Moan

[julesd68]

Why do more and more hi-fi dealers not put prices on their websites? Am I the only person to find it really irritating??

[southall-1998]

Nope, I get annoyed myself.

[brian2957]

Puts me off looking , and I tend to go elsewhere.

[MartinT]

Possibly because many manufacturers don't want them to discount but they know that's the only way they'll get a sale? It's always worth asking a dealer if they will give you a price below list, but if you use their demo and loan facilities don't expect them to match internet prices.

[Thing Fish]

If I don't see a price I move on as well. No price = no sale in my books.

[Rare Bird]

+1.. Same goes for when you walk in a shop & the sales assistants make a B-Line for you, i just walk straight out, go else where...

[sq225917]

Ni listed price means no business from me, i won't even browse a site without pricing. Which is curious because I couldn't really care less about getting the 'best deal', I want good service and above all else product availability.

[JazzBones]

Its like walking into a restaurant, looking whats on offer on the menu and finding no prices???? Same goes for the wine list. Just send 'em an email, 'saw your add, was interested in some of the products shown but why no prices... have now lost interest in you and moved on'?

[Alan Sircom]

In part, it comes down to the manufacturers and distributors. If you as a retailer stock a dozen brands and four of them will threaten to cut you off if you publish prices on line, you'll take the easier route and simply not print prices.

Taking the easier route also means companies that don't have anyone on staff who can design and maintain a website can go to people like 1+1 My Website, without incurring charges for regular site updates. The downside to this is the site doesn't move forward from one year to the next.

Also, if you publish prices, it's felt that you pander to those who have traditionally gone with the lowest possible price for each component in the system, even if that means buying from several separate stores. As modern specialist retail is all about building relationships over the long term, it's felt - somewhat erroneously, IMO - that it's better to lose 10 'drive-bys' in order to gain one 'regular'. I can understand the reticence in older retailers, because many have been burned by trying to play the discount game in the past, but they need to move on.

[Reffc]

I can understand why some retailers are under pressure not to publish prices for the reasons that Alan has given. However the world has moved on in respect of the other reasons given and whilst some may have had merit, for a vast majority of people they don't hold water any longer.

Most people, serious or browsers, have the intelligence to know that where expensive kit is concerned, often the asking price is the starting point for a negotiation, nothing more. People who don't understand that or who just browse are probably not serious candidates for purchase anyway, its that simple, so prices should be published.

The contract is not made until a price is agreed by both parties. I think what matters more to people these days (especially) is not getting the very lowest price possible, but the very best customer service possible.

I won't deal with anyone a second time round who doesn't provide good customer service first time out.

[julesd68]

:exactly:

Well said Paul.

Sorry if I'm being thick but why would companies object to you publishing RRP on your website? Or is it that they only object if you publish discounted prices ...

[Alan Sircom]

:exactly:

Well said Paul.

Sorry if I'm being thick but why would companies object to you publishing RRP on your website? Or is it that they only object if you publish discounted prices ...

There are several reasons for this, but the big one is unfortunately the web presences of some dealers are not the most frequently upgraded. It's easier to put a blanket ban on people posting prices than having some tool in the middle of nowhere still proudly displaying a price from five years ago.

[Reffc]

There are several reasons for this, but the big one is unfortunately the web presences of some dealers are not the most frequently upgraded. It's easier to put a blanket ban on people posting prices than having some tool in the middle of nowhere still proudly displaying a price from five years ago.

I very much doubt whether any of the bigger names in hifi would supply a dealer who didn't update their website with the proper prices these days. There's always the odd one, but that generally harms retail, NOT wholesale since manufacturers will have their contracted rates with dealerships.

IME, much of the reason for not putting up prices has less to do with web site administration and more to do with a) what a dealer can afford to charge for a particular piece of kit from one month to the next and b) what a manufacturer of low volume kit needs to charge from one season to the next (bears little resemblance to retail) and c) what the dealership agrees as a negotiated price with the customer.

Put the prices on the websites folks, even if it is a starter for 10.

[Alan Sircom]

I very much doubt whether any of the bigger names in hifi would supply a dealer who didn't update their website with the proper prices these days. There's always the odd one, but that generally harms retail, NOT wholesale since manufacturers will have their contracted rates with dealerships.

IME, much of the reason for not putting up prices has less to do with web site administration and more to do with a) what a dealer can afford to charge for a particular piece of kit from one month to the next and b) what a manufacturer of low volume kit needs to charge from one season to the next (bears little resemblance to retail) and c) what the dealership agrees as a negotiated price with the customer.

Put the prices on the websites folks, even if it is a starter for 10.

It's more of a problem than you think. Some just add a new webpage rather than overwriting the old one, leaving the historic prices still up. These can influence the shopping results price on Google Shopping Results. Buyers get hacked off because they can't buy their new thing at 2008 prices, dealers get hacked off because people start demanding huge discounts and manufacturers get hacked off because international distributors start grumbling because the local retail price they see could be below their export price.

And remember that some of the smaller distributors tend not to import and price products until they determine whether or not there is interest in the model. The price isn't set because of the fluidity in exchange rates.

[hifinutt]

good to have an insight into whats happening here , its annoying when your dealer can no longer supply you goods because his supply has been removed for some reason possibly for being perceived as a discounter

[Reffc]

Alan has a fair point which does affect a number of distributors but I feel on the whole that it remains very much a minority problem rather than a widespread one. One thing that the current global recession is having a marked effect on is pricing stability. Margins are generally set high enough with mainstream kit though to be able to absorb many fluctuations.

As for website administration, its not too great a thing to expect dealerships to agree to abide by certain T&C's set by manufacturers which may be aimed at efficient website administration as after all, it could be the manufacturer's reputation as well as that of the dealership at stake. The fact that many reputable dealerships do administer websites well and that they also carry the same stock that may not be priced on another dealers web site points towards decent administration being possible.

Where the issue is more critical is in the more niche areas (including cables!) where wholesale fluctuations on materials and labour can have a far more marked effect (especially where profits may be lower) hence pricing tends to be more fluid.

[Floyddroid]

Yer, pisses me off no end!!!!!!!!!!

[sq225917]

There's nothing a brand can do, legally, to intervene in any way whatsoever to effect the price that a retailer chooses to sell a product at- nothing at all. But it is still legal for them to demand all sorts of crap with relation to the prices that a shop advertises at, ie don't list prices, do not list anything but MSRP.

It's simply against EU anti-competition law for them to try and enforce any type of price embargo, so all they can do to help buoy their final sale price (they believe) is limit price disclosure via retailer websites. Frankly the shops are happy to oblige them, they don't want to have to talk discount as their opening gambit and they don't want to have to compete with online box shifters. it's exactly the same in my business, we have 500+ retailers worldwide as well as our direct online sales presence and we enforce the same 'MSRP advertised price only' rule as the hifi brands do.

It's all about extracting the maximum margin from sales for the retailer which means the manufacturer has to give them less margin in the first place.- and the customer gets screwed on price.

If you want a discount, ask for one, demand one. But at the same time think about how your dealer survives and what service they offer you as a customer. I buy a lot of 2nd hand, and I build most of my kit myself, but when I buy from Moorgate Acoustics I never ask them for a cent off the ticket price because they offer me service that I'm happy to pay for.