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

The speakers I have on order are generally only available direct from the manufacturer as they are a 2 man team - 1 making the speakers and 1 making the cabinets.
Anyhow, doing an online search I found a dealer around the corner from my work (who I didn't even know existed) selling one of their models. So I went and listened and was very impressed.
As I had listened to their demo speakers as well as other speakers in stock I decided to purchase through them rather than directly through the manufacturer.
I decided to call the manufacturer last week and he said this shop is the only one he sells through as they begged him and that he loses money as he sells cheaper to them so it costs the customer the same.
I kind of feel a bit guilty as I probably should have ordered direct but I was grateful to see and hear some of his speakers before splashing out $2000.00

 

Jacob,

When I was younger I felt the same way. I felt like I was being insulting when buying gear and asking for a discount. Now I have no problem asking for discounted prices. I don't think the seller should be insulted in the least unless one is asking for a ridiculously low price.

Bill

 

The retailer can always say no, or more likely, how about some free speaker wire instead?

 

When I first got into the hobby speaker wire (18awg zip cord) was always free. The high end cable industry didn't exist! Pre Monster days

Phono cartridges were also often included for a very basic cartridge and with an up charge for something better such as an M91E

 

Who will fund litigation against infamously litigious Bose? The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that a manufacturer can control the selling price of its goods. Retailers acting together can't.

Years back I had the idea of litigation over the known dangers of lead paint. The industry sold lead paint for household use for at least 40 years after knowing the dangers. I asked a major propert and casualty insurer to fund the litigation as I thought they would be interested since their risks and claim included a fair amount of lead paint exposure to minors. They weren't interested. It was dollars and cents- too much to litigate, cheaper to settle the cases.

 

One of the things I schooled my sales staff on was that everyone needs a deal. For some, that deal is a better price. For others, it's free stuff. Others still, it's service. They wanted us to set up the gear in their house. Or maybe it was taking their old, worthless POS in on trade. It could be a free Monster Cable Interlink. The deal was almost always customer specific. I had one guy who always paid retail for Alpine's newest, best car stereo each year. For him the deal was (1) an immediate installation time, and (2) keeping the change in the dash away from his wife.

Whatever it was, everyone needs a deal. You just got to find out what the deal was for that person and give it to them. You'd make the sale.

 

Wow, Thank all of you guys for the answers on this issue. I'm going in tomorrow to make my purchase as the owner of the shop has been out the past couple of days. After perusing the stores site I did notice that they are into creating "bundles" to fit peoples needs, so maybe it's something that they just take it upon themselves to do.

Either way I certainly appreciate the different perspectives on this issue.

 

If they are offering bundles, they will be discounted compared to buying the components separately

 

My local brick and mortar always say they will pay the taxes, which can be significant on large purchases. They offer it to me whether I ask for a deal or not. Most often I ask if they can do a bundle deal if picking up more than a single item then they will say ... "If you buy today we'll cover the taxes". Never once have they not offered this to me ... there are a couple hi-fi dealers in town, but they are by far my favorite place to shop when buying something locally.

 

For the OP, it's "let's make my bundle" time!

 

There's a misperception about that case - retail price maintenance is still subject to scrutiny under antitrust laws; they just are not per se illegal. They are judged based on a balance of pro- competitive and anti-competitive impact. If the Justice Department wants to bring a claim, they still can. State suthorities also have the power to enforce State antitrust laws, which aren't necessarily consistent with Federal law. So Bose still has to be very careful before terminating a discounting distributor.

 

But only if it's been cryo'd and vap'd first...

 

ggergm,

Your advice on making a sale makes a lot of sense. The best sales persons figure out what it takes to close the deal and that can vary from customer to customer. Another thing for the seller to figure out is whether the customer is a good prospect for future sales and whether it is worthwhile doing something extra to cultivate that relationship (some customers are just not worth the trouble even if they will spend a lot). The most successful audio retail businesses in my area are those that have quite loyal regular customers.

As a customer, you get a much better experience from your dealer if you are likeable. By that, I mean you are courteous, honest and forthright (e.g., if you are just browsing, say so), and don't make unreasonable demands (e.g., expect dealers to change setups to audition specific gear only if you are seriously shopping and either give advance notice of what you want to audition, or wait patiently for a slow period for someone to make the switch). Salespeople are like everyone else--they will genuinely want to please those that they like. If you are hoping for some kind of package deal/discount, you can play hardball and spring it on the salesperson at the last second and tell them this is a dealbreaker, or you can mention this upfront as something you are hoping to get--the choice depends on how you want the relationship with the dealer to go in the future.

 

The movie Tin Men begins with Richard Dreyfus' character (a salesman himself) negotiating the purchase of a new Cadillac.

When asked by the salesman, "How much would you like to pay?", Dreyfus responds, "How much would I like to pay? I'd like to pay nothing".

 

I wish all sales managers were like you, and sales teams like yours. I also wish there were no such thing as tipping. Unfortunately it's not the case.

A buyer really has very little way of knowing whether he's getting a fair price, unless he's negotiating for one. It's hardly a shakedown when the buyer comes onto the dealer's property and makes an offer. The dealer can accept it or reject it.

By the way, what is this thing, a "fair price"? It's no more or less than what the buyer is willing to pay and the seller is willing to accept, respectively.

 

IMO, this is the way it should work. If you're a regular customer and the shop isn't automatically offering a discount, then they're more interested in short term gain than a long term relationship where both sides benefit.

 

It might be inappropriate, but you should ask anyway.

 

Stores like BB will have a code in the system "Mgr.s Discount" that can be applied. You will get at least 10% off. Plus they are excellent at price matching. They even matched my TV with a gray market dealer.

 

I don't know about those challenges. But I'm not clear why a customer needs to know them. A buyer and a seller are engaging in a trade. Each has their own information. The aim is to find a price that both are satisfied with.

 

I couldn't agree more. Yes, as a retailer, I would like everyone to know my troubles <cue the violins> but frankly, that stuff all gets in the way. It's a transaction, pure and simple. A sale often got derailed when personal baggage and expectations cropped up. Maybe it was a salesman who came in after a fight with his kids, or a customer who didn't want to pull the trigger because he was worried about pissing off his wife.

Even more to the point, it should be about the customer, not the salesman. My basic sales technique was to get you so enthused about a purchase that when I said, "Would you like to buy it?" the only answer was, "Of course I'd like to buy it. Absolutely I want to buy it. Why wouldn't I want to buy it?" I wanted to make you so enthusiastic about making a purchase that you would have no objections. I called this beer goggles selling to my young, college age salesmen. I wanted them to get the customer as enthused as a young, horny buck out on the town. At bar time, all women in the tavern are beautiful. It's only the next morning that you might experience buyer's remorse.

 

Time to "pull a coyote"...

 

I have never haggled for anything in my life. Fortunately the Mrs. is World-Class.

 

I haven't needed to haggle for a discount. If I can find what I need locally for the same price online, then it's brick-and-mortar for me. When spending $3,000 dealers have thrown in a deal in order to get a return customer. If you aren't satisfied with a particular dealer, then suggest going elsewhere... I've done that too.

 

I havent haggled in gear but I did ask my dealer to set up my Rega RP 6 at my house. They did. That was with paying full price especially after reading the problems some have here w turntable setups.