Neil McCauley
21-01-2016, 13:52
Bear with me on this please; first - a little background. I bought my wife a watch online. She took it to a jeweler to pay to have the strap adjusted and she got mildly scolded for buying online. How could they tell just by looking at it wasn’t clear, but they knew – and said so.
I suppose one could say, or at least mutter under one’s breath “Shame on you”. This being despite the fact the jeweler didn’t carry the brand and had no access to it. The shop owner just hated the idea of online shopping.
Here at AN&MR editorial office I see this sentiment a lot in our industry and while I understand the feelings I don’t always get the logic.
There was a time when buying online meant getting a deal and undercutting the brick and mortar dealer. Anyone with a computer could setup a website and sell gear without any overhead or responsibility for after sales service. Worse, he/she might suggest to potential customers they go to the retailer, try out the gear and then buy it from him. Those days are mostly in the past – primarily because manufacturers wised up and don’t support them – but for some, the bitter taste remains.
Purchasing online is here to stay and can be a real benefit to consumers. I routinely purchase products, mainly CDs on Amazon – not because they’re cheaper but because I don’t have to leave our office to shop. Moreover there are hardly any high street or indeed back street music retailers anywhere near where I live.
It takes less than a minute to search, select and one-click purchase the item. In two days it’s here for me to listen to. Compare that with having to break into my busy day, drive to a store, shop, deal with waiting in line, parking, credit cards, traffic and so on. Really? There’s simply no contest. Here’s the arithmetic to – in my case at least – prove it.
On a trip to Brighton just before Christmas 2015 to track down a rare CD, I .....
http://www.hifianswers.com/2016/01/how-and-why-a-9-cd-cost-me-125/
I suppose one could say, or at least mutter under one’s breath “Shame on you”. This being despite the fact the jeweler didn’t carry the brand and had no access to it. The shop owner just hated the idea of online shopping.
Here at AN&MR editorial office I see this sentiment a lot in our industry and while I understand the feelings I don’t always get the logic.
There was a time when buying online meant getting a deal and undercutting the brick and mortar dealer. Anyone with a computer could setup a website and sell gear without any overhead or responsibility for after sales service. Worse, he/she might suggest to potential customers they go to the retailer, try out the gear and then buy it from him. Those days are mostly in the past – primarily because manufacturers wised up and don’t support them – but for some, the bitter taste remains.
Purchasing online is here to stay and can be a real benefit to consumers. I routinely purchase products, mainly CDs on Amazon – not because they’re cheaper but because I don’t have to leave our office to shop. Moreover there are hardly any high street or indeed back street music retailers anywhere near where I live.
It takes less than a minute to search, select and one-click purchase the item. In two days it’s here for me to listen to. Compare that with having to break into my busy day, drive to a store, shop, deal with waiting in line, parking, credit cards, traffic and so on. Really? There’s simply no contest. Here’s the arithmetic to – in my case at least – prove it.
On a trip to Brighton just before Christmas 2015 to track down a rare CD, I .....
http://www.hifianswers.com/2016/01/how-and-why-a-9-cd-cost-me-125/