Scott Yee is on the right track but his thoughts need to go further:

It's not just a matter of "educating the retailers" - retailers won't stock instruments that don't have any momentum, and the problem with arrangers is that they don't get proper marketing. They need to be advertised to musicians and reviewed in popular music magazines properly so that there is demand and interest. Frankly, there isn't an MI store within 400 miles of me that has arrangers - and I'll bet that's because noone is asking for them.

Celebrity endorsements help - and no they don't have to appear on stage with the arranger to make the point - they can use them at home as part of their personal creative process.

Magazine reviews have been short-changing arrangers and we (arranger fans and manufacturers) need to protest that when it happens.

Arranger manufacturers need to put on more expositions to show musicians what is possible with their arrangers. Time for the AJ US Tour 2006. And you might try inviting area arranger players to help out.

Which bring up my final point: maybe it's time for arranger manufacturers to sell directly to consumers. Dealers are fine for a lot of things but are becoming less essential to working musicians, who often shop online anyway. Cutting out dealer markups would mean a better deal for everyone.