Do replica guns break?

I live in Australia and i think guns are really neat, so I went to a gun store to purchase a replica firearm (a beretta m9 if you were curious) and the store man told me that I couldn't operate it in the store because according to him they can only get around 1000 uses before they break, is he retarded or not

If so are airsoft pistols/rifles any better to handle? It probably sounds lame but I just like to play with them and admire how they work

Please help