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<blockquote data-quote="John Roberts" data-source="post: 35354" data-attributes="member: 126">Re: Still no product?...RANTIf we&#039;re going further down the road with this veer... I have watched the maturing of sound equipment distribution over the last few decades like a slow motion truck crashing into a van full of puppies.. The customer is driving waste out of the food chain at all levels... If merchantable product can be sourced and sold for 20-40% less from China (or the next cheap region) the customer will provide the positive feedback by buying that over lower value US made (same quality but more expensive). Likewise down the distribution food chain.. The dealers will have to earn their margin. Many haven&#039;t made the adjustment and are gone. When was the last time you saw a small local hardware store? [warning- following comment may be interpreted as political] Another change I expect is some form of national sales tax (VAT?). This will have an interesting effect of tilting the scale away from mail order or more correctly internet sales.&nbsp; If the states were more clever they would harmonize the sundry state sales tax rates, but some states still don&#039;t charge a sales tax, and this really gets complicated with local jurisdictions conflicting with national level interests.&nbsp; Interesting times.. the new normal may change again. The smart big box stores are building their own web direct sales presence but they wouldn&#039;t mind driving that traffic back to their brick and mortar stores if it reduces web competition against them.&nbsp;&nbsp; [edit- another side effect of this sales tax impact on direct sales... the huge direct sellers are pitting the states against each other with a pretty ugly quid pro quo deals where they trade local in state jobs for X years of state sales tax holidays, which could become moot.] JR PS: This maturing of the entire segment squeezes profit from everybody.. the manufacturer&#039;s profit margin is always over estimated and now is thinner than ever. Mfrs must generate high sales volume so the thinner margins they get will keep them alive.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="John Roberts, post: 35354, member: 126"] Re: Still no product?...RANT If we're going further down the road with this veer... I have watched the maturing of sound equipment distribution over the last few decades like a slow motion truck crashing into a van full of puppies.. The customer is driving waste out of the food chain at all levels... If merchantable product can be sourced and sold for 20-40% less from China (or the next cheap region) the customer will provide the positive feedback by buying that over lower value US made (same quality but more expensive). Likewise down the distribution food chain.. The dealers will have to earn their margin. Many haven't made the adjustment and are gone. When was the last time you saw a small local hardware store? [warning- following comment may be interpreted as political] Another change I expect is some form of national sales tax (VAT?). This will have an interesting effect of tilting the scale away from mail order or more correctly internet sales. If the states were more clever they would harmonize the sundry state sales tax rates, but some states still don't charge a sales tax, and this really gets complicated with local jurisdictions conflicting with national level interests. Interesting times.. the new normal may change again. The smart big box stores are building their own web direct sales presence but they wouldn't mind driving that traffic back to their brick and mortar stores if it reduces web competition against them. [edit- another side effect of this sales tax impact on direct sales... the huge direct sellers are pitting the states against each other with a pretty ugly quid pro quo deals where they trade local in state jobs for X years of state sales tax holidays, which could become moot.] JR PS: This maturing of the entire segment squeezes profit from everybody.. the manufacturer's profit margin is always over estimated and now is thinner than ever. Mfrs must generate high sales volume so the thinner margins they get will keep them alive. [/QUOTE]

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