What's the difference between an AV reseller and an AV integrator?

An AV reseller sells and ships hardware; an AV integrator designs the room, supplies the kit, installs it, commissions it, programs the control system and supports it. A reseller is fine when you have an in-house team who will do the rest. An integrator is necessary when you need a working room rather than a pile of boxes.

The work each side does looks like this:

Resellers often have lower headline prices on hardware because they are not pricing the surrounding work. The maths only stacks up if the buyer has the engineering capability to do everything below the procurement line. Most corporate facilities and IT teams do not have a Crestron programmer, an AVIXA-trained installer or a control-system commissioning lead in the building, and once those resources are bought in on day rates the apparent saving disappears.

A clearer signal: ask whether the bidder will commit to a working room at handover with a defined acceptance test and a 12-month warranty across the system, not just the individual boxes. Resellers will not. Integrators will. For the surrounding services, see the consultation and design service and the support service.

Quick reference: reseller ships boxes, integrator delivers a working room with design, install, programming, commissioning, documentation and support. Use a reseller only when you have the engineering team to do the rest.