Was I Expecting Too Much

What a jerk!

In this day and age where there so few good Hifi stores left, it’s sad that any shop would treat a potential customer so poorly.

I can't believe that one poster defended this nonsense. I'd love to know what he does for a living so i could never deal with him.

I have several owned successful restaurants over 40 +  years & know something about guest service. That owner was being foolish & now probably lost the golden opportunity to gain another loyal customer. It’s a bit different In restaurants because have to eat everyday but repeat clientele is the heart & soul of just about any business. That could have been you!

Because turntables are so fragile, a home audition is tricky but in the price range of those fine turntables, a private session could be arranged in store possibly w/ some of your own stuff ( phono amp, amp, speakers, whatever). If they did this, treated you well & offered you a good deal on the spot, there’s a good chance you would buy right then or at least in a few months when you were actually ready. 
 

They clearly have no faith in their salesmanship for both the product & themselves. I would look elsewhere. 

Everybody knows what the problem is. It is the Internet. I ran into this at a local dealer. Looking for some Macintosh products. The first thing he said to me is.” are you here to shop or are you gonna buy one on the Internet used?” I kind of felt bad for the guy, that’s probably what I was going to do. I could tell it was burned out, and probably realize that he was at the end of his business life. I can only imagine the amount of people that they get going into the store Doing exactly what I was going to do. The way that I justify it is that if I buy something used from somebody with more money than me hopefully they’re going to a dealer and buying something new. But I have no way to guarantee that. It’s just the way of the world and retail is , the new person in the economy to take a hit. I had a bunch of friends who work around the printing industry and they all got their butt kicked 20 years ago. Now it’s stereo guys turn. I guess at some point we’re all going to get to take our turn . 

Online sales has indeed hurt a lot of businesses but I think w/  mid fi equipment on up, the attention to proper handling, set up, service if needed, it’s wise to buy from an experienced dealer. Additionally, most of the better audio brands are not available new for any discount sizable discounts from online companies. Used equipment is of course a different story. 
 

Fortunately, as a restaurateur, the internet has only helped my business & the lack of consistent quality of food & service at the majority of chain restaurants has only helped to make my offerings look & taste better.