This is an interesting thread.
My own perspective is that one should go in and be 100% honest. You are a Conrad Johnson dealer. I currently have the possibility of purchasing a used MV60 amplifier for a very good price. I would like the opportunity of you allowing me to give it a listen to see if it is a good move for me. I am willing to do this at a time which is not busy, and by no means interfere with your other customers.
A good dealer would accept this proposition. It builds good will, and establishes both a rapport and a relationship with a potential new customer.
Sadly, both customer and dealer rarely follow this.
Many customers walk in, act like they are flush, and present themselves as being ready to make a deal if the unit is to their liking and the deal is good. They have no intention of buying from the dealer, and often come in at the most inconvenient times for the dealer, such as a Saturday afternoon.
A lot of dealers present themselves as obnoxious people, who are somehow gifted with better hearing, tastes, and decision making abilities than the customer. Not only do they hear better than the other person, they feel they can do a better job in making a decision between whether ARC, CJ, or Krell sounds best. In their demeanor, they end up putting off the customer, and instill in the person a sense that they never want to come back. Also, instead of dealing with money issues in a good way, they can turn things into a "you don't have enough money to be an audiophile" or "you don't have enough money to shop in my store" situation. I consider the trend I read here on Audiogon of paying to audition equipement the ultimate insult.
There is, and has for a long time, been very little effort on the part of many dealers to grow a customer base.
Thankfully, two local dealerships in my area let me basically listen to anything I was interested in as a teenager. They knew I had no ability to buy this type of equipment, but they developed the kind of relationship with me where they would encourage me to bring in my favorite CD and listen on this great system. Of course, they made no money that day, or the next, or the next, or the next.
But, in the long run, as soon as I was able to pay the fee, I bought an NAD 2600A from one of the dealers. And a good amount of gear from both of them. I feel comfortable walking into these stores, and in the end, have often bought new or demo equipment from them as opposed to buying used. Why? It just feels right.
Until dealers and customers go back to doing business in a better way, we will continue to have these discussion.
My own perspective is that one should go in and be 100% honest. You are a Conrad Johnson dealer. I currently have the possibility of purchasing a used MV60 amplifier for a very good price. I would like the opportunity of you allowing me to give it a listen to see if it is a good move for me. I am willing to do this at a time which is not busy, and by no means interfere with your other customers.
A good dealer would accept this proposition. It builds good will, and establishes both a rapport and a relationship with a potential new customer.
Sadly, both customer and dealer rarely follow this.
Many customers walk in, act like they are flush, and present themselves as being ready to make a deal if the unit is to their liking and the deal is good. They have no intention of buying from the dealer, and often come in at the most inconvenient times for the dealer, such as a Saturday afternoon.
A lot of dealers present themselves as obnoxious people, who are somehow gifted with better hearing, tastes, and decision making abilities than the customer. Not only do they hear better than the other person, they feel they can do a better job in making a decision between whether ARC, CJ, or Krell sounds best. In their demeanor, they end up putting off the customer, and instill in the person a sense that they never want to come back. Also, instead of dealing with money issues in a good way, they can turn things into a "you don't have enough money to be an audiophile" or "you don't have enough money to shop in my store" situation. I consider the trend I read here on Audiogon of paying to audition equipement the ultimate insult.
There is, and has for a long time, been very little effort on the part of many dealers to grow a customer base.
Thankfully, two local dealerships in my area let me basically listen to anything I was interested in as a teenager. They knew I had no ability to buy this type of equipment, but they developed the kind of relationship with me where they would encourage me to bring in my favorite CD and listen on this great system. Of course, they made no money that day, or the next, or the next, or the next.
But, in the long run, as soon as I was able to pay the fee, I bought an NAD 2600A from one of the dealers. And a good amount of gear from both of them. I feel comfortable walking into these stores, and in the end, have often bought new or demo equipment from them as opposed to buying used. Why? It just feels right.
Until dealers and customers go back to doing business in a better way, we will continue to have these discussion.