Dome Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 I don't have a lot of experience buying large ticket electronic items (I am a 22yr old student). I how one goes about starting the discussion to talk down a salesman in price. It seems that most retailers are willing to bring the prices down, but I have no idea how to ask for it without sounding like a moron. Any tips would be most appreciated as I am going in to buy my center channel tomorrow morning. Thanks, Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Get some prices off the internet, take those prices to them. Don't expect them to match that price exactly though. Go in and tell them you have money, you want to buy, you are going to buy today either from them or someone else. Who ever is going to match that price you seen. Again, they won't most likely match the internet price, but you can talk them down... You just can't be a kitty. Don't be afraid to walk out the door. You know how they always say dogs can smell fear? Well, same thing applies here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 1.) DO NOT go in there wanting the product!!! Make the guy think you are about to walk out on him and that you are giving him one last chance to possibly maybe make a sale. 2.) Be prepaired to walk if you don't get what you want. 3.) If you can, get him to name a price. Let's say the thing is $800. You ask him what he can do for you and if he says $750, say $700 and start flipping your credit card around in your fingers. 4.) This is their job, many of these salesmen know their jobs well, don't be afraid to stand up to them, or they will screw you over. 5.) If it is some really nice, small audio shop, go easy on them (offering $750 for a $800 thing is probably good), or you will be at the mercey of Good Guys, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. The most important thing is that you do NOT seem desperate to get it, treat it like you really don't want it and you don't think its that great. I would start the conversation out like, "Hmmmmm, I really don't know about it (sound very unimpressed and bored). What sort of a deal can you make me on it." After that, step 3 might happen, if so, you just saved yourself some money. Obviously, things can go a million different ways from they guy playing hardball (NO, this is a STEAL at $800, and either you walk or lay down the law and tell him you WILL NOT PAY $800 for it) or if he needs to make a sales quota and is really behind, might let it go for $600. It is really about the situation. The most important thing is you need to be prepaired to walk out, or else you will get the product for little or no discount. I am sure others here have better advice, but these are the sorts of guidelines I use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Just remember one thing: This guy works off commission, and any deal he cuts you comes mostly out of his pocket, not the store. Don't try to beat him up too badly. He needs to eat, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 moons approach is best, always works for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Do like I do: Act like you're on the verge of flipping out. Wetting your pants can be a nice touch. Believe me, they'll make any deal to get you out the door... fini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 I walk in tell them what speaker I want and say you have to do better on the price. Try and pick out the new guy, he makes the best deals. I just got a guy down from 399 to 320, so there is a lot of room if it isn't a sale price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brother Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 This advice may be too late now, but.... 1.Do your research on the products you like. 2. Know what all the specs and sound nuances are before you attempt to buy. 3. Pick your top 3 choices and make sure you find at least one comparable from another store (a less costly choice)- this is vital. 4. Before you attempt to purchase, decide on what the maximum price you are willing to pay and don't exceed that. 5. When approaching the seller, explain the upside and downside of each choice and though you might prefer his product the price is an issue and XYZ has this other fine product. He knows XYZ and will not want to lose this sale and future sales to them. 6. Determine what you think a fair price is (not their list $)and offer about 15%+/- below it and negotiate from there. 7. If you don't try to steal it, they will take you seriously and will attempt to close a sale at a good deal for you and a reasonable profit for them- that's their job. 8. ****Most important***** don't be in a hurry and don't be timid about saying "that's just too much" and returning another day. Be pleasant but firm. 9. Remember people like pleasant interesting people, so learn his/her name, call them by name as you negotiate, and have fun and enjoy the adventure. Most good salepeople will respond to you as you treat them and will look forward to retaining your business as a repeat customer. P.S. Although it isn't fair, your youth may tempt them to think you may not know what you are talking about or looking at in the various products. This is where your hard work in reasearch will pay off and set the negotiation on another level. Don't short cut the educational process. This process has never failed me in purchasing everything from telephones to automobiles, to negotiating with contractors, hospitals, universities, and on and on. Good Luck. If this doesn't work, there's always Fini's approach. Take a change of clothes with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbugz Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Make sure the store you're buying from works from commision. If possible, see if you can talk to the manager directly. Ask them if they do price matching. Someone also suggested to give them the impression that you're not extremely interested in buying...kinda like a poker face, if you will. And finally, find a store that doesn't generate a lot of sales because these are the ones that will be more willing to sacrifice on the price for the sake of a sale. For example, I live in southern California. I tried purchasing from a Good Guys in Huntington Beach, but had no luck in negotiating a fair price. This particular store has a high supply/demand. I went to another Good Guys in a smaller area (Chino) and they were more willing to negotiate on the price. I ended up purchasing RF5's that were even lower than the Tweeter blowout prices. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brother Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Good point M@. Also, most stores will close the monthly bookings about the 25th of the month, so late in the month can be of an advantage to help the sales quotas, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen328 Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 And finally, never underestimate the persuasive power of a firearm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 yeah, especially now that its legal to carry concelaed weapons in minnesota! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 ---------------- On 6/28/2003 6:30:10 AM Griffinator wrote: Just remember one thing: This guy works off commission, and any deal he cuts you comes mostly out of his pocket, not the store. Don't try to beat him up too badly. He needs to eat, too. ---------------- Yeah.... True true. BUT... If the salesmen gets a good rep of selling at great prices, he will get lots of customers. So, it's becomes a quantity thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzoz01 Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 I've never really had a problem getting a deal. I walk into Audio King, tell em what I want. I use the internet pricing. I realize they can't match those, but I'm willing to pay more because they are authorized and I want my warranty. I bought my RC3 for $225, my KSW12 for $250, and the RF3IIs for $230 each. The way I see it, if they know you won't buy with out a deal, it's worth it to cut you a nice price. Yeah he didn't make a lot of commission off of me, but he only spent 5 minutes with me. So essentially it's free money. Also, going in on a Tuesday night when it's dead is good also, more willing to deal if there is no one else to sell to. Ultimate Electronics (Audio King in MN) lets their sales people drop down to 30 points over cost, but if you talk to the manager sometimes you can get more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strabo Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 ---------------- On 6/28/2003 11:31:24 AM jzoz01 wrote: Ultimate Electronics (Audio King in MN) ---------------- jzoz01, ever try Stereoland in Eden Prarie or Minneaopois? When I was looking for a receiver last year Audio King was willing to take a couple hundered off the Denon 4802. Went to Stereoland and they beat Audio King by another $300 and threw in an extended warranty. With business like that I was more than willing to go back to spend even more in their store when I went to separates. Haggeling is part of the process, and it's good business for the sellers. I still stop in there from time to time to chew that fat with the sales guys and check out what's new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzoz01 Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 I'll have to check that place out next time I'm home. I go to school up in Duluth and don't make it down to the cities all that often anymore. We don't have anything up here it sucks. There is only one stereo store, a place called Dad's. All they sell is Paradigm, Sony, and Integra. The place sucks and the guys that work there are a bunch of jerks. I walked in and told the guy I wanted an SACD player and was willing to spend up to $800. He wouldn't show me anything under $1500. They had a Sony ES for $1000. I offered $800 and he basicly told me to f**k off. Also, he didn't have a demo set up for the one I wanted to look at and wouldn't let me open the box to look at it unless I was going to buy it. Big suprise that he didn't make a sale that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Empire13 Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 In my experience if you go to small mom and pop audio shops they will usually give you some off but if you are to much of a hard *** or anything like that they probably will not come down any. As for taking in prices from the internet they will usually look at them and say thats nice. These shops probably could care less if you make a purchase or not because they just sold some guy a 20,000 doller pair of dynaudio. I have noticed that klipsch is not really sold in these types of stores so you probably can get away with brow beating the sells person. I am also a 23 year old college student and I have found it best to know your stuff in advance and treat the person with respect and he will give you the best deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Boone Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 ---------------- On 6/28/2003 1:02:23 AM Dome wrote: I don't have a lot of experience buying large ticket electronic items ---------------- The first thing you always do is research. Study the item you are interested in purchasing. Know the product inside and out. I would suggest that you always purchase online if possible and from a reputable online vendor. One that's not in the same state that you are in. On big ticket items this will save you from paying sales tax which can quickly add up. You will find that most of the time you can buy the same item online for much less than you could if you bought it local. After all the local dealer has pay for overhead. If you must buy local make sure you know what the items you want sell for at all local competing stores. That way you can honestly say to the salesman 'Big Deals has this for $XXX.xx but I'd rather purchase from you all because (make something up.)' Then you are on good footing to start negotiating. If you interested in an amp and speakers you could say something like 'Big Deals has this amp for $50.00 less than you do. I was thinking of buying the amp and a set of Klipsch speakers but you'll have to crunch some numbers and give me a really good deal.' This puts you in the driver's seat and gives him something to work with. He knows you know that you can get product X cheaper next door and since he wants to make a sale will start to crunch numbers. Knowledge is power. Get the knowledge. That will give you confidence. And you should be confident when dealing with salesman. You have the power and money. They're doing you a favor not the other way around. I'm not saying to be cocky or arrogant but if you go into a store with knowledge the salesman can't get over on you and you'll even find that he actually respects you and the fact that you're not the average moron looking to buy a set of Bose speakers. Also be patient. Don't buy just because you want it. Wait and get a good price and deal. May take time but with the proper knowledge this will help. Don't be a 'consumer', be a man and negotiate with confidence. Tony B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Greetings: 1. As all have said and I agree, do your research - know as many Authorized - note the on your infor sheet, and non-authorized dealers that will sell you an extende warranty - note that and how long they have been in business. 2. Run off a list of your equipment and let them know you will be arepeat customer and ask for the sales clerk's business(s) and spread the word. 3. If you can afford it, walk in and have $25.00 over the price you will pay in cash. If they see that you are counting how much cash, that is of more interest to them. If the store clerk still quotes a price higher than you wish to pay, pull out you credit card and say, "well, I don't know, I know this person from the City/Town government who paid - your price." That does 2 things, the stores pay a percentage on Credit card transcations and also lets them know (be sure of a name in the City/Town government) that you know a precedent of someone that paid cash received a lower price. And if all that does not work, know a couple of brands that store does not carry and and say that you've only budgeted xx number of dollars because you're saving for (mention the next piece of equipment you really are going to buy) but you will go to another store to buy the other brand and start to walk, mutter something about lack of discounts to young people as you're walking away ..... just loud enough so as you walk they can hear you, also mutter that it will be the last time you follow so and so's advice on where to go and you could have stayed home and ordered it from the Internet - don't forget shipping costs. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 ---------------- On 6/29/2003 3:14:11 PM jzoz01 wrote: I'll have to check that place out next time I'm home. I go to school up in Duluth and don't make it down to the cities all that often anymore. We don't have anything up here it sucks. There is only one stereo store, a place called Dad's. All they sell is Paradigm, Sony, and Integra. The place sucks and the guys that work there are a bunch of jerks. I walked in and told the guy I wanted an SACD player and was willing to spend up to $800. He wouldn't show me anything under $1500. They had a Sony ES for $1000. I offered $800 and he basicly told me to f**k off. Also, he didn't have a demo set up for the one I wanted to look at and wouldn't let me open the box to look at it unless I was going to buy it. Big suprise that he didn't make a sale that day. ---------------- Dude, tell him you are going to buy it, he open's the box, you demo, then walk out. Mention something about now he has one to demo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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