Could I be a Retail Wretch?

Happy to pay for test drive?  Nobody would even accept money for that.  It is assumed a cost of doing business and I wonder why Audio has to be different? (some dealers already charge for audition).

Well GW, compare two scenarios.

1. You do your internet research and buy something. But it's not what you want. You sell it at a loss of $2000.

2. You audition that equipment and decide it's not for you. You buy something else instead.

See the difference? That audition was worth $2000. And you won't pay a dime?

Well terry9

1. I wouldn’t have spent $5800 for a $7000 list item online, if that item wasn’t returnable. Plus, it’s the perfect audition, in my room, with my gear. No loss, great demo.

2. I audition that equipment and decide it's not for me. I buy something else instead. Agreed. 

Do you see a difference? I don’t. So, I wouldn’t pay a dime for an in-store audition, considering it would cost me $1200. 

gwbeers, I am sorry up front if I am wrong, but I can’t help but believe that when you go into a brick and mortar store and test their equipment you already know that you are not going to buy it from them, but will purchase online. Why do I think that? Because no one is naïve enough and has been hiding their head in the sand long enough to not know that online dealers do not have the overhead that a brick and mortar stores have and by and large need to charge more. I will tell you one thing, get ready for the impact of the recent Supreme Court decision that online retailers are now required to collect sales taxes on purchases, unlike before. This will add another 6% or so to your (and my) purchase costs.

Now, if you go into the bricks and mortar store and tell them that you want to listen to their equipment but will pay the vendor that sells it for the least, that's being a man upfront.  By and large, what I am writing is geared towards dedicated audio stores, not so much Best Buys type stores.

jetter, sure all is in the intentions, but I also feel that demoing equipment is a part of manufacturer's service thru the dealer in order to promote their product.  I cannot imagine car maker authorizing any dealership that doesn't provide test drives or charges for it.  Honda wants me to buy their car and not the Ford, no matter where.

Also, dividing all available sources into local stores and internet only stores is oversimplification, since many brick and mortar stores, including local one, have websites and sell over internet as well (that's how I bought my current speakers).   I will always give my local store a chance to compete wiling to pay more (to support them), but will buy somewhere else if they are unreasonable  (greedy). 

jetter,

There’s no reason to feel sorry. I understand your point completely. However, if you look at some of the earlier posts here, you’ll see the shops I bought from, after my online searches ,are B&M shops with web and e-commerce sites, one does charge me tax (8.625%) and occasionally shipping. I do shop my local dealer for sundries and ironically he’s very competitive with those. But on bigger ticket brand names, there’s no flex.

So, I don’t feel an obligation to pay him $7000 plus tax for the exact same item that another reputable, authorized dealer sells me for $5875 that included tax and shipping.

You did make me wonder, if Mcintosh authorizes dealers who don't have B&M showrooms. I know there's a McIntosh presence on Amazon, but it's for third party sellers who sell through Amazon for their logistics. Most of the search results I come across are B&M sites who advertise  items either at list, "call for price" or "not available online".