Why do you think you can HAGGLE for a better price? Can you do that for food?

[claffman]

Hi guys,

claffman here (yes, there is no capital c--part of my last name .)

I have worked in the Auto Parts supply business since Sept. of 1987. My first "real" job. That industry has a past of "getting a deal" or "You can do better than that price." This I don't understand to this day.

I work on a profit margin of "in a perfect world" of 35% gross profit. (That is cost X 1.5486) That's for my TOTAL sales in a month (on ALL product lines.) That isn't {censored}. You go to Auto Zone or Advance Auto and you can get damn near anything cheaper. Ok, cool they can do that. They buy a train load of stuff and tell the seller that if you don't sell me this at X dollars I won't carry your product line. (Most companys have more than one product line--see Dunlop.---CAE,Way HUGE,blah..) And on top of that---You will front me the product and I'm not paying until I sell it. This is business..

People-----This is WALMART and AUTO ZONE and probably more sellers than that. I KNOW that these companys do this. You wonder why they can "discount" products. Sure they can. They are {censored}ing their suppliers. Any other "outlet"--- read that as, other stores get charged a higher price for the same product at "COST" to make up for the "sales" that they make to the "prefered customer" W-mart and A-zone. Why is it more so sell to you?

AND my higher price on an item pays for a person with EXPERIENCE and KNOWLEDGE. How many times do you know more about something than the person selling it.... Think about this.. Is a "pro" going to try to SELL you a bunch of {censored} you don't need? Think about why you go to a certain place. It's SERVICE usually.

 

Now we have a situation that Guitar Center needs to make a profit. We aren't part of the "BIG GUY" anymore. We have owners that look at the checkbook. We want to make money--not friends.

 

Go to your grocery store and try to get a discount. Ask your landlord for a discount. Ask your gas/electricty sullpier for a discout. Ask UNCLE SAM FOR A DISCOUNT.

 

People, if you want a discount---go to a pawn shop. The real world doesn't "haggle" on prices. If I get someone asking if I match price I say NO.

DO YOU WORK FOR FREE???????????????????

__________________

[Snowden]

Actually, you can do it at a lot of places. I've heard people do it at department stores, Target, etc.

 

Even saw like a Dateline report about how successful you can be.

[pbone]

Apples and oranges. (not to snowden)

[claffman]

Actually, you can do it at a lot of places. I've heard people do it at department stores, Target, etc. Even saw like a Dateline report about how successful you can be.

 

 

If you can't make a profit you can't stay in business.

TRAGET is about as big as the examples listed.

[claffman]

Apples and oranges. (not to snowden)

 

 

Do you ask for a discount on your apples and oranges? and if so do you get one?

[sdresdre]

everything is negotiable. everything.

i have asked for discounts on produce etc and i got it

EVERY place i rented i have negotiated. business is business. doesnt matter if its apples or auto parts. people look out for #1. i haven't rented in years but when buying homes i negotiate AFTER i have made an accepted offer with the seller ALL the time

like i said... everything.

[thatmullingskid]

wait... so i'm supposed to pay more for their knowledge of gear? their excellent service?

.... am i missing something?


the only guys i've met there that could give me either realize that they're making more money in the long run if they give customers good deals and make return customers out of them. it's not that complicated.

i'd say obvious troll is obvious, but i'm almost not sure..

[Snowden]

If you can't make a profit you can't stay in business. TRAGET is about as big as the examples listed.

 

 

Well, you can. Amazon.com just made their first profits recently. But I get what you mean.

 

The thing is, if people can get it cheaper elsewhere they most likely will. Not sure what you're upset about exactly.

[guitarbilly74]

Do you ask for a discount on your apples and oranges? and if so do you get one?

 

 

most food stores will take their competitors' coupons, which is, in a way, haggling for a better price

[Fatso Forgottso]

Yum.

[Noise...]

I think it depends ENTIRELY on the situation.

 

I know nothing about cars/auto-parts, so I can't comment on that.

 

However, with music gear, everyone discounts from the "list price" by a decided amount. Some shops may discount 20%, some 30%, some even more.

 

Now, this is a flexible amount, and they can, and DO haggle with it. Shops get the gear at cost, and as long as they sell an item for more than cost, they make a profit.

Depending on how much they want to make from an item, they change the discount from the list price.

 

I don't see why it's wrong to haggle if there's a flexible number involved.

[claffman]

What I'm getting at is the "mom and pop store" can't give the "discount" or haggle the price that the "big box stores" can. I'm NOT saying that GC is a "mom and pop." I was comparing the biggest retailer of auto parts and the biggest retailer of other crap in the country to a company that can't or WON'T "give the discount" because they have to make a living.
I guess that I over worked the whole deal. You can't expect to haggle a better deal wherever you go. If a price is different at another place--there is a reason for it. You get what you pay for in the end.

[willburford]

What I'm getting at is the "mom and pop store" can't give the "discount" or haggle the price that the "big box stores" can.

I thought this was fairly common knowledge.

[Noise...]

What I'm getting at is the "mom and pop store" can't give the "discount" or haggle the price that the "big box stores" can. I'm NOT saying that GC is a "mom and pop." I was comparing the biggest retailer of auto parts and the biggest retailer of other crap in the country to a company that can't or WON'T "give the discount" because they have to make a living. I guess that I over worked the whole deal. You can't expect to haggle a better deal wherever you go. If a price is different at another place--there is a reason for it. You get what you pay for in the end.

 

 

That's completely true. I completely respect that when I shop at a Mom and Pop music store. I know they can't give me the same deals that MF can, and I don't expect them to.

 

However, I also won't accept getting charged list price for something.

 

I'll simply talk to the owner of the shop (with mom and pop places, that's usually the only person who works there), and see what they can do with the price - knowing what I'm willing to pay, and keeping in mind that they have to make a profit if I'm going to be able to continue to shop there.

[claffman]

List price is a farce. NO ONE PAYS LIST. It's a point to make a sale on.
My list price is a number that my garages use to guage how thee mark up their cost on to make money on what I sell them. My business is a "resale" business. I sell to them, they mark it up.
Price a part from an auto parts store and price a part from a garage.
List means nothing. I can tell you something lists for 8X's what it costs and you'd think you are getting a deal at what I'd sell it to you for. What you pay is the bottom line.

THIS NOT JUST AUTO PARTS.. LOOK AT A MF CATALOG. You would never pay "list" for anything in that book, because you could get it cheaper ANYWHERE..

I think it depends ENTIRELY on the situation. I know nothing about cars/auto-parts, so I can't comment on that. However, with music gear, everyone discounts from the "list price" by a decided amount. Some shops may discount 20%, some 30%, some even more. Now, this is a flexible amount, and they can, and DO haggle with it. Shops get the gear at cost, and as long as they sell an item for more than cost, they make a profit. Depending on how much they want to make from an item, they change the discount from the list price. I don't see why it's wrong to haggle if there's a flexible number involved.

[claffman]

-Anti- You seem to have a grip.

[claffman]

If you are paying "List" for anything---you are an IDIOT.

[treblekicker]

You get what you pay for in the end.

 

exactly. some of us dont need the extra/personal service a small store might give. some of us dont need a salesperson's years of experience and knowledge; we have our own and/or do the research ourselves.

[Noise...]

-Anti- You seem to have a grip.

I buy nearly all of my stuff from a local shop where I've gone for a few years now. I pay a little more for stuff, but they're ALWAYS willing to help me out if there's an issue with something I buy there. They're great to deal with, super helpful, and have a good amount of knowledge about what they sell.

I completely understand that they can't drop down to MF prices - in some cases MF prices are less than they paid for the item themselves!

As for autoparts, I'd rather go to a smaller shop and be able to talk to someone who knows their stuff rather than go to wal-mart and talk to some random jackass who doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.

[jake.lind]

I seem to miss the point of this thread.

 

Business = haggling, on ANYTHING

 

A salesperson won't be very successful if they're not going to haggle.

[Kassanova]

Dude, I have ALWAYS haggled prices for gear.
Of course I'm much less agressive with Mom & Pop stores than I am with Wal-Mart, excuse me, I mean Guitar Center but I haggle anyway. I don't see that ending anytime soon.

[GodBlessTexas]

I haggle for everything. No one has to sell to me if they don't want to, and yet I do really well at it. The only time I don't haggle is when the price is already very good, like the Vintage 30 loaded Carvin Legacy cab I picked up from GC for a steal.

[sdresdre]

I seem to miss the point of this thread. Business = haggling, on ANYTHING A salesperson won't be very successful if they're not going to haggle.

exactly. there is simply too much competition in this world not too.

lets say joe needs an exhaust smith comes up and says "You can do better than that price" and you say uhhhhh we dont do that here. he might say ok i'll just GTFO or he may buy said part but NEVER come back. why not hook the old fart up with 10% off? EVERYONE wants a deal. it's part of running a business. it's rude NOT to bargain in many cultures outside the NA'cas.

if someone likes a biz they tell 2 to 3 people. if they have a bad experience they tell 15-20. thats what an entrepreneur teacher once said anyways i know with me it rings true.

[dsquared]

I have worked in the Auto Parts supply business since Sept. of 1987. My first "real" job. That industry has a past of "getting a deal" or "You can do better than that price." This I don't understand to this day.

 

 

 

Don't you love it when someone comes in "Oh, man... my car just died on the highway. I need item X." then they actually have the balls to try and grind you on the price?

[Phil O'Keefe]

Shops get the gear at cost, and as long as they sell an item for more than cost, they make a profit.

Small, but IMO important correction:

Shops get gear at cost, and as long as they can sell the item for enough over cost that they can pay for their other associated business costs (payroll, lease, utilities, insurance, etc. etc.) and make a reasonable enough profit to make a reasonable return on their investment vs just sticking the principal in the bank, they can stay in business.

As far as why larger stores can sometimes offer lower prices, it's due to their ability to buy in large quantity. The more you buy from a vendor, the better the negotiating position you have. Manufacturers realize that, and want to sell in volume (they're in business to make a profit too. ), and so they often offer discounts on large orders vs. smaller ones.