Charging A Fee To Demo An Amplifier In A Brick & Mortar Store

"Too many hobbyists like to pass time hearing products. They ruin it for businesses."

I thought that audio hobby is all about passing time hearing products. No hobbyists, no business.

Aug-25-2020Are you going to charge a fee for an in store demo?
Yes. We are. Although the fee can be used towards purchase of other electronics also. Too many hobbyists like to pass time hearing products. They ruin it for businesses.

@mitch4t,

The seller is simply trying to get compensate for his time. While it’s not common to charge a fee for demo, the store owner is well within its rights to do so. As others have mentioned, if you don’t like the terms look elsewhere.

At this point, only you know the worthiness of these monoblocks. We can all criticize the unfair demo policy but at the end of the day only you know how rare or common are the opportunities to demo these amps. To me, $17k is a large sum and I would like to be 110% certain that they will work in my system before I dump this kind of money. So if the demo fee is not ridiculous and the store has something else to offer you can possibly use then I would take the leap of faith.

The flip side of this transaction is you take the risk of buying them unheard on a used market and ‘deal’ with reselling process if you don’t end up liking them.

Once upon a time, I entered a store and said I was interested in browsing what they had. I was not intending to listen to anything and made that clear. Salesperson said it would be $50 fee that could be applied to the purchase. I thanked him and left. I never stepped in again, but I did pass by many times and watched it close for good, as many stores have done since then.

Fast forward a few years and a few blocks away. I entered another store, made it clear that I was not in to buy anything, checked out first two rooms and had no pressure from the salesman at all. I went to one or two more rooms, ever increasing cost of the equipment shown, and was about to leave. Salesman told me I forgot to check the last room out and that I should as it was the best they had. Stack of dCS machines with other equipment to match performance and price and then some. I played some records and CDs, had a very relaxed chat with the salesman, and that was it. I bought a few things there over time. That store is still in business.

I know this outfit and the owner in particular. He attempted to charge me for a demo some years ago and I never retuned. Rude and unscrupulous he was in the brief interaction I had with him. Caveat emptor!

Seems lame to me.

Well that's one retailer to stay clear of.

@mitch4t, What was the retailer going to charge you to audition the amplifiers?   Was there a fixed time limit, like 30 minutes, or no time restrictions?   If you listened and decided to audition another amplifier, would he charge you, again, for a 2nd audition?

I am not aware of any audio retailers charging to audition audio equipment.   As was posted above, I agree that the audio audition is "part of the overhead expense that they add into the purchase price for all their products". 

  

Never heard of it.  Sounds like a bad idea.   You can take it or leave it.  

These amps already have 800 hours on them, AND you have to buy speakers with them if you want the $2K discount. They have a lot of chutzpah charging for an in-store demo given the circumstances.

This is for an in-store demo.

The amps will not be leaving the store.

Here is the listing for the amps:

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9c0bg-audio-research-reference-750-1-pair-silver-finish-demos-t...

Can you imagine as a dealer how many people who might "like a listen" with no intent of buying.  Must drive them nuts.  If you have $17k to burn on amps, an audition fee is not likely to be a big deal.  Furthermore, how do you make an informed decision without hearing it in your system? Especially with a tubed amp.  Paying a fee to hear it in my own system would make a lot more sense

Look elsewhere! Not the way I’d do business.

If I was a serious buyer I'd feel offended but there are so many tire kickers who have no intention of buying. If a reasonable fee was posted for like a 30 minute demo there is equipment I wouldn't mind paying to hear. I don't think it's fair to take someone's time if I know I'm not buying.

First rule of acquisition,  "Once you get their money, you never give it back".

Regards

If you don’t like a store’s attitude or policies, simply don’t shop there. I don’t understand why anyone would get particularly angry about it, though. It’s not worth it and retail is a competitive business.

I bought a new headphone amp a few years ago and the first dealer I visited - which I had done some business with years earlier - told me they no longer accept any trades. I had a few high-end pieces I wanted to part with, so I found another dealer who carried the same amplifier I was seeking. He was happy to take my trades. Now he has a new customer. That's how it works.

I have to agree with George on this one. This is outrageous.

The dealer who has to check things out, clean them off, etc. is merely doing what all shop owners have to do when people browse their merchandise. This is part of the overhead that they add into the purchase price for all their products. The notion that somehow this has changed is completely unbelievable. In my opinion, this is a risky venture by this shop owner to invent an upcharge for people who don't know better.

Then you cut off your nose to spite your face. I'm sure there is an item or two you could use that the store carries. If you do not like the amps just buy one of those items. On returning the amps the dealer has to check them out and clean off any fingerprints and such which takes up his time.
I also think he is trying to weed out the people who are not serious.

The seller has a retail store for high end audio. The seller mentioned that there will be an up-front fee for the demo if a prospect comes to the store the amps are not purchased.

Ludicrous, tell him to ***** his amps where to sun don't *****.

Cheers George