Outside of going to an audiophile store (which there are none nearby me), it seems many on this sub are often purchasing headphones with the intent to just try them. They'll give em a good critical listen, and if they dont like em, ship em back. Amazon seems to be popular for this.
But I dont get how this works. I dont trust Amazon's "free returns" policy as they've screwed me numerous times in the past (non headphone related). Furthermore, free returns are often not free at all, and I see tons of fine print about restocking fees, return fees, etc etc. So how are you guys managing to test so many headphones before buying them?
I know headphones.com has a 365d return policy, but at least they're transparent and tell you upfront that there are restocking fees (as opposed to Amazon which is the exact opposite). So at least you can budget and act accordingly. But again, I ask - how are you guys doing this? Is Amazon really being that good to you guys and I just have the worst luck in the world? Help!
You could always.. you know.. see if there's a group of hifi afficionados in your state... meet and talk, discuss music, exchange headphones, chill, drink beer..
I prefer going to a store (even if it means I have to turn it into a day-trip) because I don't like strangers too much.
Social media allows you to find like-minded people more easily than ever before. Go and find them. Discord, instagram, tik tok.. whatever!
Return policies are fun, so long as you refuse to see the truth behind returned goods! Gen Z pretends to be all about "responsibility, sustainability, equality", etc. But the wasteful consumerism has reached a level like never before in the past century! (Shein, Wish, Amazon, etc.)
Most people refuse to accept that big retailers such as Amazon will quickly scan your returned goods and VERY likely BIN them if they are not 100% mint anymore. Some might end up as "open box", but the majority, unfortunately, ends up on landfills. If you want to blame Amazon for that, fine by me. But don't pretend you're free of guilt. You enable that behaviour with your own consumer decisions!