Charging A Fee To Demo An Amplifier In A Brick & Mortar Store

 What is happening is that consumers to a store and spend a lot of time talking to store staff asking questions and listening. Then the customer goes and buys online at a discounted price. The store online does not have the overhead an staff costs the brick and mortar store has. If you are a serious customer then you shouldn't have an issue paying to demo. More and more stores are charging to demo because of the online competitive problem. Brick and mortar stores simply have way more cost to absorb.

The fee is to pay his chiropractor after having to schlep around those damn heavy amps!  Although if his chiropractor visit is $500, he ought to seek another chiropractor!

The time wasted on people that don't buy is included in the markup and always has been with stores.   With todays online shopping, these sales people need to make themselves valuable and show why you buy a high price item locally.  

"Then the customer goes and buys online at a discounted price."

Is the dealer allowed to sell new Audio Research equipment online? I know that some brands have restrictions, but I am not sure about Audio Research.

For old and used equipment, I guess anything goes.

tomcy6,

"glupson, You don’t think there’s a difference between getting a bike out from the back and setting up a system with a couple of 170 lb amps?"

I was just pointing out different approaches in enticing a potential buyer.

To answer your question, those bicycles I mentioned were driven from the warehouse, assembled, adjusted to perfection, and then I could take a ride and say "doesn't feel quite right". Setting up a bicycle right, even on a very casual amateur rider level, does require some work. To the extreme of having ten mechanics in a competition team.

I have no problem with this particular dealer charging whatever he thinks is right. Still, I remember one member here who at some point (in another thread) said "your first loss was your best loss". Waiting for the right customer to show up may be a losing game, but I really have no experience with running a store. That storage must cost something. I would really think of keeping those amplifiers as an eternal demo rather than losing money and time on tire kickers and giving it away for only $16995.