When spending $3000 with a dealer, is it appropriate to ask for a bundle/discount?

I never ask. I know people do, but I don't haggle over my shopping bill in the supermarket, or when I buy fuel and those guys need to earn their wages so...

 

I'm not one to haggle over price, but if I make a multi-item purchase I don't hesitate to ask what they can do for me. Additionally, I tend to buy from the same B&M's for my audio and media needs, so I have a good relationship with them. My vinyl dealer always gives me a bundle of 25 outer sleeves when I'm in need of them. If I pay cash he usually discounts by 20% and I know for a fact he doesn't do that with non-regulars.

 

I'm generally not one to haggle - it doesn't generally sit well with me.
I am more likely to buy during sales but if a discount is offered I won't say no.

 

You know how many stereo salesmen it takes to screw in a light bulb?

Three, but that's today only.


I sold stereos for 30 years. If you don't ask, you won't get. I had no problem with people asking for a deal.

10% off is not unreasonable. 15% might be doable. More than that and you are pushing the limit of what he or she can do and still cover overhead.

One way to get more off is find something the dealer wants to move. I've always admired the Parasound JC3 phono stage and when the JC3+ came out, I was able to get a store demo for 30% off.

You've got to play the game. Don't be aggressive and brutish. Those people I blew off. Be nice. Ask, not demand. Work with the dealer. They are as anxious to make the sale as you are to buy, and I mean anxious in both of its definitions. Anxious in wanting to get the deal done and anxious in worrying that it will all fall through.

 

Always ask if you can get a discount on audio goods. It's a given even in Japan where no one ever haggles. Have you seen tourists from China? They take the need to haggle as a given, even in a large retail department store or supermarket. A woman in front of me was buying a bunch of vitamins and health related products; the clerk rang up the stuff and said "your total is $147.43" and the woman said "ninety dollars". It was funny. It was like that scene from Life of Brian.

 

Well, it's the OP's $ and he can spend it how he pleases. I have little sympathy for B&M stores as no one is forcing them to be in that business. I seek the best combination of price and service. If I'm spending $3000 in a store or $2500 on line for the same things, I have to seriously ask would I pay an extra $500.

Perhaps I'm confident enough to not need the crutch provided by spending the extra $500

 

There is many high end pieces you can't get online for a discount. That's what keeps brick & mortar stores alive.

If I was a high end manufacturer, I'd cut off anybody who put A-stock, current model units online for anything other than retail.

B-stock or discontinued products, that's another matter. Blow them out. Headline your website with them. Put them on Ebay. Make them move.

 

I have always done this but only because of necessity. I never have enough money to buy everything I want.

 

I don't see any harm in asking, I just never do so myself. Once I become a regular customer, all of the dealers I have bought from automatically apply some discount and/or offer some other extraordinary perks, such as free repair well outside of warranty periods and trade-in at full price credit even after a fairly long period of time. If a shopper is low maintenance, easy to deal with and reliable (does not use the dealer for demonstrations with the intent of buying elsewhere), the dealer will usually find a way to reward that customer.

 

The guy I buy audio from (father and son brick and mortar shop in the outskirts) has the best prices in town, so much so it would be pointless to ask for a discount. But they always tell me I will get a lower price if I see it advt. anywhere else. And they honor that. They've been my one-stop shop for the last 8 years, and I've sent dozens of people to their shop.

 

Ok, let's talk about this- unless I'm a manufacturer with direct sales, I'm selling my goods to a distributor for x dollars. What the distributor sells the goods for to the retailer may not matter to me and what the retailer sells the goods for to the consumer may not matter to me either. However it can be argued that discounting moves more merchandise and can allow a manufacturer to capture a larger market share.

I also think that if I'm a retailer I do not want a manufacturer I deal with blowing out directly their b stock or discontinued models. Send them to me and I'll sell them. I don't want a manufacturer I represent also being my competition. Think of the consumer- a $4000 widget from a store or the exact same widget from the manufacturer with a barely visible nick in the corner from a trade show being blown out at $2000.

The best model in the world we are now in, with a global economy, easy used purchasing, etc., is give the consumer choices. But it also begs the question- why must B&M be priced higher? If you are into photo gear, B&H is about the best pricing you will find. Yes, they have a significant on line business's but they also have a real and very substantial brick and mortar store. Somehow they have the best prices and a real store. Go figure!

 

I sell audio video equipment and people try to get deals on $100 items. Anymore there is no etiquette.

 

Reward the customer? It's the customer who is rewarding the retailer with a sale. The customer owes the retailer nothing. The retailer wants the customer dollars and its the customer who should be catered to. The customer, because he can always walk away from the store with zero recriminations, is king.

 

If I can buy the same item for $75 elsewhere, tell me why I should spend 1/3 more?

 

Big box won't haggle anyway. I bought an open box AVR from the B.B. Magnolia room a few years back and I couldn't even get them to kick in the appropriate power cord which was missing. It was still a good deal, but those guys aren't given any decision making responsibility.

 

I often pay more at my local shop vs. what I can pay online so that I can build rapport, save shipping and have it immediately.

I have respect for money and I am a bit competitive when it comes to making a deal but rolling into a shop and trying to beat them down on lower ticket items is a bit tacky.

I find that if you are cool and develop a relationship, they will help you if they can. If you make every deal a fight, you lose more in the long run.

 

Rapport ain't what it used to be.

My own example- guy I know owns a liquor store. I would buy all my wine and liquor from him. Wine usually bought a case at a time. Once one of the bottles was corked. I brought the bottle back. He said state law doesn't allow him to take returns. So much is correct but as a businessman he is permitted to simply give me a new good bottle. He refused. And to boot, although he advertises he meets all local prices, he's said to me pretty recently when I came in to buy a particular wine, which is sold elsewhere for less, that I should buy from the other shop. I went to the other store.

So, I'm looking out for me cause no retailer is.

 

Only if you go into said B&M to see the items you are looking at, get the people to show them to you and give you an opportunity to listen to them, then bail out to buy your selection on-line.

Just me - but that is low.

 

I think that's the key right there; developing a relationship with a dealer or two. I've almost never walked away from a sale without some kind of discount without even asking for it. And even if I wasn't offered a discount, I'm still going to walk in and expect to pay list and do so without haggling. Most of these guys aren't shysters looking to rip you off; that's what car salespeople are for.

 

Absolutely!

 

The shop I bought my Harbeths and Skylan stands from offered a really nice discount without me asking. Great guys.

The PSBs I had before that were also offered to me below retail price by the local shop I ordered them from.

Maybe wait to see what their price is before saying anything?

 

I'm not into using people. I want a price that serves me best, though.

 

Dealers want your money. That's the only relationship they are interested in that keeps them in business. Some are savvy enough to know that the best way to get your money is to discount. If you walk in expecting to pay full price all I can say is you are the dream customer.

 

My biggest problem is that people want everything one-sided. As an example, Dodge has the hottest car on the market in the Challenger Hellcat. Every production car in the first year has been snatched up and many dealers are selling every one they can get their hands on (which ain't many) for $10K and even $20K over list. Similar thing happened on the Camaro ZL1 and other hot cars. Of course there are many, many who are screaming foul, and calling the dealers thieves. These same people are proud as punch if they were able to sell their own cars over book. Of course a year from now, they'll be available and at a discount, but as a society, we have a major "I want it RIGHT NOW" mindset.

Frankly, as a businessman, it's generally bad business to leave money on the table. And that goes as a buyer as well, If you can get a discount, then by all means do so, but also consider that the B&M guy has real overhead and maybe even stock and I think that ''showrooming" is unethical. He may or may not be able to get to where you think he needs to be. For me, my local guy will always get the preference, even to the point where I give preference to his lines.

 

You're right everyone wants something one sided but when two sides both want it that way, then perhaps an equitable resolution will occur.

I'm an attorney and this reminds me of my first trial. Judge asked me if I was unhappy with the result- I said yes. He asked the other attorney the same thing- he was also unhappy. Judge said "Eh, must be the right result"

To those who pay big bucks for 1st year high performance cars- it's their money and they choose how to part with their money. But if no one were willing to pay the money, dealers would mark up the cars. It's Adam Smith at work.