Quote Originally Posted by DSJR View Post
What the OP was trying to weed out, I think, isn't so much the dealer (he states hopefully ) but the distributer, who bought in cheap from Japan and now China (most often), added a good few hundred percent (quite often) before trade-pricing it to a retailer. Even now, how much or little do you think the spate of £300 - £400 active 'monitors' come into the UK for? I'm told around £60 to £75 and the dealer doesn't have a huge margin on them, which I understand is more in line with computer products than traditional 'High Fidelity' gear...

Back in 1975, a cassette deck selling typically for £120 would leave the factory for no more than £25. Dealer would buy it at around £85 to £90 back then if they bought in quantity.
No, I don't think so, as per the OP's posts 1 & 3 it is definitely the retailer (dealer), later moving onto the hifi industry as a whole and even the enthusiasts who are labelled sheep.

In response to the original topic I must say that I've never felt ripped off by the British hifi industry as there has always been ample choice of products and the competition that brings.

Retailers have overheads which nowadays are becoming unsustainable for the smaller outlets
Distributers are often necessary as a lot of manufacturers, particuarly the larger ones have no interest in a high volume of small value transactions and prefer to sell in bulk to someone who does. The distributor also has to cover warehousing and financing.
Direct sellers are not new, they just have a different (better) media in the internet and the numbers have increased.

However when buying I usually heed the following:

Be dubious of marketing claims untill empirically proven, always rely on your own judgement rather than that of others others and always be suspicious of the motives of those who have a vested interest in the gospel they are preaching.