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In the mid '70s, I had a conversation with a former VP of Howard W Sams about his participation in the setting up of the Photofact production line, as he referred to it. Although I do not recall specifically discussing the disposition of the voluminous pieces of equipment that flowed through that process with him, their disposition procedure was probably similar to that of magazines when equipment was loaned by manufacturers for magazine test labs, article illustration, and cover shots. Basically, you had a streamlined procedure to return the items to the manufacturer or advertising agency who supplied them. Usually, they were all too happy to 'lend' them to us for further evaluation and use with the hope of gaining more free editorial exposure for their products.
There were some interesting exceptions: anything Heathkit provided was not expected to be, or did they want to have it, returned. Virtually all Heathkits had to be built, which was a time-consuming pain. One editor I knew actually talked his postman into building a piece of audio gear. The guy couldn't make it work, so we sent it to Heath for repair. The string of wiring errors was a joke. Heath spent so much time on it that Earl, the advertising guy, was on the verge of chewing out the editor who orchestrated the whole thing. (I still actively use an AR-2020 to drive the rear channels of a 7.1 HT; I had talked my ex into building it back in '74.)
Some manufacturer’s expected their equipment back but would allow an interested staff member to buy at 40 percent or more off retail. Nakamichi, the then-high-end cassette deck manufacturer, was one such example. I spoke to Nakacichi and asked to by the unit they sent to the test lab. I wanted to use it as a gift. I knew it had great specs. He almost panicked. No, we send you another one.
Remember CB? Remember Browning? Golden Eagle? They virtually always expected their equipment back.
To sum up, receiving and shipping all that equipment was a part of the business that was no particular fun. It virtually all got sent back.
Pete
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