I respectfully disagree. The OP (sorry for calling you a kid- but if you're less than 35 years old you *are* a kid to me, haha) has every right to point out that he can get the same bass more cheaply online. It is a simple fact. Nothing uncool about that whatsoever. He also has a right to challenge the published price, to negotiate, and try to get himself a better deal. A customer does not have to somehow respect a retailer's pricing policy! Especially when it is obvious to everyone it can be had for less money elsewhere.
That's where the salesman steps in and points out the value proposition of buying exactly the bass you just spent 20 minutes checking out. To me there is a lot of value in that, especially in instruments, no two of which are ever truly identical.
As for the "it's used" argument, so what. You can look right at it, check every aspect of it out, hold it in your hands, play it through an amp, heck I even bring my rig into the store to try out new gear to see how it will work for me. If you can't tell what's wrong with it due to other customers playing it, that's on you. It is also still covered by a warranty when sold as new. A brand new completely unhandled instrument is not necessarily better, especially once UPS/FedEx get through with it.
