Right now, outside of local dealer lending, we have two choices to hear stuff in our homes. Both go better with some up front research to make sure you have an idea of what you want first.
- Buy something and sell it if it doesn’t work out for you, or
- Buy something from a dealer (or manufacturer-direct) that offers a trial/return period.
The lending thing has issues that most would believe outweigh any positives, including:
- Shipping/insurance costs, as already pointed out,
- Potential damage from shipping or mishandling/user error,
- Insufficient up front fees (i.e., security deposit) to inhibit scamming or theft by bad actors,
- People keeping the item beyond the agreed-on time interval, and
- Capital invested and tied up in gear, that could otherwise generate income through much less risky investments,
- Gear that sits around generating no income because few want to pay to audition, and
- The gear continues to depreciate in value.
It seems a better option is to simply sell stuff you are not using. If you miss it, then buy another one of the same thing. Many of us have done that, at least once.