Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Idea! would it work...all input appreciated

This may be a little off topic but I wanted to see what you fellas thought about this idea. What do you think about a part time business doing home theater demos in peoples homes. Bare with me for a second. Within their budget, bring 3-5 sets of speakers, one or two good mid level receivers, and a couple of dvd/cd players. Make them all good bang for the buck products( Axiom as a good example). Pre-program the receivers before you arrive (to save time) and once their, wire all the speakers through an a/b switch just as if it were at the store. You could use telescoping speaker stands to experiment and optimize placement in their home. It would give them a perfect idea of speaker size and of aesthetics at the same time. I believe you could be set up and goin in less than a half hour. I have a good relationship with a few of the stereo shops in town and believe I could work off their inventory and then refer the sales to them for maybe a small referral fee...it seems like a win win. The shop makes a sale without having to pay a sales person and I make a little in the process. Maybe own a couple of receivers and a couple of nice book shelves (M3's & M22's) that you like and are comfortable with. Say you have 2 1/2hrs total time invested and you charge 75.00 for the service. Do you think their would be a market for that? All input, good or bad, would be greatly appreciated. I would like to apologize if this is a little off topic and thanks in advance for indulging me.

I do not see it being successful at all. The higher end, where people would want to audition, is not that big of an industry compared to the regular retail lines. IT would ahve to be a very large area for them to cover to audition.

Plus, you always have local dealers that allow you to bring them back in X amount of days if you are not happy.

I'm not so sure it would only appeal to the high end crowd. I would think that any purchase around 800.00 or more would make it worth while...and you would also have the ability to a/b the speakers which is always a huge plus.

Most people are not spending $800.00. Most are buying, tops, $400 all in ones. I am sorry, this idea would never work.

I don't think this scheme is impossible to make profitable, but there are a lot of problems to overcome, the greatest of which is finding a customer base. People who are educated enough about home audio to know that they should audition speakers before they buy them are also probably willing to take the time to do it themselves. So what you'd have to do is "convert" a whole lot of people into budding audiophiles.

Also, what kinds percentages were you thinking about charging the stores? And also, would you also charge the potential buyers for the in-home auditions, and if so, how much?

It wouldn't have to be a budding audiophile, just a person who would like to listen in the comforts of their own living room rather than at Circuit City with 15 other people and a daft sales person. You could even use equipment from CC if you could work it out with them (or abuse their return policy). If you could provide a certain amount of expertise and say I'll bring you what I feel are five sets of the best speakers in your price range, it would eliminate a lot of leg work for them and help them stay on budget at the same time. You wouldn't have to be brand loyal, just let them listen and make up their own mind. They may find out that a book shelf is all they need and that black doesn't really work in the room all that well.
If they decide not to buy or buy later you have the 75.00 flat fee to cover your time invested. They have a really good idea of what they like and what works well in their own room.
Expect nothing from the store you obtained the equipment from other than the equpment itself. If you could get a "small" referral fee from the store for a sale that would all be gravy. If you were able to move a few items everybody wins.

Well, i for one wouldnt pay someone 75 bucks to demo stuff when any good audio shop will let you take it home and demo it for maybe 24 hours anyway. for free. Just need to put down a deposit.

My 2 cents...

I agree with Brandon... I wouldn't pay for a demo.

I just can't grasp the idea of A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE wanting to demo these in the comfort of their homes. If you do only a couple of demos a month, it is not worthwhile to devote that much time to this.

Also once you start demoing (recommending) a product, then there is that possibility that they will call you back and you have to answer other questions that may take up more of your time. USD 75 is too little money once you start counting the hours you will have to spend travelling back and forth and doing all the work.

Good luck in your pursuits !

Thanks fellas...thats what I needed to know