Does this sound right?
 

So I ordered a Fuji Absolute from the LBS, as they didn't have one in a big enough frame. I met with the store owner and he was knowledgeable. He had me riding a 21" Absolute and said he thought it looked too small for me, so we ordered a 23". I have a 35" inseam, 6'2", that seems reasonable.

Went back in with my wife, because she was interested in a bike as well. No intention to buy TONIGHT but I'm certainly interested in using the LBS rather than elsewhere, so we thought we'd swing by while we were in town. Another guy there, not the owner. He sat her (5' even) on a couple of bikes, Canondale, Fuji, the stuff they carried. Oddly enough we found the Absolute to still be the best bang-for-buck and features for her. He said her on a 13" model which was too small, needing to raise the seatpost nearly all the way up in order for her to stretch her legs out. Then he sat her on a 17" (they didn't have a 15".) With the seatpost all the way down, it was still a little big. He said "no problem, because we can always cut the seatpost down" and suggested we go with the 17".

So, everything I'm reading suggest that if the seat needs to be all the day down, then the frame is too big. Much less if you need to trim down the seatpost. I mentioned that, and he said that they can always adjust the stem and handlebars to compensate. He seemed knowledgeable. He himself was an avid rider. Did we get bad advice, or is that stuff pretty typical? It seems like 15" would be a sweet spot, and I'm certainly not opposed to ordering one through the LBS (or otherwise). I was just surprised at the prospect of dropping the seat practically onto the frame and fitting from there; especially since my wife has the typical female short-torso, long-legs build.

Your thoughts? I'm FAR from an expert, but before I take his advice and we go with the 17" model, I'm interested in your point of view. Am I worried over nothing and on a bike with lots of adjustments for the stem and bars then it's no big deal?

Since we're still in the looking/research phase for her, we are going to check out other shops, too. The owner was there this time but busy leading an indoor workout class. Looks like they drag out a bunch of fluid trainers in a part of the shop on certain nights in the winter and guys and gals bring their bikes in and ride. Pretty cool! (And beats those spinning machines, I assume)

Sounds pretty strange to me. Why not sell you the right size bike instead of hacking parts to "make it fit"?

Sounds to me like the LBS owner is trying to move a bike he already has in stock, rather than ordering the correct size. I would NOT buy a bike from a shop that pulls that.

That was my thinking. But I'm a noob so I didn't know. The idea of grinding on or cutting down a brand new bike makes no sense to me. Maybe if it was a killer deal on a used bike; but what's the incentive not to just order the right size?

It wasn't the owner. The owner was who I spoke to when I ordered my bike. And as mentioned he ordered the 23" Absolute after having me test ride a 21". He was super helpful. This other guy was too, and friendly as can be. But the advice of just buying the 17" and cutting down the seatpost to put the seat closer to the frame seemed bizarre, even to a newbie like me.

Wish we had better offerings for LBS's. It makes sense that if the 13" is too small, and the 17" is too big; the 15" would work. But I would love for her to sit on a 15" model.

The confusion really is over how different those two were. The LBS owner seemed to be of the opinion that frame size was the crucial starting point and he didn't even OFFER to sell me the 21", he actually told me as I came in "If you want that bike you're going to need to order the 23" version". The best part was, he ordered it in for less than the one on the floor (on the floor was a 2015 but Fuji still had 2014's available to ship for a discount). So it was weird to, in the same shop, go from "Don't get that bike, you need that one" to "Eh, we can make it work"

Then go back and only talk to the owner, even if you have to hang around for a bit.

It also depends on the type of body you have. If your upper torso is longer than average a larger size might be in order for reach purposes. Longer and shorter stems can affect handling in extreme changes. I personally never buy a bike that any one adjustment starts out at the end of the range because it leaves no room for error. The 15" will be the proper choice. have them order it for you and don't ask for the opinion of that particular employee again.

Well as I said in the OP it's for my wife. And she has the pretty typical female short torso / long legs build. But she also wants a bit more aggressive riding style so a hybrid non-step-through will probably fit the bill. The 15" is likely what we're going to go with.