How Much Is That DAC-cy In The Window?

[The Grand Wazoo]

There is a trend among some hi-fi dealers (more often than not, they are selling very high priced items) to withhold the price of their goods from their displays and published advertising material.

My feeling and, I gather, that of some other AoS members is that this strategy immediately puts the dealer in a negative light and I'm more likely to keep walking until I find someone who will publicly stand by their pricing policy.

I've found this outside of the realm of hi-fi as well - especially when abroad and I can't help thinking that the vendor wants the chance to look me up & down so he can weigh up what he thinks he can get away with charging me. This is not just in places where haggling is the accepted way of trading, but anywhere that a tariff isn't in plain site - motels in the USA for example.

Is it just our natural British reserve that makes us think like this?




Note:
This subject was broached elsewhere on the forum recently, but probably not in the most appropriate place. I don't want this discussion to be focussed solely on the trade or purely on the subject of private sales on forums but there are obvious parallels.

[synsei]

I will not deal with any trader or private seller who doesn't display a price...

[brian2957]

Me neither Dave , i just walk away . I think it's common courtesy to display the price and let me decide whether I want to buy it or not without having to ask how much it costs .

[MartinT]

Yes, I want to see prices displayed and including VAT. I detest retail websites that show VAT exclusive prices for the same reason. I also dislike the American practice of showing prices in shops without the local sales tax, it's dishonest and you can never have the correct change ready.

[sq225917]

Legally speaking, if they aren't serving the trade all prices should always include vat wherever advertised.

I never bother checking prices where none are listed, if they can't be arsed to tell me how much stuff costs I can't be arsed to spend my money with them. That said it is not unknown for brands to request that no prices are given in adverts- it's one of the few very legal ways a brand can actually limit what happens with their product prices. (Of course they can do nothing to affect the price, just where it is advertised).

[seoirse2002]

While in the Bahamas a couple of years ago we went into a handmade souvenir shop that had a sign clearly displayed "prices according to the attitude of the customer"
When we asked the elderly lady why, she said she was tired of daytrippers from the US descending on her little store and rushing in and out without appreciating her work,and having no manners.:lol:

[synsei]

:rfl:

[MartinT]

Well, at least it's honest :lol:

[WAD62]

I've had a few spells working in the sSates, and found their no price display policy annoying...

On one occasion whist working in San Fransisco I was asked to get some camera equipment for a professional photographer friend in Europe, as the US prices were much cheaper...

He wanted a Nikon F4 body (about £10k at the time I think), a 'Quantum' battery pack, and some top of the range lens (these two were about £10k each).

Armed with his Amex card I went shopping, in the first camera store I was greeted by a salesman, who looked like a cross between Barry Manilow and David Hasselhoff...the converation went something like this;

Me: 'How much is that Nikon F4 body?'
Manilhoff: 'How much do you want to pay?'
Me: '1$'
Manilhoff: 'Don't be silly'
Me: 'OK...' return to top of loop, repeat until pissed off!!!

This loop continued for about 5 minutes...I then stomped off to another store across the road, with advertised prices!

On the way back I stopped off in the original shop, got Manilhoff & the manager, I then explained to the manager why I'd bought £30ks worth of equipment from the other shop and not his...the words 'this prick here!' were used on several occasions...;)

[The Grand Wazoo]

Excellent! Served the bugger right.

So might there be any other possible reasons that a dealer might conceal their prices that we haven't considered?
Is there something we not seeing here?

[Macca]

So might there be any other possible reasons that a dealer might conceal their prices that we haven't considered?
Is there something we not seeing here?

1) the manufacturer will not continue to supply the dealer if he publicly discounts the recommended price but the dealer cannot shift any at that price hence the 'call£££' for price tags against a lot of current lines in the adverts.

2) The dealer wants to ask top whack but also wants room to manoevere if he feels he is going to lose a sale.

3) He can ask what he feels the customer will willingly pay. If it is a repeat customer he will already have an idea of how much he can spend and if there is likely to be any negotiation on the price.

[StanleyB]

Yes, I want to see prices displayed and including VAT. I detest retail websites that show VAT exclusive prices for the same reason.
It's a minefield of online legislation out there that can cause a lot of these kind of problems.
I am supposed to show both the ex-VAT and the inc. VAT price, but there is no known piece of pricing software that can correctly display both prices with confusing buyers. The non-EU punter wants to see the ex-VAT price and I frequently get emails asking if they have to pay VAT. The EU buyer wants to see the VAT price, which then confuses the non-EU buyer. So it is a chicken and egg situation.
The best I have so far managed is to mention that the price shown is without VAT, and then add a page where customers select their country in a drop down box in order to see if they have to pay VAT and how much the VAT price will be.

I believe that this issue is restricting the sales of goods from UK retailers to non-EU countries in a big way. The complexity of what the EU wants online retailers to abide by does not necessarily match the will of the potential buyer when he/she is first confronted by a price that is only part of the story.

[Barry]

I won't consider purchasing anything from a vendor if the full price (including VAT) is not displayed.

However it must be remembered that with the removal of retail price maintenance, legally, all quoted prices are an invitation to barter - and that leads me to my (very English) dislike of bartering.

It's a pain in the arse: you know the vendor is asking for twice as much as the item is worth, so you offer half as much as the item is worth, and hopefully the two of you will meet in the middle at a price which reflects what the item is really worth. What a waste of time!

I also detest people who through bartering really screw down the price and rip off the seller, who is so poor he is desparate to sell at any price - just so they can brag to the folks back home what a bargain they had, whereas of course, they could have easily afforded to pay more and would not have left the seller with a poor impression.

[Marco]

Lol - I know what you mean, and you have a point, but I quite like haggling, which is how I refer to it, although I wouldn't really do it with people who obviously need the money.

I certainly do it when I'm on holiday or at home in the UK, where I feel it is prudent to do so, and where I consider that I may get a bargain, since I buy almost everything with cash and also shop mostly in privately owned establishments, where one is more liable to obtain a discount.

I've had some great deals that way... As they say, if you don't ask, you don't get. The English are often too reserved for their own good! ;)

Marco.

[rusty bearing]

'If you don't ask you don't get, but if you ask it's rude so you can't have it anyway!'

So goes the old mantra.

I've been in construction near 40 years and many's the time I've made more money haggling the price than I could have made for a days honest toil.

I happen to agree though, with the prevailing view that if prices aren't shown I move on

[The Grand Wazoo]

I've been in construction near 40 years

Blimey, all this time and they haven't got you done yet? They must be nearly there now surely? Just the odd minor part to attach now I expect!

[Nevalti]

............ So might there be any other possible reasons that a dealer might conceal their prices that we haven't considered?
Is there something we not seeing here?

Yes! The dealer MAY be trying to give the message that he is open to negotiation - most ARE. If you pull up outside the shop in your Mercedes and flash your Rolex under his nose, you will struggle more than the chap in the old banger with a Timex though.

If you know what you want to buy and are not 'wasting' his time with demonstrations etc any dealer not willing to drop to the lowest price advertised is a fool these days. :mental: It is just so easy to get the lowest price that they will lose customers. :ner: A 'proper' dealer giving good demonstrations obviously deserves a higher price - for his service.

[Alex_UK]

Blimey, all this time and they haven't got you done yet? They must be nearly there now surely? Just the odd minor part to attach now I expect!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Reminds me of the Jasper Carrot insurance claim form classic "I had been driving for 40 years when I feel asleep at the wheel and had an accident."

[Yomanze]

I will not deal with any trader or private seller who doesn't display a price...

...then you would miss out on some of the finest HiFi equipment available and non-obscene (even bargain) prices.

The problem with small (perhaps independent) manufacturers, for instance, is that raw materials market cost can fluctuate massively e.g. silver and copper over the past few years and unlike larger companies they can't just absorb these costs and stick to the RRP. Additionally they are much more affected by traditional overheads & so may have somewhat variable pricing.

Just because a retailer is asking for a quote this isn't an automatic admission that you are liable to get ripped off. I have had great dealings with Howard Popeck at Stereonow and Pedja Rogic at Audial, but I did have to ask for a quote, have a chat over the phone etc., but I have some rather special gear as a result at an extremely fair price given what the competition publicly advertise.

[synsei]

That doesn't wash with me Neil. A dealer who can't work out their margins in advance is not one I'm likely to frequent...