Where do you buy your equipment?

[Superjay]

*deleted*.

[Superjay]

part of my job is to keep our product OFF the internet. I know it's going to be there, so I will authorize one or two sites, and they MUST sell at MAP or above. We also have a service on the T3 site that allows you to boy from us, and one of our brick and mortar dealers actually delivers it to you (well, you pick it up)...if there isn't one near you we'll ship it...i want control over how my product is sold. it's the only way to assure YOU, as the customer, gets everyrhing we are offering...warranty, customer service, tech support, and quality product. The only product I'm going to let fly over the web is B-stock and refurb...you have no idea how hard it is for me to tell a customer, you bought it on the internet, so but there's no warranty, but I can't do that to my dealers. They have to cover overhead and eat, so they get priority. If you want T3 buy it right. i just wish all companies had that integrity, instead of whoring it out anyplace they can

[Jbabycsx]

part of my job is to keep our product OFF the internet. I know it's going to be there, so I will authorize one or two sites, and they MUST sell at MAP or above. We also have a service on the T3 site that allows you to boy from us, and one of our brick and mortar dealers actually delivers it to you (well, you pick it up)...if there isn't one near you we'll ship it...i want control over how my product is sold. it's the only way to assure YOU, as the customer, gets everyrhing we are offering...warranty, customer service, tech support, and quality product. The only product I'm going to let fly over the web is B-stock and refurb...you have no idea how hard it is for me to tell a customer, you bought it on the internet, so but there's no warranty, but I can't do that to my dealers. They have to cover overhead and eat, so they get priority. If you want T3 buy it right. i just wish all companies had that integrity, instead of whoring it out anyplace they can

I agree with this. I hate the fact that some people are selling products on the internet and never bothering to tell the customer that the product will not be covered by warranty. Thats the kind of stuff that burns the newcomer to audio and he never buys another product. The way small companies should do it are to allow a couple of dealers to sell their product and leave the rest to the manufacturer.

[Superjay]

I take pride in the companies I work for...if i didn't have faith in the product I'd either change it or work somewhere else. I think good product needs to be protected, and I'll fight to keep it so

[kingsuv]

Jay,

While I agree with you that the industry has been destroyed by the onslaught of internet dealers, cross dock shippers, gray market products and direct sell companies I just can't agree with the blanket statement that a brick and mortar store will give the best overall sales and service experience.

Let's face it, today's stores have done nothing to continue the education in their services as a group. The sad fact is, retail stores got into a rut with not only their brands they carry but also the preconceived idea of the quality they think is okay to sell to their customers. The norm seams to be that it is okay for the customer to drive the price comparison while the store does very little to sell their services. Complacency in being the low price leader has shot most stores in the foot. They have no one to blame but themselves. I also think being suckered into large buy-in's as well as competition restrictions to carry said other brands is also an issue. Stores don't understand when they sign a "non competing product clause" to carry that whored-out brand they limited their options and locked themselves right out of the changing times.

The fact is, there are very few shops out in the market that do quality work anymore. Hell most can't even get the basics right anymore. You can't expect a minimum wage installer to understand how to set gains let alone expect them to even know what a scope is. The old rule of 3/4 up on the gain doesn't exactly work anymore when amps are putting out the power they do now. Yet, talk to an installer about setting gains, and more times then not, that is exactly the type of stuff that comes of their mouth.

Unfortunately, the retail vs DIY is a double edge sword, with the resources on the net today, a DIY guy has the potential to not only get way more bang for his buck, but also have the chance to build a quality that most shops can't provide. The other side of that is, there is a large amount of people that shouldn't touch a fuckin volume knob, let alone install their own system

[drewb53]

I typically buy factory direct, but thats because there are no audio shops near me at all.

[Jbabycsx]

I take pride in the companies I work for...if i didn't have faith in the product I'd either change it or work somewhere else. I think good product needs to be protected, and I'll fight to keep it so

Thats awesome. I would like to check out the T3 build house. They are just a little ways from my house here in Ga. They have some awesome looking products.

[Superjay]

Jay,

While I agree with you that the industry has been destroyed by the onslaught of internet dealers, cross dock shippers, gray market products and direct sell companies I just can't agree with the blanket statement that a brick and mortar store will give the best overall sales and service experience.

Let's face it, today's stores have done nothing to continue the education in their services as a group. The sad fact is, retail stores got into a rut with not only their brands they carry but also the preconceived idea of the quality they think is okay to sell to their customers. The norm seams to be that it is okay for the customer to drive the price comparison while the store does very little to sell their services. Complacency in being the low price leader has shot most stores in the foot. They have no one to blame but themselves. I also think being suckered into large buy-in's as well as competition restrictions to carry said other brands is also an issue. Stores don't understand when they sign a "non competing product clause" to carry that whored-out brand they limited their options and locked themselves right out of the changing times.

The fact is, there are very few shops out in the market that do quality work anymore. Hell most can't even get the basics right anymore. You can't expect a minimum wage installer to understand how to set gains let alone expect them to even know what a scope is. The old rule of 3/4 up on the gain doesn't exactly work anymore when amps are putting out the power they do now. Yet, talk to an installer about setting gains, and more times then not, that is exactly the type of stuff that comes of their mouth.

Unfortunately, the retail vs DIY is a double edge sword, with the resources on the net today, a DIY guy has the potential to not only get way more bang for his buck, but also have the chance to build a quality that most shops can't provide. The other side of that is, there is a large amount of people that shouldn't touch a fuckin volume knob, let alone install their own system

I agree with a lot of this, Bill...there are WAY too many shops out there that should have closed years ago. Trunk slammers. They stay in business for the same reason the internet is successful...people want more than they can afford so they go someplace that has to make sacrifices in order to provide a perceived service..even if that service doesn't actually exist.

[CaptainzPlanetz]

albuquerque....innovative audio & styling. talk to Bryan, tell him Jay from T3 sent you. he's a good friend, and doesn't bullshit.

I just wished I lived closer, thats like a 2 an a half hour drive for me one way......but Im not changeing equipment for a while(I dont think) So I already got my Rainbow Components, an oldchool PPI Art amp on the way for em, and a 10" AQ HDC3, all of the equipment I currently have at the moment I dont think any dealer in a good range carries, since AQ is only online....the PPI Amp since its 15+years old....and the Rainbow Components, I dont know if they carry Rainbow Components in Innovative, but I know the guy at the shop here was gonna charge me like a grand for em, when they are mid 300's at Woofersetc and it would of been the same outcome in warrenty, since all they do is see what you want then order em off the sites your talking about, then jack up the prices....so in these cases I find it easier to just buy em myself for the price they would get em for, and in this case save me about 650 bucks.

[Superjay]

My rep wants to open a dealer in Las Cruces who is supposedly pretty good. is that closer?