It seems that we are all taling about two sides of the coin - even though they are in-seperable, they are NOT the same thing.
Having a dealer do a sales presentation and demo, getting the potential customer information and then attempting to sell a system is not the same thing as a supplier/manufacturer requiring payment before specifics are made available.
General information is available on most any system that one could ask, detailed information can be found in a simple search requiring no more than one hour of ones time. Indeed, most any brochure can be had from a manufacturers or a distributors web site, and most manuals can be found with a little searching.
To be brought fully into the fold of a manufacturer, to know the in's and outs, the good and bad, requires that the manufacturer sets up safety measures. Let's all be honest every system in the world has short commings and failures, but for a manufacturer to have that information available to anyone willing to ask would be foolhardy, for them and their dealer base.
For a dealer to do presentations and offer sales and user knowledge is one thing, for a manufacturer to offer proprietary product specifications is another.
Happy sales to all though, dealers or not. In the end it just comes down to making the customer happy with their choice!
Steve