Do dealers not listing prices shoot themselves in the foot?

[KiwiBro]

I can understand the need to avoid too many tire kickers, or do something to limit the race to the bottom of the margin barrel, but as a tractor buyer, and perhaps not a very rational one, it annoys the heck out of me when I read site after site, advertisement after advertisement with "POA" or "prices are too low to publish so call us" or the like.

Why is there an automatic assumption we should make the time to travel out there or call or trade any number of emails before they'll provide us with a concrete price? Doing a search on tractorhouse is quite pathetic sometimes - the first page or more of search results could be filled with myriad of dealers expecting buyers to call them to gain one of the most vital pieces of information their adverts deliberately leave out. Is that not bordering on being disrespectful of our needs as buyers?

Or perhaps I'm in the minority and others are fine with this?

 

[mikehaugen]

I guess I can understand why they do it as well, but I agree it's frustrating if you just want to browse to see if something is even close to my price range. Even a "ballpark" number would be nice.

Even implements are like this usually. I am a fan of woods, but I know some of their stuff is out of my price range. If I were looking for a fully hydraulic woods rear blade, I would like to know if it's even something I could consider, given my budget. Otherwise I am wasting my time and the dealer's time calling and asking. I've seen enough now to have a rough idea in my head what something probably goes for, but someone new to tractors would have no idea.

 

[stuckmotor]

When I see an ad with the word "call" instead of the price, I usually go on to the next ad.

 

[Eric Salop]

I feel the same as you.

Even worse are dealers who tell you the full retail price and then stay quiet, hoping that you are not familiar with industry wide discounts.

 

[GManBart]

I can understand the need to avoid too many tire kickers, or do something to limit the race to the bottom of the margin barrel, but as a tractor buyer, and perhaps not a very rational one, it annoys the heck out of me when I read site after site, advertisement after advertisement with "POA" or "prices are too low to publish so call us" or the like.

Why is there an automatic assumption we should make the time to travel out there or call or trade any number of emails before they'll provide us with a concrete price? Doing a search on tractorhouse is quite pathetic sometimes - the first page or more of search results could be filled with myriad of dealers expecting buyers to call them to gain one of the most vital pieces of information their adverts deliberately leave out. Is that not bordering on being disrespectful of our needs as buyers?

Or perhaps I'm in the minority and others are fine with this?

I find it annoying, but I know that most manufacturers don't let their dealers advertise prices. That was one of the nice things about LS....the dealers are allowed to advertise actual selling prices.

 

[Bird]

most manufacturers don't let their dealers advertise prices

Tractors are like cars as well as several other products in that regard. I don't know how it is now, but I once bought a new 1968 Yamaha motorcycle from a dealer who included prices in his newspaper ad. I later learned that they put him out of business by simply back ordering anything he ordered, so he simply ran out of motorcycles to sell. I know he sued, but I don't know how it turned out.

And when I had a 1989 Chevrolet one ton dually (3 speed automatic), I had a Gear Vendors auxiliary overdrive transmission (gear splitter) installed. Most places wanted the truck for 2 or 3 days to do the job, but the guy I used not only did it while waited (a couple of hours) but also ran an ad in an RV magazine and charged a great deal less than everyone else. The manufacturer of that transmission put him out of that business, too, for underselling their other dealers.

 

[ozley]

I find it annoying, but I know that most manufacturers don't let their dealers advertise prices. That was one of the nice things about LS....the dealers are allowed to advertise actual selling prices.

I thought that was true for LS Dealer too. I have always seen a package deal on their web sites.

 

[sixdogs]

If it's no price and I care enough, I'll sometimes send an email asking. Sometimes I get an answer and sometimes I don't but I have zero interest in calling for a price and won't do it.

They could put a suggested retail price in an ad with no big deal but it seems many of these guys are old school hoping to hook you while you are talking with them. Not for me, though.

 

[Tomtint]

Retailers of any item do it in order to get a live one on the phone and engage in conversation. Hoping to get a name and phone number so they can data base the buyer. If they post prices, there is no reason for a shopper to engage a dealer. For tractor dealers, they have the luxury of little same brand competition within walking distance from one another. For auto dealers, price is always the #1 trigger for purchase. This is why you see all car dealers post a loss leader in the Sunday paper. They hope to get 20 people in to see the cheap car then spin them to one that still has a gross in it.

 

[KiwiBro]

Well, I think when the dust has settled from my tractor buying spree, I'll make a point of contacting the head office of every dealer or brand distributor here I didn't buy from to advise not advertising their pricing was part of the reason why they were overlooked.

Will it make any difference? I doubt it, but if all of us who find no pricing a turn-off did the same, it has a better shot of changing their behaviour than staying silent ever will.