My previous aids were M30Rs, new in the boxes with two chargers, about $1000CA for a pair from India. No reason to think they were stolen etc. If the Indian vendor was violating his agreement with Phonak then I say good for him. But self-fitting is a niche market, and the extra $900 for KS10s was a bargain by comparison - top tier model, full fitting with REM, long warranty, generous return policy and additional fittings and accessories as required.
The only way I can think of that regular clinics can compete with that is if the manufacturer reduces the wholesale price by offering refurbs or some other excuse like a white box alternative. I can see some practical problems with that. Perhaps the biggest is reducing the gross markup profit and trying to run the biz on mostly hourly service rate. I can relate - for a time I did water-well service. Back then we charged $100 an hour for two men and a truck. So about $800 a day gross income for plain service, but an average of about triple that once parts profit was added. Same investment in the truck and equipment either way. We always had used parts on hand, most acquired at zero cost. Sometimes we sold those cheap or gave them away to desperate customers. But we sure hoped to keep those mostly service-only days to a minimum.
One other comment about clinics - they often seem to be in commercial retail space. That’s expensive. Do they really need the high vis or the walk-in traffic? Seems like they could be in light industrial space where that’s permitted, at much reduced rent.