I have been reading this discussion with great interest, and have a comment to Ben:

I am a potential international buyer as I live in Norway and want to get the Marantz RC5000 (for reasons of aestethics I think I will prefer this to the Prono). From earlier experience I expect this remote to be available in the US a full year ahead of my local dealer. This means I will probably order the RC5000 over the internet, and will have to make a choice; Whether to buy one based on price only or to plave emphasis on other factors only. It is my experience that trying to save money can be very expensive, and I will happily (fairly happily anyway) pay USD100 extra, and feel reasonably secure that I am handing over my money to a dealer that: 1) I know (from this forum) that actually exists - in this case Metronet, 2) Seems to know the product well - in this case Jack Shultz and 3) Seems to respond to the customer's questions and needs.

I will, when the time comes (can someone tell me anything new on when the RC5000 is expected) place my order with someone I trust rather than trying to save a few dollars on what may turn out to be a con. In conclusion, therefore, I thin non-local buyers may be even more interested placing their orders with someone they trust than locals, who can after all go and break a dealers knee-caps if he screws them.