bargaining in music shops

[ultraphunky]

Can anyone explain how much discount I can realistically expect to receive off the retail price of gear in music shops . I cant stand the whole idea that they have this set price known as 'retail price' , I mean they may aswell call it 'suckers price' right? Ive never been good at bargaining, i find it embarrasing and humiliating.

 

[mikeh]

It depends on the gear. While various assessory items (chords, stands, etc) may be marked up 100% or more over cost other technology driver items (keyboards, mixers. etc) may be marked up as little as 10%-20%.

A general rule of thumb may be to anticipate that the store is working on a 40%-60% mark-up with a general goal to achieve 15% margin.

These are all very general estimates. A big box store like Guitar Center may bring in gear at a lower cost than the local "mom & pop store" due to purchasing power - accordingly, the big store has more room to negotiate.

If you purchase gear often enough and are able to establish a relationship with a given sales rep you can expect more or a discount. Often establishing a relationship with the "manager" is a good idea, since they may have a little more freediom to lower a price.

If you don't buy enough gear to achieve that, then your best bet is to do your homework, compare prices with other retial and on-line stores and then ask your store to meet or beat.

 

[Dani Pace]

Discounts in most shops have a lot to do with "mark up" the greater a shop's mark up the more discount they can offer and still make a profit. An average mark up is 30%-35% over cost, or about a third of the price they are asking. Shops with greater overhead expenses like high rent or that cater to an elite group of people are less likely to give discounts. Shops where you frequently make purchaces are more likely to give you a discount than shops where you only visit rarely. Repete customers often get the best deals. Most manufactorers have a "suggested retail price" which many shops use as a base for setting their prices, and some shops use a "blue book" priceing guide to set the value of their instruments. It's always a good idea to do a little research and find out the value of an instrument before asking for a better deal, this wont always work, some dealers just wont budge from the price they put on an instrument. Asking for 10% off the listed price is reasonable and isn't likely to get you thrown out. If you know the item you want has been in the shop for a long time without selling, offer them 20% less than they have it listed for, you might get it, if not you haven't lost anything for the effort.

 

[mikeh]

It depends on the gear. While various assessory items (chords, stands, etc) may be marked up 100% or more over cost other technology driver items (keyboards, mixers. etc) may be marked up as little as 10%-20%.

A general rule of thumb may be to anticipate that the store is working on a 40%-60% mark-up with a general goal to achieve 15% margin. As an example, if something is listed at suggested retail $500 (almost no one pays suggested retail) and the asking price is $450 there is a good chance the cost is in the $250 - $350 range (again depending on what it is). Perhaps the store needs to make 20% putting the bottom price at $300 - $420. In this case is you can pay $400 you may be getting a good deal.

These are all very general estimates. A big box store like Guitar Center may bring in gear at a lower cost than the local "mom & pop store" due to purchasing power - accordingly, the big store has more room to negotiate. I've see small stores in small towns get "suggested retail" because they are the only game in town.

If you purchase gear often enough and are able to establish a relationship with a given sales rep you can expect more or a discount. Often establishing a relationship with the "manager" is a good idea, since they may have a little more freediom to lower a price.

If you don't buy enough gear to achieve that, then your best bet is to do your homework, compare prices with other retial and on-line stores and then ask your store to meet or beat.

 

[rothy]

I have been buying a lot of gear lately, trying to fill some major holes in my studio. I have not paid sticker for any of it, and the key is the good old internet. Guitar center has a policy - they will match any internet price - so long as you print out the website you saw it on. Over the last 6 months I have recieved the following deals:

Vox Tonelab SE (Retail $499) - $416 out the door
Korg TR61 (Retail $999) - $899 + tax (this was pure negotiation)
Roland KC-60 (Retail $245) - $215 out the door
Boss DR-880 (Retail $499) - $409 out the door
Squire 51 (Retail $149) - $99 out the door (they had so many I said "can't sell these huh?...)

Don't be afraid to say - "I'll just buy it on the intenet" even if you don't want to. Also never pay tax, and if the salesman trys to throw the "you have to pay shipping when you buy on the net" card, say bullsh*t - Musicians Friend has free shipping on orders over $100 and Sweetwater will ship about anything for free.

All you have to do is research and know what you want exactly - and the negotiating becomes easy.

 

[rothy]

Also -

The best way I have found to find low internet deals is froogle.com

An example:

I was searching for a Boss DR-880 drum machine, go to froogle, type in dr-880 then filter results low to high price:
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?btnG=Search+Froogle&q=dr-880&lmode=online&scoring=p

I found this to be the best deal:
http://www.fotoconnection.com/viewitem.php?IndexID=19254&RefTag=froogle

Simply print page and present to sales person

Note - this company charges shipping - so you may want to look around for the best deal including shipping... or just put on your negotiating hat.

Another note - negotiating hat may also serve other purposes, such as drinking hat, thinking hat, etc.

 

[ssscientist]

When I worked as a keyboard salesman most keyboards were sold on a 'B' markup. This means the store has paid the distributor 60% of the retail price for the piece, or less if they move a substantial quantity of units per month.

Korg TR61 (Retail $999) - $899 + tax (this was pure negotiation)

In this case the dealer cost would be $599.40 which means on this transaction the store made $298.60 profit.

There is also an 'A' markup which means the store pays 50% of retail price -- or less -- and this is the way most guitars and amps are sold. The 'C' markup is usually reserved for things like pro audio and software, and can be anywhere from 70% to 80% of retail price.

 

[rothy]

In this case the dealer cost would be $599.40 which means on this transaction the store made $298.60 profit.

I always wondered why there is a list price, then the retail price.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=702418

For the Korg, the list price was $1,599
The sale or retail price was $999
I paid $899

I still got a deal, right? The tag said $999

 

[andycerrone]

You can work em down. My gibson SG platinum with the limited edition black body, you'd think it was extremely expensive. Retail was $1400, brand spankin new. On sale for $1100, I worked em down to $780ish. Now THATS a steal from guitar center.

 

[ssscientist]

I still got a deal, right? The tag said $999

IMHO, you got a deal on a brand new 2006 Korg keyboard and the store came out well too.

Remember, the so-called 'brick and mortar' stores are facing a serious challenge from internet retailers these days because they need to maintain a presentable store in which their customers feel comfortable spending money, pay rent/mortgage on said space, keep the lights on and the store heated and pay the salesman their commissions.

An internet store can be run out of an unheated garage and run up customer complaints until the FTC is after them, then cut and run to another part of town, another state or another country and set up with slightly different merchandise so they will have less chance of running into one of the customers they swindled.

The bottom line of this tale is --- making 'getting the lowest price' your only criteria for where you buy means giving up after-the-sale help, either with a defective product or with how to make it work with your existing gear. On the other hand, it's the rare keyboard or midi controller that come from the manufacturer truly defective and in both cases you would expect most of the support to come from the manufacturer and not the retailer.