2. misc-audio
  3. 190314-173903

Auditioning Used Equipment - Am I crazy ?

I reached out to a well respected dealer to see if I could audition an amp they had advertised on one of the used gear websites.  This amp sells for over $20k and they were asking around $10k.  This mfgr only has 12 dealers nationwide.  I've heard their extreme high end equipment at shows but not this particular line.  To my surprise, the dealer responded No.  The unit was already boxed up to ship (hasn't been sold yet) and they wouldn't set it up for me.  So my questions are:

Am I crazy asking to audition a component priced at $10k ?

For any dealers or dealer salespeople, is there a dollar amount where u turn auditions down at ?  What is it ?

For consumers, is there a dollar amount that you would buy a component and roll the dice without auditioning it ?

Thanks !

 

greenngoldcheesehead
elrod
243 posts
 

You're not crazy for asking. But by the same token, they aren't crazy for saying "no".

kerrybh
116 posts
 

I don’t blame you for wanting the audition and I wouldn’t buy the amp without having a chance to hear it in my system. On the other hand, it’s business, and the dealer has made a business decision that it’s not in his interest to unbox the amp and set it up for your audition. I’ve bought a lot of stuff from my dealer, and I’ve gotten to know him pretty well. I would be pretty Ticked off if he told me no to an audition in a similar situation. On the other hand, if it was a dealer that I did not have that kind of relationship with, I would respect his business decision, but I would just move onto the next thing. 

testpilot
909 posts
 

If a dealer will not audition the equipment he has for sale, then why bother having a brick and mortar store? The customer does not rely on the store to make a living, therefore, it is incumbent on the dealer to develop relationships. 

garebear
1,128 posts
 

…….I always love those responses ; “ just buy it and if you don’t like just re-sell it “ . If you subscribe to that mentality then technically you are the third owner if that is disclosed and the seller is honest ; that does make a deal as far as the selling price . So with that attitude you could lose a lot of money on that deal. I don’t know about you but losing a couple of grand on a whim does not work with me . Not to mention the hassle of boxing it and paying to ship it to the next buyer . Have you looked at shipping costs lately ….. So, not a prudent option in my opinion.

So maybe it is already boxed and the dealer doesn’t want to go all through that just to demo it without any guarantee of sale as there are a lot of tire kickers. Also have you looked here as well as on US Audio Mart , there is a lot of used gear and we are entering the summer months. You can’t blame the dealer as most of them are purely transactional and don’t care .

I would move on if the dealer does at least try and work with you and as was previously noted ; find a dealer who will work with you and buy from them.

mahler123
3,251 posts
 

I think it would be reasonable for the dealer to charge a fee for the audition, which would count toward the purchase price if you decide to buy.  20 years ago I would have thought that to have been absurd, but times have changed 

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