Auditioning headphones (ethically)?

I always research the heck out of them and make my best choice. I am normally buy 2x or 3x in cost so they always sound like a big improvement for my first purchase at a new level. I listen to them for many months before wanting to adding another set at that level. The first purchase gave me an empirical ruler with which to judge buying my next set. Owning and reading reviews of the ones I own allow me to understand reviews of others at the same performance level. I currently use Focal Utopia (bought first) and Sennheiser 820s. I enjoy them both… i switch. I liked the Focal more at first, but after six months have gravitated to the Sennheiser.
Most of us have a number of headphones at one level. We use them all.

So, for me, I only use return policies as a defense against a mistake.

You ask a good question. To answer it from my point of view, it is absolutely not ethical to purchase multiple sets of headphones with the intent to return all but one. That is not the intent of the companies that offer this policy and it constitutes a cost to them as they can no longer sell the returned headphones as new. To me it this kind of behavior points to one of the reasons society has become so angry and unfriendly. Most people used to be taught to “do the right thing” based on principles of fairness. Our society has moved to make decisions based on rules… and how close can I get to, without actually violating the rule. Rules are gross generalities established to stop an unwanted behavior after it has been detected as a problem. If we would always act in such a way that if the situation was reversed, it is the appropriate action, then people would act more considerately.

So you asked a valid question. I have been in business most of my carreer. The answer is absolutely no. If I wanted you to buy multiple headphones and use the return policy. I would state it as a option. I would advertise it as an option. “Buy 3 return two… no charge. 

@freediver 

Haggling and discounting was a thing when the cost the dealer got the goods was less than 50% of the MSRP. But that has been squeezed out. The margins for dealers is much smaller now… thank the internet I think.

You can still get some discount by trading in equipment as it allows your dealer to over value the trade in, effectively giving you a discount. You can pay in cash and ask for a 3% discount.

I personally think not. There is noise and activity all over.there is the demand to quickly decide. None of these things work I]in your favor. But as arts cut, ok.