Fee for home audition

I am a Dealer so I do have some perspective on this. First of all, there is NO Standard for home auditions or trials. I know major, well-respected dealers who charge a fee for a home trial and I know many that have some other arrangement. The one factor that IS most prevalent, as many have said here, is that IF you have a relationship with a dealer and are a proven customer, then yes, you most likely can borrow equipment for a short time on "trust" with no fee. This is how I treat my best customers.

HOWEVER, if you are unknown to the dealer, then you can't expect them to just "loan" you expensive equipment for audition without some type of protection for the dealer. On example is to pay in full and then have the right to return and refund if you decide not to purchase. But, what is wrong with paying a reasonable fee for the opportunity to listen to an expensive piece of equipment if you don't buy it? Do you know of ANY other business that would let you just "borrow" an expensive item for the weekend? Maybe your local jeweler? The Apple Store? Despite what some here may think, there IS a REAL cost of opening a new product's box and having it out for audition. That product can no longer be sold as "new" and now needs to be sold at a lower price just because it isn't sealed. That's why dealers may charge a fair demo fee (if the customer doesn't buy) to compensate in a small way for the lost revenue. And, sorry- but this is in NO WAY similar to taking out a car from a lot on a 15 minute test drive or sampling a "taste" of a slice of bologna! Give me a break!

This whole concept is subject to substantial skewing if that equipment is very expensive, delicate, or in short supply. It's one thing to get a loan of a component that costs a few thousand; it's totally another to expect to borrow a very expensive high-end component. In this case, the OP is talking about a $10K+ component from a dealer who does not know him. I know most of the Grimm dealers and they are all reputable and customer-service oriented.

This debate has unfortunately come about due to the unprofessional and unfair practices of more than a few (but by no means the majority) audiophiles who make a habit of borrowing expensive equipment from dealers solely because they are "bored" and want to try out some cool new component; or, want to make a hit with their local audio group and bring in a "demo" of a hot new toy. They have no intention of ever buying. Or, even more common, they borrow a component from a dealer, decide they like it, and then call every other dealer for that product in the country, bid for the best price and buy it at the lowest price. Meanwhile, the dealer that invested in the demo and loaned it out (and did not have it available for that demo time) plus spent time answering lots of questions does not get the sale and eats the cost of the demo. That's plain unethical in my book. If you want to call around for price, then have at it and THEN ask the lowest price dealer to send you a unit for audition FIRST. See what happens then!

This all goes to the root cause as to why there are fewer and fewer real High-End dealers left. Ultimately, many buyers buy only on price as opposed to the TOTAL VALUE that the dealer brings. Customer service, when done right, has a cost, as does purchasing demonstration gear so customers can listen to it. We are seeing the commoditization of the high-end industry. and eventually, there may only be online retailers left. Such a shame!

Finally, I am not questioning the OPs facts, but perhaps there is a big misunderstanding about the "5% for 1 hour" thing??  

Asking a dealer for advice is time and expertise.

Asking a dealer for their effort to pack, bring, adjust, give feedback, and remove -- esp. if this is in your own home -- is time and expertise.

Time and expertise are worth something.

Dealers have all the knowledge we need and access to all the gear we want, and pretending that we, the consumer, should get all that access for free -- while we remain free to take our biz elsewhere -- is nuts.

Good for that dealer. Wish more dealers were upfront about their own value. This whole we-deserve-a-massive-discount with no relationship, no engagement, and no loyalty is not sustainable. If that’s what you want, Amazon (and AudiogoN) has you covered.

I never asked the dealer to bring his equipment to my home. I offered to pay full upfront for an already open demo unit he has in store and I offered to pick up and drop off. He actually wanted to bring it to my home. If I am paying full price there is no need for trust issue. Why is it more delicate than a car? I am not asking for a cartridge. 
 

@socrates7 don’t dealers make a profit with the sale? In most industries, part of this profit pays for the expertise they bring. I did not say I will not pay for expertise but where is the expertise in loaning a gear for an hour? We never got to the point of discussing a sale so what’s the massive discount expectation you are talking about?

@xtremefidelity are you suggesting that I am misstating facts?  There is no misunderstanding. The charge initially quoted was 5% of 12500 - $625 for an hour.

Now thanks to a lot of responses I know this is not the standard. I just spoke to another dealer who is sending me a demo unit. I should have it in a day. Hopefully it will sound great and I will purchase from him. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and suggestions. 

Finally, I am not questioning the OPs facts, but perhaps there is a big misunderstanding about the "5% for 1 hour" thing??

@xtremefidelity First of all, a 1-hour demo is absurd. Second, paying $250 to demo a $5000 component at home for an hour is even more absurd. Your competitive advantage is you have first crack at customers in your area. Allowing them to do demos at home is something you offer that costs online sellers, and almost alway potential customers, much more to do so use that to your advantage. Have a policy where you loan stuff out on whatever day you’re closed so there’s no downtime for that product in the store. You don’t have to bring it them as most often they’ll be more than happy to come pick it up and bring it home themselves — I did — so it costs you no time or effort.  If you don’t have a demo unit available for a potential customer to try, shame on YOU because you’re undermining your strongest competitive advantage. Just have a verbal agreement that if they’re interested in the component they’ll give you the opportunity to compete for the business and to just let you know what their current best offer is. Now, this doesn’t include large, heavy equipment where you have to help a customer get it into their room and set it up, but they should understand this and expect to pay something reasonable for that labor-intensive service and they have the means to pay for it, and if they aren’t willing to pay anything at that level it’s a big red flag unless they’re an established customer.  And the big profits on those products make it more than worth the effort. Communicate to them that you want to EARN their business and add services like if they buy something you’ll help them set it up in their system. THAT’S the kind of service people appreciate and will pay up for. If they have a problem with a component, tell them they can just bring it back to you and you’ll take care of it because you can do it much easier than they can. THOSE are the type of things you can do as a local dealer that no online retailer can even touch. You have a huge advantage, especially as there are fewer and fewer brick and mortar retailers every year, so think about how you can leverage that competitive advantage that online retailers can’t match and what frustrates so many online customers. Also, consider adding outstanding product lines that protect their dealers and aren’t offered online where there’s a local dealer. These are just a few ideas off the top of my head, but I’m sure there are many, many more. Rethink how you can use your considerable advantage rather than thinking of it as a negative, and you can blow those online retailers away because you have a ton of things to offer the internet can never provide. Get creative. Once you figure out how to go over and above what customers expect you’ll grow word-of-mouth advertising, become a place of respect and trust  where you’ll become the go-to place for audio in your community, and grow a very loyal customer base. Just my $0.02 FWIW, and best of luck going forward.

I think there are users who abuse the system and the good will of dealers. I wouldn’t loose sleep over one dealer being unreasonable when so many are so generous.

I don’t know any other country where you can do this, order things, send them back, take it home from the dealer to try, the US is an amusement park for adults. For my good conscience, I never order or try anything I am not interested in keeping, but if it does not impress me, I send/take it back.