RST Engineering wrote:

I'm not going to get into a ****ing match with you over this.

I'm not looking for one, either, so I deleted the hotel reference.

Remember, the OP said ORDER, not go down to the local shop and
BORROW for a
day. This implies that you are going to have them sent to you and you will
send back one or both if you don't like them. Having run a mail order
business for the last 35 years, I can tell you to the penny how much extra
we charge everybody as overhead for ... crap ... like this.

I know what he wrote. I'm also involved in a retail operation (a large,
industry "Top 100" bicycle shop) and I'll add this:

I think the buyer should pay the return shipping and possibly a small
restock fee. If the competition can do it without a restock fee, you
need to figure out how to do it too, or stop selling that product.
Returned by buyer goods should go back to the manufacturer or distributor.

My favorite online tool vendors, outdoor clothing, etc... all offer
100% satisfaction guarantees. Do you know what it costs to ship a 600
pound table saw or to accept a $500 hand plane as a return ? The large
machinery dealer does a 10% restock fee, the high-end hand tool vendor
does not.

Our bicycle shop has had customers swap $3000 bicycles that no longer
can be sold as new, for another $3000 bicycle, because you can't tell
how it will work for you until you really ride it. How do we deal with
this? By working very diligently to make sure the customer has the
right product to start with. We drop products, and sometimes entire
lines, that get returned often.


Please do not dictate other people's business practices.

I don't wish to. The market does that without me.


I do agree that the manufacturer, if they are interested in the "sample"
market, might dedicate half a dozen of a particular model and agree to
support their dealers in the field with a "try it" headset program. That
beats the hell out of having every dealer in the world being a sample
merchandise source.

It certainly does!


Do you suspect that is why Bose is the most expensive line of headsets on
the market? We all buy parts from the same source(s); it is the overhead
that kills you in something like this.

I clearly understand that, and never believed for a moment that my 30
day trial wasn't built into the price. I also understand that an
expensive product that doesn't cover overhead is not worth selling.

For instance, we don't exactly make a killing on a $4 water bottle, but
people who come in for a bottle usually buy other items or services. If
we lose money on an expensive item, it's gone in a heartbeat. We can't
make up losses in volume. G