Fee for home audition

I don’t know if it’s as much rubbing it in versus maybe giving him a clue that charging $650 for a one-hour demo is insulting and patently absurd, and maybe it will have him re-evaluate what I’ll call his “going-out-of-business” strategy.  He probably left on the order of $4000 of profit on the table for no good reason other than laziness and greed.  He deserved exactly what he got — zip, nothing, nada.  We reap what we sow, and goodonya for not rewarding his ridiculous business practice. 

Congrats!  You should go back to your dealer and tell him how happy you are with your purchase and how wonderful your buying experience was.  He should know. 

If I happened to be a dealer of hifi gear…and if I voluntarily chose to have a policy of a 5% fee to demo a piece of gear in your home…. and if you rejected the offer…swinging by the shop to “rub it in the dealer’s face” would absolutely validate the strategy that was employed.

@ghasley Really? Paying $650 for an hour review doesn’t seem out of line to you? How about this — it was so egregious the OP actually did go elsewhere and got a much better offer due to this dealer’s insane policy. Defend it if you must, but from a customer’s point it’s completely out of bounds, and the dealer lost a big $$$ sale because of it. How much effort does it take to let a customer pick up a DAC and have him demo it for a day? Nothing. Nada. And certainly not worth $650 for an hour, new customer or not. You’re kidding yourself dude. Adapt or die.

If I’m a local dealer and I have a chance of selling a $12,500 DAC, I DAMN WELL LET HIM HAVE IT FOR A DAY OR TWO!!!  What???  What’s absolutely wrong with this dealer???  HOW ARROGANT, and I’m so glad you decided to go elsewhere.  When you buy this excellent streamer, and I have a strong inclination you will, go back and rub it in this dealer’s face.  He needs to know what a disservice he’s doing to his prospective customers versus what other dealers are willing to do.  He’s an idiot. 

Seems like a lot of whining going on by dealers here. Learn how to adapt and use your inherent competitive advantage to your advantage and let potential customers demo a piece at home on a day when your store is closed  Let a new customer know after they demo a component that you will compete with other offers they may see and discuss the advantages of buying from you versus buying online. Adopt manufacturers who either don’t sell online or disallow internet sales where there are local dealers. Offer to help set up a component in their system or help set up their whole new system. You have a considerable competitive advantage here, you just have to creatively think about how you can leverage it rather than just feeling like victims. The days are gone when you can just demo something in the store and have the customer walk out the door with it while you count your $$$. Adapt or die. It’s as simple as that. There are lots of people here who are loyal to their local dealers precisely because they offer services that go over and above what any online retailer can deliver. If you’re not prepared to provide that level of service to earn business and rather just charge your prospective clients egregious fees just for people to hear stuff, I wish you luck.

Finally, I am not questioning the OPs facts, but perhaps there is a big misunderstanding about the "5% for 1 hour" thing??

@xtremefidelity First of all, a 1-hour demo is absurd. Second, paying $250 to demo a $5000 component at home for an hour is even more absurd. Your competitive advantage is you have first crack at customers in your area. Allowing them to do demos at home is something you offer that costs online sellers, and almost alway potential customers, much more to do so use that to your advantage. Have a policy where you loan stuff out on whatever day you’re closed so there’s no downtime for that product in the store. You don’t have to bring it them as most often they’ll be more than happy to come pick it up and bring it home themselves — I did — so it costs you no time or effort.  If you don’t have a demo unit available for a potential customer to try, shame on YOU because you’re undermining your strongest competitive advantage. Just have a verbal agreement that if they’re interested in the component they’ll give you the opportunity to compete for the business and to just let you know what their current best offer is. Now, this doesn’t include large, heavy equipment where you have to help a customer get it into their room and set it up, but they should understand this and expect to pay something reasonable for that labor-intensive service and they have the means to pay for it, and if they aren’t willing to pay anything at that level it’s a big red flag unless they’re an established customer.  And the big profits on those products make it more than worth the effort. Communicate to them that you want to EARN their business and add services like if they buy something you’ll help them set it up in their system. THAT’S the kind of service people appreciate and will pay up for. If they have a problem with a component, tell them they can just bring it back to you and you’ll take care of it because you can do it much easier than they can. THOSE are the type of things you can do as a local dealer that no online retailer can even touch. You have a huge advantage, especially as there are fewer and fewer brick and mortar retailers every year, so think about how you can leverage that competitive advantage that online retailers can’t match and what frustrates so many online customers. Also, consider adding outstanding product lines that protect their dealers and aren’t offered online where there’s a local dealer. These are just a few ideas off the top of my head, but I’m sure there are many, many more. Rethink how you can use your considerable advantage rather than thinking of it as a negative, and you can blow those online retailers away because you have a ton of things to offer the internet can never provide. Get creative. Once you figure out how to go over and above what customers expect you’ll grow word-of-mouth advertising, become a place of respect and trust  where you’ll become the go-to place for audio in your community, and grow a very loyal customer base. Just my $0.02 FWIW, and best of luck going forward.

By all means, let your dealer know he lost the sale due to his stupid and greedy policy.  He needs to know he’s losing business over it, and maybe he’ll consider changing his ways when he knows it’s costing him $$$. 

Great streamer, but this is just a really, really bad look for the dealer.  Shop around and see where else you might be able to demo it from or contact Grimm, describe the situation, and see if you can work out something with them directly or you’ll just buy another streamer — they won’t wanna lose a sale due to a douchebag dealer.  After finding your other options, tell the dealer he can shove that 5% fee up his a$$ if he wants a shot at making a sale or you’ll just go elsewhere.  This is ridiculous, and I agree with others this guy won’t be in business much longer.  He clearly doesn’t at all get that his best competitive advantage is he has the gear for you to hear versus buying online, and he’s undermining his one and only advantage.  What a greedy dope!

An hour?  That’s ridiculous.  Many dealers will loan out a model on a day when they’re closed, and I’ve never paid a fee.  I’d reject this dealer on principle alone.