What is a fair discount

I have had good luck buying stuff for right around the same price as seen on the Internet. Maybe within 5%. That is across the board from my Mitsu VL2000 LCd projector to the claw foot tub in my bathroom. Unless the stuff online is Bstock and the stuff in the store is not. It has to be apples to apples. I learned this when I was selling cars "VW's" and the buyers would come in with the invoice off the internet. I hated selling cars. Every product has an invoice price. From coats to couches to receivers. Some stores will not deal granted, but I will not shop there. BUT remember that the sales people have to make a living i.e. commission. The store has an overhead expense to cover. But if you need to return something at least there is a store. Show them what you can get it for. Tell them listen I know I am paying for you to stand behind this product what seems fair to you. That is a good starting point. Go from there. I have never bought from Crazy Eddies but have heard mixed feelings. the stuf is cheep but getting service is a pain. I would use a reputible Online dealer.

One more thing. Your time is money. Most of us surf at work. But shop in stores on our own time. 5hr's shopping and haggling with salesmen is worth something. What is it worth to you? I don't mind My TOYS are my life....


------------------

Bwolff

I've gone over this issue myself, since I am currently taking a look into buying some new equipment. A lot of manufacturers do not allow selling of their product out of that dealer's area. Hence, when you see sales articles in the magazines, you will see that some of the items are not sold except in the store - B&W speakers for example... The local guys do have to take care of their storefront overhead, so that is one reason why they cost more. Also, if you are buying expensive items, I'm sure some of the higher cost is towards the customer service that the store is/will offer. How long would a business last if it was more expensive and had bad customer service? And if you, as the customer, paid / bought a high priced unit, wouldn't you have the attitude that you deserved good customer service, i.e. better service than if you bought a low cost unit? From what I see in my area (Southern CA), the stores that carry the quality equipment will give about 15% off retail as a max. If you can get 30% off on the internet, you are talking about saving quite a bit of money... Certainly, a tough choice between going with the local guy vs. the internet... I guess the best would be to find an internet guy that is local!!! http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

I have a strong opinion about this. First and foremost this is a luxury item. Secondly, It depends on what services you need. I have been in this hobby for such a long time that I don't need a local dealer at all.

I know what I want and I am very familiar with the companies, so I just buy on features and expectations. For the amount of money saved by finding a reasonable dealer, the price drops CONSIDERABLY. In doing so, price for performance usually rises to the point where one cannot go wrong. Additionally, if something does go wrong ior is not to your liking, there is not one person, at least that I know and deal with who would not take it back, regardless of discount. This obviously covers DOA's and items that fail within the first month or so... This is about establishing relationships with dealers who are reasonable. Hey, I'd love to make $100,000 a year selling electronics and some people still do, even giving large discounts. Anything else is price fixing. What this amounts to is the market won't support a bunch of A/V stores on the same block. A store has to offer quality installation and other services, not just sales.

Also, there are people who require lots of handholding and education. I am not one of those. I only need one thing: a factory sealed item with some degree of protection if something fails within the warranty period. In fact, it is sometimes amazingwhat one can save-- even if something were to fail, the amount saved is often enough to pay for shipping and repair up to 2 or 3 times... especially high end items.


If you need resources and information from your local dealer, by all means pay the higher price.


If you know what you want and do not need a local dealer, then by all means save hundreds to thousands of dollars, and get a factory sealed item, with the same level of protection as a local dealer, assuming you find a dealer who provides 'low maintainance' sales.


Finally, it also works the other way. A person gets something from a dealer who expects this to be a 'low maintainanace' sale (dealer only making 5-15%) and the person expects the world: immediate gratification, paid shipping both ways if something goes wrong, and someone returning a unit because they changed their mind.


Fortunately the people I've worked with still seem to provide local dealer

full service or better (albiet not always immediate shipping), yet only charge a reasonable amount.


So to sum it up, people who need handholding, explanation, and in-store demos, support your local dealer and get the best deal you can. For people who know what they want, there is no reason not to find a dealer who is willing to make a 'low maintainance' sale at a great discount.

A factory sealed item direct from the manufacturer is just that--factory sealed, and that's what I and you should expect.


I'm curious as to what those local dealers do with all of those trade ins... All of a sudden they have a barely used demo unit... ya right.


[This message has been edited by Health Nut (edited 11-11-2000).]

As a former A/V sales consultant, I will give my thoughts.

If you step foot in the door of your local dealer, you should give them a chance for your business. Especially if someone educates you and helps you make a decision.

If you do shop around for price, let your dealer know! Share with them the pricing you are finding. They will work with you.

One of the previous post mentioned, he educates himself on his purchases. That very well may be, but I found most customers are highly uneducated. I would guess only 1 out of 50 could explain THX.

If you do buy from someone else, you can not go back to your dealer for help.

Being honest with your dealer can benifit you. They may know of trades coming in of better equipment or show samples. That is how I bought most of my stuff.

I guess what I am trying to say is work with your local dealer.

Kevin






------------------




[This message has been edited by kevinu (edited 11-12-2000).]

Thanks for all of the replies.


Kevinu,


I am one of those that educate myself completely before walking in the door. In fact I educate myself to the point that I often know more than the sales guy, which allows me to catch them in exaggerations as well as flat out lies. Surprisingly I seem to get a lot of both. I don't know if I look stupid or what. This is often how I judge the dealer, on whether or not I can trust them. I don't mean to seem sneaky but I try my best to protect myself. With that said I will not need any information from the dealer on how to set something up or what does what. I think the fact that I allow them to give me their whole sales pitch they assume that I didn't know any information before walking in the door. Maybe that’s why they think they can through out list prices. Should I just walk in acting like I don't need any help to get the best deal? I have read that if the dealer thinks you will be back they are more likely to deal the first time.


Thanks again for all the replies.


Nick