[GrowthValue]

I am wondering if anybody has any experience with demo sale items from couple of online music gear retailers, such as Audio Advisor, Music Direct, etc. Their demo sale items typically are 20% to 30% below new price. I have called them to ask about demo sales before. They all say demo sale items are just return items. 
 
My concern is that typically return items can be almost new, and companies can easily sell them as new again after a little restocking. Why do these online retailers have to sell some returns as demos? Do these items have some conditions that prevent them being sold as new? Please let me know your experience. Thanks a lot.

 

[NA Blur]

I recently purchased a Demo Balanced Ultra Desktop Amp from Headroom.  They told me it was because it went out to a show 6 months ago and was used there for a while.  It also has a very small scratch on it which I would still consider like new.  I always check if the demo items are still under warranty because I do not want to left with a defective good.  I highly suggest you do the same, but in most cases demo units are either units that have been used as a demo to potential customers and thus is no longer brand new, or the unit may have been taken out for pictures or displayed in their show room for x amount of time.
 
An excellent company policy is to never sell items that were once demos or used in a show room as new.  This shows that the company a very high quality policy, because in most cases companies can and will ship slightly used items as new.

 

[GrowthValue]

Thanks for the reply, NA. The answers I got from couple of retailers are the demos are just returns. They did not even say they are used in showroom as demos. Also, they all said the demos enjoy full manufacturer warranty. That's what bothers me. They try to say these demo items are just about new, but the 20%-30% discounts tell me otherwise. A business should make a reasonable pricing decision. 20%-30% discount on almost new returns are just too generous. 

 

[NA Blur]

I will be sure to let them know you want something more expensive.

 

[ninjames]

This has always been standard. The 20-30% mark down is standard EVERYWHERE. It requires much less manpower to just grab everything that is returns/resealed/refurbished/demo/damaged box stuff to mark them as one thing and let them go at the reduced price. A lot of these places are making their money back and if you are buying through something like Monster's outlet store, they're still making a big profit, etc.
 
Sometimes warranties may not be what you want but they will ALWAYS have a clause to where you can immediately return something if it's defective or not as described, unless you are buying from Craigslist "as is" or something.
 
In my personal experience, I've only ever received totally new items buying open box/resealed/damaged box and have received like new items buying demo. To me, the only ever real negative is the fact that the warranties are usually like 90 days instead of a year.

 

[proton007]

Quote:

Thanks for the reply, NA. The answers I got from couple of retailers are the demos are just returns. They did not even say they are used in showroom as demos. Also, they all said the demos enjoy full manufacturer warranty. That's what bothers me. They try to say these demo items are just about new, but the 20%-30% discounts tell me otherwise. A business should make a reasonable pricing decision. 20%-30% discount on almost new returns are just too generous. 

 
 
If the demo's just for display, then its alright. But something like headphones, I'd want to have them cleaned before buying them, its possible they've been used by many people.
 
Typically the problem with demo units is that they're not as clean, since they've been sitting outside for a while. 

 

[ninjames]

Quote:

 
 
If the demo's just for display, then its alright. But something like headphones, I'd want to have them cleaned before buying them, its possible they've been used by many people.
 
Typically the problem with demo units is that they're not as clean, since they've been sitting outside for a while. 

I sanitize every single thing I buy used ... especially if I ever buy second hand IEMs, those tips soak in alcohol for an hour!

 

[proton007]

Quote:

I sanitize every single thing I buy used ... especially if I ever buy second hand IEMs, those tips soak in alcohol for an hour!

Second hand IEMs ??

Ok, I guess people do buy them, but I can't just get myself to get them used...I just cant get past the image of someone else plugging them into their ears out of my head.

 

[ninjames]

Quote:

Second hand IEMs ??

Ok, I guess people do buy them, but I can't just get myself to get them used...I just cant get past the image of someone else plugging them into their ears out of my head.

It's a huge market. There are more IEMs on the for sale/trade forums than there are full-size headphones. I guess it's being around medical people my whole life ... things get dirty, things get messy, but it's not especially difficult to sanitize something. It's not a hard process and as long as I understand the full science behind it I can keep away the "ick" factor.

 

[proton007]

Quote:

It's a huge market. There are more IEMs on the for sale/trade forums than there are full-size headphones. I guess it's being around medical people my whole life ... things get dirty, things get messy, but it's not especially difficult to sanitize something. It's not a hard process and as long as I understand the full science behind it I can keep away the "ick" factor.

I think my apprehensions are a bit unwarranted, because other second hand stuff has it a lot worse. Here you can be assured that the only place those headphones/IEMs ever went was over/into the ears of somebody.
 
For instance, if you've seen any Top Gear episodes where have a scientific analysis of how clean their used cars are, you'll be amazed to see the results.