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Although I prefer to avoid generalization, my experience with shopping in AV stores has uncovered some very common elements among salesmen.  The average AV salesman has crafted himself a nice little niche somewhere between the car salesman and the mattress salesman, albeit with a bit more tech savvy.  Often donning the fast talking, quick-on-the-feet, pressure-inducing and even slick-back persona of your quintessential sales jockey, the AV salesman can be quite intimidating to a newcomer in the retail world.  Here’s a couple of tips on how to deal!

No Pressure

Salesmen want to make the sale.  The quicker they make it, the quicker they move on to the next one.  AV salesmen often want to send you on your way with equipment that you know little about, sometimes minutes after you walked through the entryway. They employ different levels of cunning and craft to do this; some are blatantly obvious while others are a bit more subtle.  Either way, you’re in it for the long haul, don’t be sold short.  Don’t buy anything, or go anywhere until you’ve gotten what you came there for. If you want to play through your collection of CD’s to test those speakers out, then do it.  If the salesman is breathing down your neck, tell him you need some time and space.  Bottom line—you’re the one in control and the salesman needs to respect that, don’t let him tell you differently.

Get YOUR Questions Answered
Salesman, particularly in this industry, are full of information that you don’t need. They are notorious for employing doublespeak and blowing smoke up your keister to coax you toward opening that wallet.  AV salesmen often like to go on technical rants about audio concepts that mean nothing to you.  In the end, if you had no idea what the man said, it’s not really helping you make a decision.  If you don’t understand, or if the salesmen is talking about things that you don’t care about—make sure to ask plenty of questions. Guide him toward products and answers that matter to you.  Get the info you need and want, discard the industry hype and jargon.

Don’t take any BS
Whether its undue pressure or an ambivalent attitude, you don’t need to take any crap from your salesman.  Unfortunately, some AV shops are small shops that work closely with big money customers, and they have little interest in the unassuming browser.   They may be rude, insistent upon a quick sale, or just not especially helpful.  With the diverse array of dealers available to you don’t give these guys your business.  A salesman’s job is to work with the customer toward making a purchase.  If the salesman is unwilling to attempt doing his job, find one that is.

Don’t Blindly Accept MSRP
There’s a reason that they throw “suggested” into manufacturer’s retail price.  Retailers have plenty of room to work, so you should always try negotiating. Let’s be honest—speakers and audio equipment are damn expensive so any money you can work off the top is a big plus.  I am far from a hardnosed negotiation expert, but I have found that prices drop pretty quickly when you have a motivated salesman looking to stamp a deal.  When it comes to this type of equipment, it would be negligent not to try to haggle a price. So find a card and play it—‘these speakers are just out of my price range’, ‘I saw them cheaper online’, ‘they sound amazing but I’m not sure I can afford them’, etc.  Rest assured, lowering the price a bit won’t leave the dealer and his family starving.

The aforementioned info is just some quick lessons that I’ve learned from my time in the shop.  It’s by no means a knock on dealers—there are plenty of dealers that are earnest and helpful.  The more business you do with them the more helpful they’ll become.  In the end though, they make their living by getting you to buy.  They do it day in and day out and they’re generally quite skilled at it.  Any background info you have going in can only help even the field. 

-Chriss Weiss