Was I Expecting Too Much

@mdalton my point is my point. You don't have to listen to everything before you buy nowadays...whether it be 5 figures or not. There are pretty liberal return policies today. If you don't like, you return it. It is also near impossible to listen to everything you buy today. Not a lot of dealers (not Like the old days) and half of them don't even have everything in stock or on the showroom floor. My other point is that most turntables sound pretty darn good at a certain price point. Yes, they sound different maybe, but they all play records and most do a good job at that. Welcome to today's world.

We teach people how to treat us.  Besides, demoing audio equipment is akin to the 'test drive' when buying a new car.  We all do it, but all it proves is that the car can go around the block a few times.  For any big ticket purchase, you should, beforehand, know more about the item than any salesman.

Cheers

Well judging from the response, this question really struck a nerve. Whatever the exact conversation was between OP and the dealer (FWIW I believe OP), we’ve all been in this type of situation.

I normally make the purchase from the dealer that spent the time to demo a product, which irritates my wife (the household CFO), but how else to assure that the dealers are here for new products, upgrades (many, many with my Linn TT dealer) and service?

Over the years I’ve focused my buying with a few sellers and developed good relationships that have proven beneficial many times over. This often includes at-home trials because of those relationships. Probably 2/3rds of the time those loans lead to purchases and those that don’t are for specific reasons that a dealer has never found objectionable.

As far as the dealer community, I appreciate the comments they’ve made. It somehow seems that a dealer ought to be able to spend under an hour with a potential buyer under most circumstances. I think a potential purchaser who is asked to keep the demo to say 30-60 minutes until they’re ready to make a purchase wouldn’t have reason to object. In this case OP was asking for an appointment so dealer could have suggested a time that would be less busy perhaps. The dealer doesn't need to sit with the potential client the entire time either, so really much less dealer-time involved.

Sorry, I did misread the post.... I wouldn't buy anything from this dealer as he was obviously showing you he wasn't anyone you would want to deal with.

Let's assume the OP has accurately portrayed the interaction without bias or self-serving emphasis.  It so, then the dealer should be respected for his honesty.  He said call me back when you're ready to purchase. He didn't say ready to buy a Brinkmann from him, but when you're ready to actually buy a turntable, then come see him.  Now when that time comes the two of you can meet and be serious.  At that point he should give you his best offer.  Maybe you'll make a deal, maybe you won't.  It takes two to tango and being overly sensitive about the initial interaction can mislead.   Remember, he did call you back within a few minutes.