good car audio shops - becoming a thing of the past?

[Jay Biz 10+ year member]

I understand what the OP is saying, but when I was 12 I started cutting grass, raking leaves, and shoveling snow until other kids and crackheads came in and did the job for a fraction of the price. I still had a few loyal customers but that slowly dwindled to where I would break even on the cost of gas, trash bags, etc. I then decided to focus on my education, finished school and subsequently joined Corporate America.

 

[Ahmed Johnson]

most people cant install, don't forget that.

Those are the ones the O.P. should be going after.

 

[moneypit]

Im getting back into the stereo game but i notice fewer small shops and mostly car toys, & mobile one's. Most of the big name stores just dont have the knowlege of the the small shop guys. I guess there whole purpose is to sell and the small shop is the install part. But then again when i was into all this it seemed like every car was booming and nowadys i can sit in a parking lot for an hour waiting on the wife while she shops and not hear one car with a good system. Maybe its a change in what people want. More high tech and not so much loud any more. But as far as droping price to match cut rate shops doing hack jobs. Word gets around and you have to just make it known. If u want good builds and installs go here.... if u want cheap duck tape boxs go there.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

The saddest part of this thread is that the "race to zero" is never more prevalent then in this post. It is blatantly obvious that the new generation(s) are simply not interested in understanding anything past the price tag. This does not apply to just audio though. It goes for everything..I do mean everything. It makes me wonder what living conditions and such will be like in 20 years. As this infection invades other areas of business and marketing it will become rather horrible to everything we buy on the same race to zero. Nothing will have value or any kind of worth.

As for the audio side, we focus far more on high end installations. We are one of the premier installation shops in the state. So we use this to our advantage. Do we get the kids wanting $500 systems? Nope, not really. We get the show cars, exotics, and athletes. Since those guys have either value the work we do or simply have the capital to pay for it, we focus on them. We still work with the every day clients all the time, we simply do not base our business on them though. Their inconsistent nature and lack of funds make it a faulty business model to base any expected profit from those clients. Same as our online clients(enclosure builds). We do it for them(contrary to popular belief in some cases)..not for the funds as there is almost nothing left after all over head is paid.

 

[Beatin' 10+ year member]

Its actually NOT the manufacturers 'figuring out a way' to make money, they wouldn't intentionally cut dealers out of the picture.

If the manufacturer is looking the other way while sonicelectronix is selling amp and subs at near wholesale prices, wouldn't you think such an action is deliberate?

How many years must past before you realize the manufacturer knows what online sellers are doing and are letting them get away with it?

To me it would seem as if the manufacturer has experienced an increase in sales and chooses not to fuss over it.

YOU need a dealer, im sure you think your smart wiring up a simple amp in your Civic, let me see you install an alarm / remote start in any moderately complicated car

My argument revolves around the purchasing of products, not services.

 

[VWBobby 10+ year member]

The saddest part of this thread is that the "race to zero" is never more prevalent then in this post. It is blatantly obvious that the new generation(s) are simply not interested in understanding anything past the price tag. This does not apply to just audio though. It goes for everything..I do mean everything.

You are 100% correct. I have even seen it in Government and Aerospace contracts. I have a friend who runs a company that manufactures ground straps for commercial jets. One company was trying to cut costs on a $25 strap. There is a reason the French built Airbus and other jets have high failure rates. Unfortunately, some bean counters do not understand this.

With the amount of people doing installs themselves, I predict a rise in the amount of refurbished and "B-stock" merchandise from equipment that was abused by the consumer.

 

[d77543020 10+ year member]

The saddest part of this thread is that the "race to zero" is never more prevalent then in this post. It is blatantly obvious that the new generation(s) are simply not interested in understanding anything past the price tag. This does not apply to just audio though. It goes for everything..I do mean everything. It makes me wonder what living conditions and such will be like in 20 years. As this infection invades other areas of business and marketing it will become rather horrible to everything we buy on the same race to zero. Nothing will have value or any kind of worth.

As for the audio side, we focus far more on high end installations. We are one of the premier installation shops in the state. So we use this to our advantage. Do we get the kids wanting $500 systems? Nope, not really. We get the show cars, exotics, and athletes. Since those guys have either value the work we do or simply have the capital to pay for it, we focus on them. We still work with the every day clients all the time, we simply do not base our business on them though. Their inconsistent nature and lack of funds make it a faulty business model to base any expected profit from those clients. Same as our online clients(enclosure builds). We do it for them(contrary to popular belief in some cases)..not for the funds as there is almost nothing left after all over head is paid.

shops like yours are needed and will be the last ones standing but you cater to a diffrent demographic of the caraudio community,most of use cant afford 3 4k for a system install just by the Discription of your shop i know i cant afford to go there so its off to the internet i go

 

[ace_800 5,000+ posts]

Send them up here! Streamline Audio Video - its just me and my business partner and we both have 20+ years under the belt. Were not a flashy shop that trys to wow you with pretty lights and fancy cars. We just are 2 simple guys who know what were doing.

Is this Josh? holy **** bro y'all don't post here much. I'm the guy with the buick enclave that you installed the dowontech pushbutton start that has called you trying to get parts and when I had issues with it. I'd recommend y'all any day. If I had people up there that needed work done I'd send them to my buddy or you pretty much.

 

[DARKHART 10+ year member]

Its actually NOT the manufacturers 'figuring out a way' to make money, they wouldn't intentionally cut dealers out of the picture.

With this one I'm going to have to disagree....with having been in this industry on and off for over 25yrs, I can tell you emphatically YES it is the manufacturers that are allowing all these internet sites free reign. They are receiving million dollar plus P.O.'s with each order and they simply look the other way and don't give a sh*t about those of us that built this industry and made them who they are. Don't get me wrong though because there are some manufacturers other there that do a very good job of policing their products and keeping their lines clean like Phoenix Gold, Hybrid, Focal, Digital Designs and German Maestro to name a few and yes we have systematically started phasing out brands that aren't willing to protect their dealers.

I will say this because everyone here already knows how I feel about the "race to zero", as a dealer you have to focus on selling YOUR brand and craftsmanship and service, you have to sell the products you carry and how that product will benefit your clients. Far too many shops in this and other areas of retail have forgotten the art of how to sale and most have simply become order takers instead of experts in their chosen fields. We to have not one but TWO hack shops around the corner from us and right across the street from one another and I've said it before and will say it again.....the customers that they cater to, we DON'T want them because they are simply PRICE shoppers and want EVERYTHING for cheap. All to often we do end up getting a lot of those customers in for us to repair or redo their "for cheap install and gear", even then I still don't bad mouth the other shops, we just show them WHY our prices are what they are......

 

[Slo_Ride 5,000+ posts]

As long as there is car audio there will be car audio shops. Most people cant install a system themselves, atleast not correctly. It will never be like is was before everyone bought everything off the internet though.

 

[3kgtAudio 10+ year member]

Well in car audio, you don't need brick and mortar stores when you can buy at an online store. If I decided to drive to a farm, you don't think the farmer would sell eggs and milk directly to me? I hate to say it, but everyone in everyway will figure a way to cut out the middle man. I find it stupid to pay someone a percent of anything when I can get it myself cheaper. I don't think your beef is with the customers.

I don't have a beef with the customers, its just that 90% of them do have that mentality and don't see the value of paying for good service, yes its frustrating when they run to the cheaper deal, but then again, we don't want that type of client in the first place. Its pretty much stepping over dollars to pick up pennies.

Another thing that America at large has forgotten about, is supporting your local businesses, and that is a big reason why our economy is the way it is now. We let so many of the huge companies, both here and overseas, have our money. Most don't see how its hurting themselves and others in the long run, because we focus too much on how much we can save in the moment. In effect, cutting out the 'middle man' is like cutting out the middle class, the large companies in our case call it 'sonic' gets all the money, the middle class would in effect be the 'good ol boys stereo shop'. The Big company makes all the money in mass, then people want the same savings with their install. Which equals businesses closing, less jobs, less money in the community to go around, and eventually this comes back and hurts everyone, while the big companies and China's pockets get deeper.

 

[3kgtAudio 10+ year member]

Is this Josh? holy **** bro y'all don't post here much. I'm the guy with the buick enclave that you installed the dowontech pushbutton start that has called you trying to get parts and when I had issues with it. I'd recommend y'all any day. If I had people up there that needed work done I'd send them to my buddy or you pretty much.

This is Kyle, but yep that's us. That guy that was selling that product seems to have closed up shop, probably due to the long term reliability, we actually don't even do the push buttons anymore.

Thanks man

 

[Ahmed Johnson]

I don't have a beef with the customers, its just that 90% of them do have that mentality and don't see the value of paying for good service, yes its frustrating when they run to the cheaper deal, but then again, we don't want that type of client in the first place. Its pretty much stepping over dollars to pick up pennies.
Another thing that America at large has forgotten about, is supporting your local businesses, and that is a big reason why our economy is the way it is now. We let so many of the huge companies, both here and overseas, have our money. Most don't see how its hurting themselves and others in the long run, because we focus too much on how much we can save in the moment. In effect, cutting out the 'middle man' is like cutting out the middle class, the large companies in our case call it 'sonic' gets all the money, the middle class would in effect be the 'good ol boys stereo shop'. The Big company makes all the money in mass, then people want the same savings with their install. Which equals businesses closing, less jobs, less money in the community to go around, and eventually this comes back and hurts everyone, while the big companies and China's pockets get deeper.

Don't get me wrong, I go to a shop for most of my installs. I just appreciate any shop that would rather charge me for their service and let me find the best deal on equipment, than one that wants me to purchase everything from them in order to get the installation.

 

[3kgtAudio 10+ year member]

Don't get me wrong, I go to a shop for most of my installs. I just appreciate any shop that would rather charge me for their service and let me find the best deal on equipment, than one that wants me to purchase everything from them in order to get the installation.

We do that, obviously probably half of our clients have product already, as long as they are willing to pay for what we charge for install, some do, some don't, they buy it online and then think the labor rate is negotiable. I get asked to install alarm / remote starts for $75, which we don't, we get asked to do decks for $20, we don't.

The only time is a problem is for example when its a customer who books a job with me for example an alarm, and then turns around and buys the same alarm online then asks me to install it and get the same warranty. Alarms are the biggest area of concern, there are some really bad installers out there in our area doing it for way too cheap, and I make it very clear why we charge what we do, whether or not they listen is their choice, but considering that's something that potentially leave you stranded or worse if there's a problem, they should be a little more careful when choosing a shop.

 

[Ahmed Johnson]

We do that, obviously probably half of our clients have product already, as long as they are willing to pay for what we charge for install, some do, some don't, they buy it online and then think the labor rate is negotiable. I get asked to install alarm / remote starts for $75, which we don't, we get asked to do decks for $20, we don't.
The only time is a problem is for example when its a customer who books a job with me for example an alarm, and then turns around and buys the same alarm online then asks me to install it and get the same warranty. Alarms are the biggest area of concern, there are some really bad installers out there in our area doing it for way too cheap, and I make it very clear why we charge what we do, whether or not they listen is their choice, but considering that's something that potentially leave you stranded or worse if there's a problem, they should be a little more careful when choosing a shop.

I don't see how someone can keep a shop with 20 dollar deck installs. Eventually they will be working out of a backyard.