Seems like you can’t have a conversation nowadays without bringing up the economy.  A lot of people I talk with all agree they haven’t quite gotten their head around the current state of affairs and I’ve determined that no one has a clue about where it’s going or what’s going to happen next.  It’s like being on a roller coaster for the first time.  You stand in line and can plainly see the track with all the dips and turns but it’s not until you get on the ride do you realize the sheer fright of the situation.  Almost everyone is riding the economic roller coaster, you can tell from all the screaming.

Everyone has their own way of coping with the times but my favorite is sequestering myself in my home theater and escaping reality for a short time.  I’m not running away, hiding or avoiding the troubled times, I simply use my theater as a completely encompassing short-term break from it all.  Cue the movie, bring down the lights and I can be wrapped up in someone elses day-to-day drama instead of my own for a couple of hours - just the mental break I need.

One important aspect that makes this momentary transformation possible is the quality of the components in my home theater and the room itself.  This is not a ‘mine’s bigger than yours” statement but an observation that the more accurately your system can reproduce the intentions of the director - the easier it is for you to get swept away by the story.  Poor quality will fail to retain your attention and therefore not properly achieve suspension of disbelief.  This is also true for the environment around you.  A dedicated home theater is going to provide a vastly better experience than sitting on a bar stool in the kitchen.  That’s not to say that you need a custom built room to capture the full cinema experience, but a purposeful space will go a long way towards making that movie extra special.

Buying quality products that will last for many years is another way to fight the economic downturn.  Performance equipment with better long-term value, versus cheap electronics with short-term price savings, will immediately reward and quell the future desire to upgrade.  I am sure there are a lot of folks out there who were waiting for flat panels to reach rock bottom only to find themselves now in a situation where their disposable income is not as plentiful as was when HDTV’s were reasonably priced.  Or maybe they bought the cheapest one they could find only to be disappointed by the picture quality and it’s lack of features.  I bought my flat panel when they were still quite expensive and, not only is the picture quality still exceptional, I’ve been able enjoyed it for years and have no need to replace it with the latest and greatest (I can use my money now for other, more immediate needs)

Despite my best arguments, in the end, there is still money involved and I’m not suggesting that you spend your life savings just to watch movies.  What makes a little more sense is to determine your budget and hired a qualified systems integrator to assemble an a/v package that meets your needs and falls within your price range.  A good A/V company can also help design an entertainment space that fits your lifestyle and brings your movie experience to it’s best.

Who knows how long this economic rollercoaster is going to last or how many dips and turns it’s going to take along the way.  Regardless of whether we’re screaming in fright or delight as the times get worse or better, everyone needs a personal break from the drama.  For me, I’ll be enjoying the drama, along with mysteries, actions, thrillers, adventures, spies and westerns…all from the comfort of my home theater.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, and some retailers are already claiming this will be their worst seasonal sales figures in recent memory, it once again reminds me of an issue that’s been very important to me over the past couple of years. Simply stated, I wish more consumers would focus on their buying habits and take a little attention away from price. Considering the current economic climate in the world I can certainly understand everyones desire for a deals or discounts but it concerns me greatly when price is the driving factor in a purchase. My concern is many buyers are not thinking in detail about their purchase, again because price is overshadowing other very important product qualities. How many buyers actually look to see where a product is designed, manufactured or how it is sold? Does anyone really relate their buying dollars to directly impact an economy? They should.

Let’s look at an example with two companies; M and S. Company M is designed, manufactured and sold from it’s North American facility to qualified dealers through a network of national sales representatives. For those who don’t know, sales reps. are a conduit between dealers and manufacturers - a valuable asset to dealers when dealing with larger manufacturers. For smaller manufacturers, dealers will often interact directly. Company S is designed and manufactured overseas and imported to distribution warehouses and sold at the local big box store.

So, company M decides to make a product. This most often means they have hired an engineer to design the product, there will be marketing person to help bring this product to the public, there is someone in manufacturing who actually assembles the product and there is a person in quality control to make sure the product does what it’s suppose to. There is also a person responsible for packaging the product, whether it be by hand or monitoring automated systems. At some point, company M will announce the product to the representatives across the country and in turn they will disseminate information to the dealers. The dealers end up purchasing this product to be installed in customers a/v systems. Have you been counting the number of people involved? So far, there is seven, but we’re overlooking the person who handles payroll at company M, or how about the CFO, CEO and human resources, or the guy in charge of ordering raw materials, or the operator working the corporate phones, or the trainer who makes sure the reps. and dealers know about all the great new features of the product. Let me get to the point. The money a consumer spends on a product from company M eventually ends up in the pockets and bank accounts of many other people. The consumer, dealer and sales representative most likely all live in the same economic region and company M probably hires staff from their local economic region. Most important, regardless of region, all the monies stay within the American economy. Now, it’s reasonable to assume that all the people in the money chain will buy their groceries and gas from their own local stores and retailers, once again spreading the wealth and investing in their local economy. Take that one step further, the local grocery store employees people from the local community, if the consumer is smart and buys from local companies and farmers, then those dollars continue to remain in the local economic cycle. Bottom line is an American purchased an American product and the end result is a bunch of other Americans benefited. BTW: we didn’t need legislation, a trade agreements, special interest groups, tax cuts, a war or any other b.s. to stand in the way. We simply had a consumer who took the time to research a product beyond the latest buzz words, features and price.

Do I really need to tell you about company S? Are you already getting that sinking feeling if we follow the consumers dollars. We can certainly cut our story a little shorter, 100% of all the monies up to the distribution warehouse go to foreign soil (which is the majority when you think about engineering, raw materials and manufacturing costs). The distribution warehouse is not located in your local economy but at least we can assume they are employing some Americans. The big box stores do employ local folks to sell the products but in the big corporate food chain where “stock it deep and sell it cheap” mantra is recited everyday, a majority of the consumers money is not finding it’s way back into the American economy.

Of course not all companies fall into the two examples, another popular model is a company will design and engineer a product in-house but has it manufactured someplace else. Afterwards, the completed product returns to the parent company for distribution and sale. There are other various setups but I think you get the idea.

So, as a consumer, what does one do? As everyone is aware, the product from Company M is going to be more expensive than Company S. There will be more product choices from S than from M. Products from company M may not be in stock and have to be ordered - no immediate gratification. There are some very compelling reason on the surface to buy from Company S. Here are a couple of not so visible benefits to Company M. Most M’s have better product warranties (implying a better product?), support calls are usually answered by a knowledgeable person, the products retain their value longer and have better resell value (future upgrades), you will build a relationship with your dealer who becomes a resource and guide for future purchases and becomes someone you can rely on.

Let me take a moment to expand on that last point. Has anyone spent countless hours and time researching a product? Did you understand every feature of the product? Look at nausea for the best price? Drive around to several stores for a demo? Did you really know what your were suppose to be listening or looking for? And the most important question, was it really the right product for you? A qualified dealer will do all of that for you. If you are more interested in having a great end result rather than hoping for one, hire a professional. Really good dealers may have a number of names; integrator, designer, and system contractor are a couple to look for.

I know in this economy it’s really hard to ignore price and I am not suggesting that you spend money ad-hoc, but if everyone would take the time to think of the bigger economic picture we can use our consumer spending power to help America get back on more reasonable financial ground. This mindset should transcend your a/v purchased and include groceries, clothing, household item. etc. invest in your community, invest in your country and invest in our future.

Some interesting statics from 8250 Theaterworks:
*We carry 38 major brands, all of which have a US presence (i.e. office with Americans employed).
*32 of the major brands are purchased directly from the manufacturer or through a representative
*31 companies are based in the US, 1 from England, 1 in Norway, 1 from Denmark, 1 from Belgium and 3 from Japan.
*29 product lines are designed and engineering in the US.
*17 are manufactured in the US