Local dealer says stay away from new Maxxis tires??

To this point I've not seen or heard many complaints about Maxxis tires. I have a new set (Fall 2012) and my previous set was going on 8 years old but they were in great shape. Had a valve stem failure that took out one so I upgraded to M8008s load range E. Old ones were D. No feedback on Hercules though I had a set on my old truck and they wore out fairly fast (apples and oranges). Does that shop sell both or just one of the brands?