I'm sorry, I'm headed to work and I didn't read the entire thread yet, but my opinion on auditioning is pretty consistent with what I've done throughout the years when dealing with pieces that ship, as opposed to stuff that's nearby that I can audition in person. It's only fair that you offer something in return for the favor. The dealer doesn't know you or if you are a tire kicker or Dreamer looking to waste your time- you need to put something on the line like a restocking fee and cover the freight and insurance. He doesn't know if you're going to burn this thing up or hook it up to some homemade wacko component you have. That's a 10 grand item he needs to sell.
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 !
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Clearly, russbutton never ran a business... https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2701797
There’s no conspiracy theory about why someone’s just not going to send you, a stranger, an expensive piece of used equipment for a whole bunch of reasonable and sensible reasons. When requesting this generous offer the would be buyer describes, did he offer anything other than his 'Maybe I'll buy it, maybe I won't' prospective purchase in terms of real world assurance or ernest intention? A schmuck who just sends out a big piece of equipment to any schmuck who dangles his maybe I'll purchase it promise is a schmuck that won't be in business long. |
@gents . My request was to audition the equipment at the dealer where the unit is already located. I am not asking for an in home audition. I would be driving 2 hrs each way to be able to audition and purchase. The dealer has refused to remove the unit from its box and hook up 3 cables, spend 15 minutes listening to it and put it back in the box for a $10k sale. |
I’m sure you wrote that somewhere and I just missed it, that’s ridiculously ridiculous and even more reason to dig deep and send a little email reiterating your position on the proposed audition and just enjoy the satisfaction of telling him to f*ck himself- in those words. Furthermore, share that story online within his Google reviews and any place else you can write it because it absolutely deserves a little spotlight. That’s a genuine creep and how he ended up being a ’respected dealer’, who the hell knows? There are a lot of easily pleased nincompoops in every Hobby. |
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