treymonfauntre said:i'm kind of scared to go into guitar center now
i wamted a bass amp head on december 30th for the 31st, the one i picked out wasn't in stock. so he called up a store about a half hour away and they had 2 displays for no reason, and said i could pay for it now, take the display model home with me and come back after the weekend and get a new one in the box.
so i paid and went to the other guitar center to pick it up. the fucking place ended up being insanely far, like over 2 hours from my house. so i kept putting off going back to get the new one in a box and now its been like 3 months.
AM I BLACKLISTED IN THE COMPUTER AND FORCED TO NEVER GET A GOOD DEAL AGAIN?!
Richard Monroe said:The real key to getting good prices anywhere is to create a culture of cooperation, rather than an adversarial relationship, and prove that you actually are a buyer. If any of this helps anyone, I'm very happy about it.- Richie
Richard Monroe said:Yeah, that's advice on car buying I don't subscribe to, but then again, in a former life, I was a Customer One certified Dodge sales specialist. My approach may be a little different- " I'm a Dodge Sales Specialist. I'll give you $100 over invoice. There's the car. Write it up." In the end, it's like this- The salesman knows he's going to make minimum comission on a car deal with me. That's usually $50 or so. He can make that money in 10 minutes, which sounds pretty good, or he can make that money with 3 hrs of mind games that won't work. His choice. It's still going to be $50.
Generally, I'll let the salesman go through his whole qualification process and the test drive, because I want him to have something invested in me. If he has taken an hour or so to present the car. that's an hour he wants to get paid for. It's always to my advantage if he wants to sell the car more than I need to buy one. Best rules for car buying- Buy a car before your old one dies, so you're not desparate. Avoid locates. Either buy a car that is sitting right there, or have the factory build it. Locates are a PIA that the salesman wants to get paid for, and the car will already have miles on it. Never give them your car as a trade. Sell the damn thing privately, or as a separate transaction with another dealer. Always deal from invoice. Refuse to play mind games-"How much will you give me in addition to your trade to buy this car?" Fuck that. In my experience, I've met pleasant, honest, thoughtful, hard working car salesmen, and I've never met a car sales manager who wouldn't stab his own mother in the back for a quarter. It's a job requirement.
Most of the suggestions I made above work in car sales also, except that it's OK to remember that the car sales manager is *always* evil, and *always* dishonest.
i definitely agree.boingoman said:Richard- awesome post. Many shoppers forget they are dealing with actual people when they walk in a store. Many store employees forget customers are people too. The basics of decent human interaction are often forgotten by both sides.
Richard Monroe said:He can make that money in 10 minutes, which sounds pretty good, or he can make that money with 3 hrs of mind games that won't work. His choice. It's still going to be $50.
Doc Holiday said:After years of retail sales management, I have become highly skilled in dodging customers. Just kidding!
boingoman said:Personally, I feel anything more than an hour or two total researching or haggling over price is a waste. And that's on big stuff. Spending lots of time time to get an extra $20 off a $200 piece is just silly, if you ask me. I'd rather spend the time working, enjoying myself, or building the aforementioned good relationship.
jaykeMURD said:5- Lastly, once the salesman starts discussing prices, start to shake and mumble when he does. Continue to do so until he comes down.
reshp1 said:I've seen many people claim they've talked GC salespeople down to ridiculously low prices. How do you go about doing this? What's your technique/angle?