I have been arguing with myself over the "Should I meet the price from Amazon, Beast Buy or some other 'Sure we'll dump it and ship it free' place?" and have decided that if my customers want me to provide the post-installation service, they need to pay my price. If something fails, is Beast Buy/Amazon going to send someone to the house to fix it, will the client want to allow new people into their house (some people are very hesitant to have a large number of people flowing in and out of their homes) and will they have to be at home when the service appointment is set? My clients don't want a lot of new people in their house- some have been burned in the past, so they only let some contractors in when a trusted person is there, which means I and (a few others) have keys and security codes. That trust has value that a discounted price doesn't include.

If you can't be at your place to receive goods, have them delivered to a UPS store- it costs $5/box and the peace of mind is worth it. Or, if you'll be on site for the day the package(s) will be delivered, you can have them drop-shipped. With the 'Porch Pirate" thing being such a problem, I try to avoid deliveries to my place unless it's cheap and small enough to fit in my mailbox or under the door mat. I have had UPS drivers that would hide the boxes behind my house, too,

I just saw a news story on TV about Amazon in-home delivery- makes me want to never have a smart lock. I'll post a link to the video when I find it. They provide a camera that's supposed to show the delivery being made and it's not in real time- the TV news crew installed their own camera and showed both on screen, side by side- you could see the door open and the camera crew in the house, but the Amazon camera showed nothing.

I've thought about that as well. I don't match internet only prices but I do my best to compete with Bestbuy. I try to see things as though I were the customer. If someone expected me to pay more for something I knew I could get cheaper I would be upset.

Most of what I sell isn't available at BB, and that's on purpose, with the exception of TVs and receivers. If my client's want to procure a few items themselves I let them. I bill for every bit of my involvement. If they have to wait around for a TV delivery, not my problem. If it delays the install, they get slotted whenever I next have time. This is all explained to them. Most people are happy to pay a little more, if needed to not have to worry about waiting for a delivery. If they want to take on that hassle that's up to them.

Even with the gear I sell, if it fails soon after install, I bill for the time it takes to re-re it. I'm not at fault for a manufacturers defect. My installs are not what's failing. I used to offer free re-re within the warranty period but now a days everything is a piece of crap.

I know you didn't really get into the with your reply, and I kind of wandered there. Maybe what I'm saying is that aside from me handling deliveries they gain little else by buying the product from me if the price isn't competitive.

They get my knowledge and good service, but that's paid for in the design and installation.

I applaud you for being able to do that. Maybe I'm just not there yet.

Craig.

Really? Why would they be upset? Unless we are talking 2x the price, then they might feel like they are getting taken.

​I buy tires from my local tire shop. I can get the same tires from tirerack.com for 20-30% less. I still have to take it to someone to mount & balance the tires. But even with that cost, the savings would still be 10-15% overall.
​I do NOT do that, I buy from my local shop. Why? Because if there is a problem, they will take care of it. I don't have to go thru the finger pointing game. And it makes sure they are in business next time I need tires.

​Maybe you are trying to see things as though you are the wrong customer. World is full of pity, bottom feeding, cheap people. They are not my customers. Do you want them to be yours?

You raise some very good points. I shop at my local hobby store for model trains and MY tire guy for the same reason.

We can pretty much garauntee they won't be calling Best Buy for an issue with the TV

Craig

My wholesaler is a Vanco deal and Vanco purchased Beale Street Audio.

I brought home a pair of their better 8" speakers.

[Link: getbeale.com]

Kevlar Woofers, Titanium tweeters. I had never heard of them until a few months ago and when I saw them sitting at my wholesaler I was intrigued. Enclosures. Tuned ports. They looked very promising.

I hooked them up in place of my towers and ran them full range, no sub, and I must say as far bass response goes I was pretty impressed. Much better than normal ceiling speakers I've heard, and certainly very good for the price point. They certainly wouldn't compare to an 8" bookshelf/small tower but then that's not the market they are geared towards.

I found the top end a little harsh but they also make models with Aluminum and Silk tweeters.

They make matching in ceiling subs and amps as well.

This eliminates the need to build enclosures, can be retrofitted and, I couldn't find them on Amazon.

Anyone have any experience or thoughts

Craig