I'm not a dealer- I see it through the eyes of an ignorant consumer. The situation Florian described is not, in my opinion, a "loan." Its a barter transaction for services and I have to wonder if anyone is paying taxes on the MSRP of the equipment. Calling a chicken an eagle won't make it fly.
I've never bought anything significant used or on the internet-I value brick and mortar dealers for their expertise and, hopefully, service after the sale. That's gets harder, much harder, if you live in an area with few if any truly high end dealers. So reviewers, magazines, and shows can be important.
Here's a question that I don't remember being asked in these discussions: What is fair for a paid subscriber of the magazines to expect? I think it is fair to expect: (1) If something is presented as a review, that the reviewer be completely candid, detailing both positive and negative impressions of the product. Otherwise-its not really a review. If there are constraints on total candor-say so, just be honest about what you are doing, as in "we don't do negative or comparative reviews and if we think you can do better for less, we won't tell you," (2) full disclosure of any compensations, accommodations, whatever, that might call into question the objectivity of the reviewer-like otherwise unavailable big discounts or "loans" that extend beyond the time necessary for the review. What's the case against this very basic level of honesty? Isn't that the minimum respect that subscribers are owed?
I spent a good bit of time in both the Porsche room and Bending Wave room at CAF-both were superb and all the folks in those rooms were very gracious. Elliott gave me a nice Bending Wave hat which I've worn around town some. A few people have asked what a Bending Wave is, and I'm happy to explain. Maybe that makes me a Bending Wave shill.
At any rate, this can be cleaned up, at least in part, just by transparency and that's pretty cheap.
At its core, it seems that the economic model upon which these publications are based precludes complete candor with their readers. Just because its gone on for a long time doesn't mean its not FUBAR.
Sorry for the too long post-thanks to Jay for doing this enlightening video.