I met a guy enroute home from CEDIA who indicated that Pioneer has a n "unadvertised" person in the organization who sets up custom dealers for Elite sales. I am interested in carrying their line of receivers, but don't have a showroom which is a typical requirement for them.

Any Elite dealers out there without the typical Elite requirements? I can certainly buy sideways, but I long ago made it a policy that we never do that. I want to represent what I sell properly...

TIA!

I dont have an an issue with people striking out on their own and running an AV busines out of their garage or whateaver, but
" but don't have a showroom "
and
" I want to represent what I sell properly..."

in the same post is very confusing to me..... what exactly would "representing Properly" be?

We dont do Elite, but I've never considered their receivers top 5 calibur.... I do like the TV/Plasmas though....

I've got too many bad memory's on the Elite line from the 90's to consider them now. Not that they were junk, the were just hard to operate for the end user. I'm sure thats changed by now(I hope) but, old memorys die hard. The TV's look good, though.

It's always dangerous to put words in people's mouths but I interpreted his meaning to be he does not have a show room but would not want to purchase Pioneer through third party vendors ( transhipping ) although he could. I would think his greatest issue would be meeting minimum sales requirements. I too love the displays but as most required media boxes they were not of much use. Now that there are 2 models which do not require media boxes and they have lowered their prices vis-a-vis Fujitsu it is an interesting product.

Alan

I should have been more clear in my post. I have a demo room by appt., I don't have a retail showroom. I caution you Impaqt to not make assumptions about people in the business with a different approach than you or your company. I have been in the biz for several years now; insured, licensed, certified (or is is certifiable!), almost to the tilt. I have real people that work for me and real vendor relationships. I ONLY sell lines that I like and that I am Authorized and trained to do so. I prefer direct relationship with the manufacturer when I can get it (i.e., I am direct with Boston & Berkline to name a couple), or at a minimum "channel partner" agreements like those with NHT, InFocus, and Lutron. I hate selling Panasonic because they have no idea who I am and don't care. I WANT that kind of accountability with my customers and manufacturers. I am NOT a "trunkslammer" who started a business so I could by myself some better speakers.

So, what does "representing properly" mean? Well, I think it means placing the right gear with the client after a thorough examination of the needs and expectations - and the space in which it will be used, installing it properly and to manufacturer specs, thorough training of the end user(s), accurate calibration to HAA and ISF standards utilizing state of the art gear to support that effort, and then handling any service needs of the client, including warranty repair due to the product sold as an authorized dealer in the first place! If you can achieve all that by nature of having a retail showroom, well Amen! Sorry I missed that memo in the "getting started" manual.... If I am being very defensive, please forgive me. I am just pretty sensitive to this issue, because I have worked very hard at trying to put together a proper business. I hate the implication that a pile of capital makes for a great dealer.

You should see what Marantz "dealers" in my area do to butcher that product line, but I can't sell it without a "proper" showroom according to Marantz. That's fine and it's certainly the manufacturer's perogative. I was just looking to see if Pioneer was doing it any differently with the Elite line. My previous understanding was that it wasn't available to the non-retail dealers and I was looking to see if that were still the case.

Well said! Having been on both sides I also harbor some resentment for "trunkslammers" due to their impact on legit independent custom installation shops. That said, I find much more dissatisfaction with many of the retail based and national chain dealers than from independent custom installers. I also find that many clients have received the "trunkslammer spiel" from the big guys and been turned off by it. So to the Tweeter, Ultimate, Home Theater Store, and any others who use this practice, Keep it up, I'll keep taking the business.