For the same reason that I would never purchase good audio equipment from a store that sells vacuum cleaners and barbeques, I would not ask nor pay a lawyer for advice on which audio equipment fits my listening needs. Italy, my place of birth, is a country where specialization prevails. In Milan for example, we buy ties from ties stores and shirts from shirt stores. Although it may seem extreme, it is not, the tie salesperson knows exactly what tie goes with what and which knot is more appropriate for a given occasion.
The advent of mass merchandisers has done to the audio industry, what MP3 has done to music, smartphones to photography and fast food chains to culinary art.
I recently purchased a set of pots and pans from a department store at 70% off the retail price, my first reaction was “Wow, what a deal!”. My second reaction came a few moments later while driving home, “What kind of profit margins do they have?” The store surely made a profit at that price, the Canadian distributor and the manufacturer also made a profit so how much did it really cost to produce the pots and pans? After crunching hypothetical numbers in my head, I realized that my very expensive pot and pans were not expensive and purchased at a great price, they were, in fact, cheap and purchased at a fair price.
Unless there is a legitimate reason to sell at a drastically reduced price, such as bankruptcy or store closure, a steep discount is unwarranted and erodes value., Don’t fall into the price trap, ask and receive the reason behind the price drop. Overstock and end of the line or demonstrators would only account for a marginal additional discount as the actual cost is identical.
If the reason given seems plausible and you like the equipment, by all means, buy it, otherwise keep walking.