Quandary

Honestly, I wish more dealers would offer this kind of service.  I would gladly pay the $300 to hear a new component in my home (with the understanding that the fee would represent the extent of my obligation should I not decide against future purchase).  How many of us have bought a component and then determined it’s not what we heard at the dealer?  Seems like a small price to pay.[

This is a response to JFRmusic’s post.  Yes, I’ve been able to demo a component in-home “for free” with the set-up you mentioned….and then subjected to incredulous looks by salespeople when returning the item and informing them it didn’t float my boat.  This particular incident happened about 40 years ago, but I still remember feeling embarrassed and a little guilty returning the item.   From a dealer’s prospective time is money not to mention that the item, with each demo., has some additional wear and tear that it didn’t have before.  A nominal charge for demoing seems more than reasonable under the circumstances.  This way, everyone is happy (perhaps not whole but at least a little wiser).  The customer, while not ecstatic over forfeiting some $ is at least not obligated to spend for a full purchase for a component that didn’t meet his /her  expectationsand the dealer, while disappointed about not making a sale at least recuperates some $ for his efforts.

I respect rvpianos opinion to decline the offer (this scenario obviously didn’t work for him) but I really believe this is a viable way of handling one of the more difficult problems with hi-end audio purchases and I wish more dealers would offer this service.