I picked up Marantz after being in business 8 months. I had no showroom (still don't!) and two employees counting myself. It can be done, and for reasons you point out a very worthwhile move. Marantz has been able to ship product while other mfr's are telling me still that their stuff is stuck in Long Beach because of the strike. Marantz has the cache' of quality with customers. They are loyal to their dealers; try logging in to their web site and you are confronted with a page that says in detail what you don't get when you don't buy from an authorized dealer.