Who has what responsibility when a home audition is requested?

[gian60]

Italy is small,so if one customer decide to buy some enough expensive shop or distributor bring home to try and some can leave the product some days

 

[adyc]

But Howie, u r very special. U live on an island that takes less than 1 hour to drive across

He maybe a special client. But I guarantee you that home trial in Hong Kong is not a common practise. A lot of dealers are reluctant to do it.

 

[JackD201]

What about large speaker demos?
Is at home demo even feasible?

It can happen. Some stars might need aligning such as the buyer being really serious or the seller not having anything better to do but yeah, surely it is feasible.

 

[JackD201]

FWIW, the vast majority of hi end audio customers are typically honorable, honest human beings and respect the trust provided by the dealer.

I agree, at least in my experience.

Sadly it only takes one jerk to potentially ruin your business and/or sanity when, at least in our case, we are talking about 5 and sometimes 6 figure products.

 

[gian60]

Hi Howie,
for customers like you Italian shop or distributor can fly to your home with the component you would to try and to buy

 

[christoph]

I offer to pay shipping back if i dont buy it. Of course it is usually with a dealer i know and he knows i am not just kicking tires. If i am interested enough for a home demo the rhe odds are in the dealers favor that he has a sale. But sometimes a piece of gear just doesnt jell like you think it will.

I guess you have earned you that privilege with your dealer over a long period of time

 

[christoph]

I'm suddenly envious of you guys who specialize in phono cartridges!

 

[JackD201]

I'm suddenly envious of you guys who specialize in phono cartridges!

For freight expenses perhaps Duke but the "If you break it you buy it" rule doesn't apply if I'm the one that breaks it LOL!

 

[howiebrou]

Well you must be a regular and good client LOL

I try to be pleasant, trustworthy and take care of the dealer and the products. Referring people to the dealers is a nice gesture. To me it’s all about the long term relationship. Breaking bread with dealers always goes down well in a culture obsessed with food?

 

[howiebrou]

But Howie, u r very special. U live on an island that takes less than 1 hour to drive across

True. It does help but often I will pick up the stuff myself. I picked up a 3 box preamp and 2 monoblocks last week myself...

 

[howiebrou]

He maybe a special client. But I guarantee you that home trial in Hong Kong is not a common practise. A lot of dealers are reluctant to do it.

Some do some don’t. I don't penalize those who don't but the ones that do are much more likely to get my business simply because I reward those who provide this service and it takes a lot fo risk out of buying when you can hear it at home.

 

[howiebrou]

Hi Howie,
for customers like you Italian shop or distributor can fly to your home with the component you would to try and to buy

I'm sure you're not chopped liver in their eyes either Gianluca?

 

[Steve Vu]

I always feel uneasy for returning items although the dealers were willing to send them to my home without the shipping fee. So I often check items which I need carefully and I would pay full money when I decided, not need to try.

 

[Elliot G.]

Just to say my point of view on this is very mixed. I have had some awful experiences. I ALWAYS go out of my way for my clients and never would have any reason to turn down any reasonable request. Period!
When I don't know someone my expectations are very different. I would expect if want to try something that you would be willing to have some skin in the game.

 

[Duke LeJeune]

I would expect if want to try something that you would be willing to have some skin in the game.

This is pretty much what my thinking is as I contemplate shipping horn speakers for in-home auditions: That we both have some skin in the game. I'm not 100% protected, nor is the customer - we both gotta want to do it badly enough to take some risk and have some trust.

 

[sbnx]

Just to say my point of view on this is very mixed. I have had some awful experiences. I ALWAYS go out of my way for my clients and never would have any reason to turn down any reasonable request. Period!
When I don't know someone my expectations are very different. I would expect if want to try something that you would be willing to have some skin in the game.

If I wanted an in-home demo for something from a dealer that doesn't know me then I don't think it is unreasonable to ask for a large deposit which would be refundable if it didn't work out. There is a dealer in my area that charges a flat fee to bring it to your house and set it up (and then come get it if you don't buy it). The fee is deducted from the price if you don't buy it. As a consumer I don't like it but I can see the point of what he is doing. After all it is his time and effort and it does discourage people who are not serious about a purchase.

If I was selling luxury goods then I would simply have some "rules" and communicate those to my customers. I think most of us can accept them as long as everything is in good faith. I am at a point where I know that 90% of what I am listening to at a dealer is his room and speaker setup capability. There is no way I can see spending $50K on a DAC or amp let alone a pair of speakers without knowing how it is going to work in my room and system.

 

[JayR]

I have a related tangential question.

While I try to support local B&M stores paying retail for their support and home audition services, the product range available is pretty limited.

How does it work with online sales? Is the customer expected to pay full retail for a remote dealer to order a product and drop ship it directly to the customer? Can the customer expect any pricing accommodation is such
cases?

I have bought some expensive (3-8k) used equipment in the past that have worked out well but am curious about purchasing new from remote dealers.

 

[Alrainbow]

I've tried several home auditions over the years and am very pleased with the results. Some I've kept, some not. An in home audition is the only feasible way a customer can determine if a piece of gear is right for him or her. Assuming the trial period is reasonable (minimum 2 weeks), the customer is willing to put down a reasonable deposit as mutually agreed upon, pay appropriate shipping costs (both ways in my view) and the product is returned as received, it should be a win win for both parties. Only caveat is whether the customer is listening to a fully broken in unit and making an informed decision.

Deposit ..!

Would have thought payment in full (refunded on return less Fees) and shipping both ways ..

Unit cant be sold as new after return , so some compensation is necessary

 

[moby2004]

Some do some don’t. I don't penalize those who don't but the ones that do are much more likely to get my business simply because I reward those who provide this service and it takes a lot fo risk out of buying when you can hear it at home.

I can concur that getting home demo trial in Hong Kong is definitely not a given but fortunately it’s still doable ( with or without deposit/ at cost or not) once obviously you built a trustful relationship with the dealer. And once this is built, I am really impressed by the high level of care and service that some local dealers are giving. Kudos to them !
And definitely from a certain level of expense, I am no longer comfortable to buy gears without getting a home demo first and so brands I can’t demo at home are automatically put at the (very) bottom of my list even if they are getting a lot of praise.

Alex

 

[Duke LeJeune]

I always feel uneasy for returning items although the dealers were willing to send them to my home without the shipping fee. So I often check items which I need carefully and I would pay full money when I decided, not need to try.

I cannot speak for the dealers you felt uneasy returning items to, but I try to make returning a product after the in-home audition a completely comfortable experience for the customer from the outset. And one of the ways I do that is by vigorously inviting him or her to be brutally honest with me so that I don't lose the lesson. This gives them the opportunity to "pay" me with useful information, which can actually be more valuable than a sale.

And thus far my customers have been considerate enough to not publicly "bash" the product I provided if it didn't "win". See Mike Lavigne's responses inserted into the original post in red in post #8.