizza shops

 

[Thaiman]

There are lots of dealers in UK that WILLING to do the deal (apart from Norfolk!

). if you tell me what are you looking for and which part of UK are you from, I might be able to help. (although I am suffering from hangover still!)

 

[matengawhat]

only thing i would ad is if buying off the net buy from a site that has a store - i would also say don't pay online call the shop and discuss your wants and needs - i have found many stores will offer discounts over the phone and the prices are usually better than those advertised online - have saved myself a small fortune that way - nothing beats building up a relationship with the dealer.

 

[JoelSim]

Demoing at a dealer and then buying online just shows a distinct lack of morals and should be a criminal offence.

ÿ

 

[daveh75]

agreed, if your going to use a dealers demo room/kit and take up his time, that should be repayed by buying your kit from them

 

[Anonymous]

daveh75:agreed, if your going to use a dealers demo room/kit and take up his time, that should be repayed by buying your kit from them

Unless they can't match online prices and your budget is stretched?

 

[JoelSim]

Graham_Thomas:daveh75:agreed, if your going to use a dealers demo room/kit and take up his time, that should be repayed by buying your kit from themUnless they can't match online prices and your budget is stretched?No, the small extra money is a valid one for the dealer's time.

ÿ

 

[laserman16]

JoelSim:
Graham_Thomas:daveh75:agreed, if your going to use a dealers demo room/kit and take up his time, that should be repayed by buying your kit from themUnless they can't match online prices and your budget is stretched?No, the small extra money is a valid one for the dealer's time.

ÿ
Plus the other benefit of buying from a local dealer is their in depth knowledge of the gear that you are buying off them. Very useful if you have a problem setting up or something appears to go wrong with said gear.I had a problem with a piece of gear and the dealer knew exactly what the problem was when I spoke to him about it and how to fix it. Great feeling, instead of being frustrated by a faceless voice on the end of a phone who has not a clue what you are on about.

 

[Anonymous]

I've recently bought a whole stack of gear and none of it at retail prices. In fact I nearly shot our local dealer who not only hadn't spent any time with me at all, (we'd been in and spoken so he new a huge order was coming) and when we made the first order he tried to charge over RRP. Unreal. I said why? What possible extra value was he adding? I'd done all the research, all he was doing on this occasion was supplying boxs. He had no answer, and we bought elsewhere.

Some of the best dealers offered great discounts. It is possible. And they're the nice ones. I'll buy from them again. They're not making their usual margin, but they're not having to provide their usual service either. I'm doing the install and research. So I expect to get a fair deal. I asked my speaker supplier if he was happy with the price and would still make a profit. He said yes, (20% off Dali) and we went ahead. Everyone was happy.

Now I happen to be a big fan of Richer Sounds and Superfi. They try very hard on price, but are not very good on high end hi-fi. For everything else they're great. Just don't expect someone to serve you with 20 years experience. But if you want that, pay the premium at an RRP dealer. It's worth it if that's what you need. I just hate being ripped off. If I'm not requiring their service and knowledge, then I want a good price as part of the bargain. A good dealer will oblige. Ring round a few. In the credit crunch, you'll find dealers a lot less snooty. This is a good thing. (Smart for them too as when the economy improves I'll recommend them and buy again).

That's my experience.

 

[professorhat]

Hi Will
It's great you've done your own thing there and got the best deal but it doesn't seem clear that you auditioned anything. You seem to be saying you'd already done the research which I assume is a shortlist, but where did you actually test these items?
A local dealer still presents the best environment for this. It doesn't mean every local dealer is great (far from it as Will shows above where one tries to charge above RRP). But don't assume anything from one bad dealer, there are more who will give you the service you desire and even then, if the worst dealer allows you to audition, I know they're bad, but imagine not being able to audition...
Now do you see why they're important?
Just my two cents.