What % off MSRP is comon in today's market?

[dave1949]

I have purchased many pieces of farm equipment from different dealers over the years. They all will have a different price that is influenced by owner, location, need to move euipment, and your realationship with the dealer. A dedicated customer sometimes gets preference or heads up on any special deals.
I have also have been quoted different prices from different people at the same dealership. I went into a dealership and asked what they were asking for a haybine. The salesman shot me a price and I went to the lot to look it over. The saleman didn't follow me out. The manager pulled up as I was looking at it and I called him over. I asked some questions and what they were asking for it. The price was 20% less than the salesman had just told me! The salesman was quite suprised when I walked in with the manager and made the purchase.
I bought a rotary rake from them later on from the salesman who didn't follow me out before. It took a couple of visits and the price came down. He did follow me out to look at it this time. I gave him a sack of sweet corn when he delivered it.
I have learned it doesn't hurt to ask and don't burn any bridges. Buying equipment is definitly an art with a little bit of science. If you plan on making many more purchases or will be needing service, building a relationship can be priceless. Sometimes it is what you get after the big purchase is the real value. I have been in a bind and needed to rent a round baler to get hay up. If they are closed, I can give him a call on his cell and he tells me go pick it up and we will get paper done when you return it. We definitly have a trust relationship. They don't advertise they will rent equipment.

I will finsih with this. It is a Great Country that we have so many tractor choices and so many tractor dealer choices. I will still quote around to see what the market is as everybody should, as it is a good business sense, but I know where I get my value add service from also.

We definitly are blessed with abundence in this country. Enjoy!

That's great advice. It never hurts to stop and count our blessings.
Dave.

 

[AchingBack]

When making a major purchase, or even some minor ones, simply ask, "Is that the best you can do"? It is straightforward, and honest. In most cases, it has gotten me a better price.

Is that the best you can do, is also known as the Seven Golden Words.

 

[archerm3]

I hope you have considered that your fear of not being able to haggle has more to do with sales psychology than pricing.

You feel more comfortable not paying the first offer price becuase you are sure that's too much. The person selling realizes this and offers a high price to begin with; knowing you won't be happy unless they can lower it. I don't see how that accomplished much in the end - except kill time. Plus, you walked away with a warm fuzzy.

The only way a person could 'beat' the haggling game is to always be someone who pays one of the lowest prices. You may be convinced you are that person and perhaps you are. It could be difficult to know.
Dave.

Nope, I have no fear at all about haggling. I know what I'll pay for something, and if I don't get it, I walk out, without taking it personally and cussing. (well maybe I will cuss later but I won't treat the salesman like he doesn't deserve to try earn the best living he can). I do without. Find something else. Got no problem spending time looking on the net, used prices, cost/benefit spreadsheets, getting real non emotional about it. I'll even haggle a no-haggle price for sport just to get the free hotdog and coke. It's fun.

Just like you say, in the free market, businesses mark something up to the highest price they can,its what they're supposed to do, with people still walking through the door and laying down cash. Doesn't matter if its a haggle price or no haggle price. It's just as much of a marketing scheme to "set a high price then come down" as it is to set a "lowest bottom dollar no haggle price (with built in guaranteed margin) for suckers". Well that's the way I put it. It works well (for the dealer) on people that don't know the market..don't do research..don't know what they're buying..don't know what theyre using it for (when you buy a drill, are you buying a drill or shouldn't you rather be searching for something that puts holes in things)...want something NOW and don't have time to pit one dealer against the other..put too much faith in consumer orgs...and take haggling or undercutting as a personal insult. I liken it to doing business with friends and family. You state the price you're willing to pay, they state the price theyre willing to take, or vice versa, and either you can come together or you don't, and there's no hard feelings or jealousy.

It doesn't matter too much if I'm the one that got the lowest price. Of course I will do as much research on that as possible, but at the end of the day, all that matters is that "did I get the tools to do job "x" at the price I was capable and willing to pay".

No offense meant I hope you understand.

 

[dave1949]

archerm3,

No offense taken.

I understand what you are saying. I guess the sticking point for me would be that before I buy something, especially if it is say over $50, I have already decided which product I want by asking people's opinions, experience or whatever. Web reviews are tricky because (1) you never know who really wrote the positive ones, and (2) the folks who aren't happy with the product are always more vocal.

That being said, there are reasons why I choose a particular product, substituting a different product because it fits a hard and fast budget amount hasn't always worked out for me. I would be more likely to do without, or look for Plan B, than buy a product I don't have faith in. So, it's true for me too. Sometimes I walk away because the price of something I like is more than I think it's worth, and either there are no substitutes that I like, or I am not aware of them.

Maybe I have thinner skin than you, but if I see or am quoted a really silly price on something, I don't think of haggling; at that point I already know I am dealing with someone who is not totally honest. I figure it's time to find a more honest seller to begin with.
Dave.

 

[Hondapro]

When I decided to buy my tractor,I read alot on here,talked with friends that had tractors and drove them.I sat on alot of seats at dealers after hours.After all of that, I knew what I wanted and I had a price in mind that I would be willing to pay.

There are 4 Kubota dealers within 50 miles of me.I went to them all,at every one I told them what I wanted and asked for the best price,I also told them that I also was going to the other dealers and getting prices there also.

After they wrote up the price quote for me I thanked them for there time and left.

I found my best deal at dealer number 3,when I went back there I left with signed papers for my new BX.The price I paid was less than what I had in mind at the begining.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I just paid thousands of dollars and all I got was a hat?

I bought 2 kubota's and still haven't gotten a hat thrown in on the deal..

 

[Coyote machine]

Holy Moley, You guys can beat a subject to DEATH and still have no real outcome as a result
If you've been in business you know what it takes to get things done- especially if you own a small business.
It sounds like everyone is supposed to get the best deal and it is the dealer's obligation to give it to them!?
NOT so! It is the dealer's business to sell me something if I want to buy it from them regardless of all the other factors involved. This means if the dealer wants to stay in business they have an obligation to their current, previous and potential future customers to make the best deal they can as often as they can and then deal with those who want a free whatever just because the person showed up on their lot to shop around for the best (read cheapest) price on earth. Meanwhile they need to keep their salespeople, suppliers, bank, finance company, etc. paid without being 120 days late each month, just because everyone who wants the world for free seems to be darkening their door- wasting their time, when they could be paying their bills; so when I or you, their regular customer shows up for service, or to buy their doors are still open.

Reality people- no profit, NO BUSINESS! I can't come to your place of business and tell you what to sell things for; its called free enterprise and some will sell for next to nothing over cost and may be able to afford to. Others choose, or may be forced to try to stay ahead of the pack by being creative and doing things like some dealers I'm aware of who try to offer exceptional products or services to those willing and able to pay for what they offer.

My strategy is to go to a new car dealer, as I did in northern VT and tell the salesperson I will deal DOWN from invoice!
That sets the tone. I ended up buying a new vehicle from them that day for $300 over invoice, (NOT sticker reduction) when I was actually looking for a used vehicle for one of my kids. I went back to my nearby dealer and told them what I'd done and when it came to the next vehicle they did a solid deal to keep me in their store. The nearby dealer did not believe me when I told the owner I would be going north to buy a vehicle for a better price and after doing so he gave me a lot more respect after I had already traded in two vehicles on one new one previously. At the time I told him I was aware of dealer holdback, etc., and he told me it was none of my business. Well, in the end he paid attention because of what he thought was going to be a sure thing guaranteed sale to me next time and lost it to the guy up north.
Point is it is a GAME, and you can play and loose, or play to win and make out sometimes and not other times but one won't always win every game. But you'll never win if you don't play- and not doing research and knowing all you can from as many sources as possible is foolishness, regardless of what one can afford to pay or not, working guy or not.

Good luck- play to win, just like the lottery- you might just come out ahead

 

[dave1949]

Holy Moley, You guys can beat a subject to DEATH and still have no real outcome as a result

Point is it is a GAME, and you can play and loose, or play to win and make out sometimes and not other times but one won't always win every game. But you'll never win if you don't play- and not doing research and knowing all you can from as many sources as possible is foolishness, regardless of what one can afford to pay or not, working guy or not.

Good luck- play to win, just like the lottery- you might just come out ahead

I must be a p*** poor communicator. I'll try again.

Yes it is a game. But, regardless of how pricing is done, everybody needs to check sources and compare pricing and have an idea of what you are willing to pay.

The point that I am apparently not making, is it doesn't have to be a game where pricing is obscured and mystified by design. That is not to my advantage as a consumer.

You described your experiences with a couple dealers that involves all sorts of posturing, non-of-your-business, driving up and down VT, etc. All I am saying is I would like to do away with that, it's other people's games we are being forced to play. Surely you have better uses for your time and energy.

Please don't tell me how to play the game, I understand that. I just would prefer not to have to play it. Call it pie in the sky if you will, but things can change.
Dave.

 

[Coyote machine]

DAVE,
You want to be able to go to Vegas and win without having the cards in the house's favor. You are the one not getting it. You communicate just fine, but saying the same thing over and over is NOT going to change the game, nor is it going to convince anyone that things will change to your view of the way the world should be just because it would make YOUR life easier. And somehow you have the magical thinking of a child that tells you things are to be stacked in favor of the consumer?! It is not the way the world works. People are in business to make money, and if you happen to be lucky enough to get a good deal on something you want along the way then so be it. Otherwise it is caveat emptor, BUYER BEWARE!
I didn't drive all over VT; I went to visit a friend in Burlington and bought a car the same day.
I wasn't speaking to you in particular, just citing my own experiences, which in terms of buying vehicles is vast. Being informed before buying is a person's choice, not a given. Some people buy on whim or impulse and that too is a choice.
You can wish for it to be different but until then reality is just that: reality.

 

[dave1949]

DAVE,
You want to be able to go to Vegas and win without having the cards in the house's favor. You are the one not getting it. You communicate just fine, but saying the same thing over and over is NOT going to change the game, nor is it going to convince anyone that things will change to your view of the way the world should be just because it would make YOUR life easier. And somehow you have the magical thinking of a child that tells you things are to be stacked in favor of the consumer?! It is not the way the world works. People are in business to make money, and if you happen to be lucky enough to get a good deal on something you want along the way then so be it. Otherwise it is caveat emptor, BUYER BEWARE!
I didn't drive all over VT; I went to visit a friend in Burlington and bought a car the same day.
I wasn't speaking to you in particular, just citing my own experiences, which in terms of buying vehicles is vast. Being informed before buying is a person's choice, not a given. Some people buy on whim or impulse and that too is a choice.
You can wish for it to be different but until then reality is just that: reality.

Well, I have been a drone on the subject, so guilty as charged. And I will admit to fairly wide streak of idealism, but I don't consider that a character flaw.

I guess I am more amazed than anything else. I still don't see the evil of a seller publishing a price. It is technologically and economically feasible to do so.

I don't want the 'cards' in my favor, I just want to skip the sales routine. I don't see how a published price puts the seller at a disadvantage to the buyer ? The way I look at it, I just want to level the field a bit, nothing wrong with that in a free market.

As to why it is the way it is, I clearly believe it's that way because of the advantages it provides to the seller. Some of it is price, and some of it is just salesmanship - 'if I can get you here in person, I can sell you.'

Just because that's the way it has been doesn't mean it has to stay that way. I will shut up now and just drop the subject. Sorry to have aggravated you.
Dave.