Originally Posted by MR2NR

Consider this please. Who is more likely to provide an educated and informed decision. A retailer with many lines at his disposal and in the case of most of us, 20+ years of experience to back it up or a person who is just starting into car audio that might be 14 years old and is already a "pro" because he is on a forum? You have no real idea as to who it is you are asking for opinions here. At least buying from a retailer you are protected. At least buying from a retailer, you can ask us questions that we will gladly answer. So, ask E-bay your questions and see how far it gets you.
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Unfortunately for the buyer the majority of dealers are just going to give you a truly biased answer to the products they sell. I know I can walk into every dealership in my immediate area and if I tell them I have one of the majority of truly incredible drivers in my vehicle they will tell me it's crap and their's are better even if I'm replacing an IDMax for a W0.

I've been in the industry and worked in a nice shop for a few years. I just prefer this as a hobby and not as my career. That doesn't mean I don't understand each side's perspective's though. What I can't understand is how those "support us your local dealer" guys can be so narrow minded to their own products and can't be bothered (or even worse lie to the customer) regarding other manufacturer's. Take for example a Digital Designs driver (considering that this is a pretty DD friendly and educated board). How many dealers are in your area that if you walked in and told them you have a DD driver in your car they would tell you it's junk or a flea market brand and try to get you into one of their products however low on the line it may be.
Ever walk into a shop and not let on that you are educated in car audio? Listen to some of the crap that the salesmen spew from their mouths. Much of it complete BS.
Last time I had a RE HC driver in my car and went to the local JL dealership to check out the latest lines in HU's when the salesman asked me what was in my car currently. When he heard about the HC he immediately told me it was garbage and tried to sell me a W0 to replace it with without even bothering to take a listen in my car and I couldn't have cared less about looking at subs that day.
I have nothing against the dealerships that truly care about their customers and their needs and if I had one in my area I would back them 100%. But I don't. So instead of listening to the BS biased answers that I get from these guys I know I'm basically on my own when looking at new products so I'll use my own ears to judge new products and put it together with a solid foundation from what I've learned in the field.
Anyone here that knows me is aware that I'm one of the nicest people you'll ever meet and if I have one minute available to help you with something I'll give you two. There's plenty of the same guys on this board and many just happen to own or work in car audio retailers. To those that truly want to help someone out then you have my full support and be proud of what you're doing. I hope your business is a complete success.
But telling everyone else to support their local retailer when you know how crappy many of the guys are out their does not help you out at all.

One other thing:It seems recently that every time a new thread comes up with someone wanting advice on purchasing a new product a certain member here responds with "I PM'd you". Even if you're supporting the board here (which is great) maybe instead of trying to be sneaky and beat out the other retailers that are sponsoring this board with your backdoor actions you can just throw in your $0.02 and then let the person decide. I don't believe too many people would be pleased if every time they asked a question about buying a new product they had 17 retailers PM them saying what they had and what they could get for them without even letting the person get some product knowledge first.