Store auditioning and then buying on-line from others. How do you feel about it ?

Prof- with respect to your hypothetical about whether you are ethically bound to purchase a product from the B&M store when you liked the product but not the audition experience, I'd say no.  When you buy B&M, a portion of the "value" you get in exchange for the higher price you pay includes customer service.  If the service (e.g., the way you were treated) is poor before the sale, imagine how it will be AFTER they have already have your $!  Your decision process w respect to the A/N's was way more than that store deserved, IMO.  In that case, they did not earn your business.  If I ever got treated that way, you can bet I'd never be back.

Loathsome to go audition something already seen online, have the LAS give you its best advice, spend all day trying stuff out or even allowing a home audition, and buy somewhere else to save a few bucks, especially without giving the LAS a shot at coming close in price---double especially if the LAS is cool about questions and service concerns.

Totally agree. 

Item X available at a traditional store for $2,000, new with warranty, and available on line, new with warranty, for exactly 1/2 the price. As a consumer, are you obligated to sustain the brick and mortar retailer above your own pecuniary interests?

@zavato- Yours is a different issue.  At least as I understand it, OP was asking about using the LAS to audition equipment, with the INTENTION of buying elsewhere if the audition is satisfactory.  In that case, it matters not what the total cost or the cost differential is.  It's a form of theft...theft of services, theft of intellectual property. etc.  For which the sentence is 10 years home confinement with nothing to listen to but lossy, low bit-rate, auto-tuned Paris Hilton MP3s!

It’s theft. And not the cool kind of theft that comes from desperation and need of basic necessities like food, shelter and clothing. It’s the narcissistic type of theft that comes from a lack of a moral compass.

+1 viridian

OP said:

moral compass" is an outdated concept. It has never been particularly popular, besides, it can be interpreted very differently. .. "moral compass" is directly connected to some authority to which it could be connected.

Sorry, don't I don't buy that.  IMO, we all establish our own moral compass.  If you need an outside authority to establish one, then it's not a moral compass.  I don't need or want anyone to tell me what's moral or ethical. 

@prof- I was using "value added" to include all of the various elements. I could not agree more with your feelings about the over-chatty or under-knowledged salesperson. Can’t get to the door fast enough.  In fact, it's one of the reasons why I don't go into B&M stores much.

@inna- I believe a moral compass, i.e., a strong sense of right and wrong (as opposed to legal vs. illegal or allowed vs. not allowed) is one of the most important if not the most important personality traits one can possess. But it has to be freely adopted and embraced from within, not imposed from an outside source.