#1 is crazy!! if it were me i would find a new shop to buy my bike! honestly Rival is one step above 105 i would compare it more to ultegra and apex to 105. now whether or not you like sram to shimano is another thing all together. i would most likely say they wanted to sell you what they had on the floor.

as a new rider you should really find a bike shop you can trust. the bike you picked out is a fine bike though.