It is understandable that many do not have access to a store to try before you buy and that mail order with generous return policies are the only option. Maybe folks can use the search function more often as there is a plethora of info on almost every binocular known to man on this sub forum.
There is a danger of this Tom but mostly the encouragement to 'try before you buy' is a response to a member who appears to be trying to choose which bino to buy based solely on the specifications and the comments of other members who have tried them. Buying stuff on-line is so common-place now it can be easy to lose sight of the need to have 'hands-on' experience of a bino model to confirm it is the right one for you. It is usually possible to see from what the member posts whether they plan to try before they buy but if there is no sign of this, a friendly suggestion to do this is surely nothing more or less than just that: a friendly suggestion.
Lee
Seems possible we're potentially talking about a couple different things here Lee.
The inspiration for my processing was UT Grad, who I think is not the imagined person you described in #480. He was rather a new poster who wanted help deciding about what bino to buy in a different post, couple weeks back. I don't mean to single him out in any negative way. He, serves as an example of those new folks who come looking for help, with no other resource apparently available. One idea - confirming that situation, might be a better approach.
dries1's recommending the search function is a really good one. Tho maybe we should refer each other to the same resource when 8 vs 10, glare, and FOV conversations start again....
As to buying online. I get this is the only real answer in today's world with quality brick and mortar retailing in decline. Maybe that's the better answer to give to folks looking for the above. We could just go straight to it and describe say B&H for instance, with their try and return option. I wish places like Jans' "House of Outdoors" existed here. They do not. Online sellers with liberal return policies, aided and abetted by California's regressive sales tax have combined to squash full service retailing here. Maybe I'm being naive defending local retailers that were never really that "full" service. I get it.
But what happens to all those tried and returned binos? Not my problem, I got mine. Is that it? How does the online seller deal with these? If we order 3, keep one, do the returned 2 become "used" and sold again at a discount? Or are they repackaged and sold as new, again? While we might quietly begrudge profit to each member of the supply chain, like it or not we are kind of partners. We need the service. They need the profit. For the mo, it is what it is. Got it.
Lee, this conversation probably does not belong here in "Zeiss SFL 8x40 - A Field Review", sorry for my part, can it be moved?
