does you uncle still have those one of a kind speakers from the 80’s?
Negotiate good price
I went to a dealer last week and listen to some really sweet pieces. I was ready to throw down some coin but am confused about the dealers approach. He comes in the room and says how is everyhting. I say it is amazing this is just the sound I am looking for. He says okay and leaves. Comes back in 10 minutes and I am ready for hardball. I sit back with my hands above my head in an inviting posture and say- can you beat prices that I see on Audiogon? He says he will be right back- great i think he knows- I know my stuff. Another guy comes in and says he needs to use the room for a client. I say where is the other guy and he says he's on the phone. So I wait in the lobby for 20 minutes and don't see anyone. I left my name on a paper and put it on the desk and ask him to call me with the best he can do on the system because I can buy some of it on AUdiomart. I asked my wife and she thinks that's too hardball- maybe i should have lied and said I'm shopping around for best price.
Any info on how to speed pitch softballs?
Any info on how to speed pitch softballs?
127 responses Add your response
Toska audio here in highland Park , Illinois.I visited that audio store many times without buying.But they treated me very very nice, I wonder what the owner is thinking, he is always happy to demo, the most I bought is 5 dollar old album.In my heart the owner is super nice. Two years later I needed a nice tube amp, I went to his store and sold me monoblock tube amp, for 4K.You see down the road those nice treatment of costumer were remembered. |
I’m still new to all of this, but I thought a salesperson’s job is to sell. Not everyone is chomping at the bit to lay down big cash (and from what I have seen, if you are considering equipment on Audiogon, you are looking to lay down big cash), so the salesperson needs to ask enough questions to determine the seriousness of this potential buyer and what he/she is looking to pay. Whether the OP’s approach was sound or not, I think that is secondary to the need of the salesperson to do their job and see if a deal can be had. Personally, I have not gone into any high-end audio stores because I know that I am not going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a system, let alone one piece. And, as dill advised me, I don’t want to waste a salesperson’s time that could be better spent with an eager buyer. That, and I don’t want to hear any equipment that leaves me feeling dissatisfied with the equipment I can afford. |
I again thank the group for the energy and the appreciation you have for me to improve in this transaction. Dshrieder if we line all these men up you would be close to the leader of this group. Some others are close but some I can see fear and lack of manhood. They poke like children without direction and post all day and don’t work. They fail to try to realize that courage is hidden between failure and enthusiasm and the ability to be free from fear and go back again with a humble attitude. I learned last night from my wife tells me to slow down because the audio is a feminine pursuit. She says this not in a bad way but to chase something like a sound and create something in the home is like a woman would do. I tell her that I am a modern man and by the end of the conversation she is very much happy with me. i will soften my approach like I am in the kitchen at a party without Covid. I will connect in a kind and enthusiastic way over his system and pay him compliments and the glory of the biggest Maggie speaker will be mine. I will pay him a fair price for combination and not ask him to ship it to my house at his expense but instead will take them home myself. I will drive them with big NAD. I prefer tube sound but they won’t work as the Maggie is hungry for power. I will go back Thursday thank you for support in this communication. |
It's not realistic to expect high-end, brick-and-mortar shops to compete on price with Amazon, eBay, or Audiogon. Still, there may be few ways to get good deals from a HiFi shop. One is by purchasing lightly used demo products. Another is with trade-ins. A third is by asking them to deliver directly to you for a short in-home trial (possibly with demo gear). If they are close enough, they might deliver in a store (or personally owned) vehicle, potentially saving you on costs to ship heavy/bulky items. |
I think there are 2 sides to this. From the point of view of enlightened self interest, we do need to support our dealers. But it's clear he was offended. If you get this and it was not your intention, it may make sense to go back and apologize. My 2 cents worth: start again. The very fact of the apology would probably incline him to help you out. Explain your budget and ask him whether he could help, maybe as tk21 suggests, with used equipment? You could then delay the decision and check out if you are getting a fair deal. If you still feel you are being ripped off, its easy to vote with your feet. Win win is ALWAYS the best kind of deal. Do keep in mind all the positives of working with and having a good relationship with a good brick and mortar dealer. |
Although the salesperson acted poorly...seems to me that you put on such a demonstration in actions and words that he just gave up. Hey it happens. If you have so much "coin" to throw around then why not negotiate a fair price? Or is that not a "manly" thing to do? Is that "winning" where you are from? How's that workin' out for ya? Actually, I think we are being trolled. But, it was a fun read. |
Let's turn this into an SNL skit: Tubebuffer: Welcome to Audio Troll. I’m the guest host Tubebuffer. My friend, the regular MC, asked me to fill in this week. He went on a long rant and has not come back yet. Long story short, he’ll hopefully recover nicely. I can't talk about it. It gives me shpilkes in my genecktecessoink. And it aggravates my hiatus hernia. Oy, oy -- I’m just a little verklempt. A little emotional, little verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. Talk amongst yourselves. I’ll give you a topic. First reflection points are neither "first" nor "reflections." Discuss! |
Women tend to invest time and $ in relationships, and men tend to invest time and $ in things. This aint no sissy hobby when you have to haul 100# amps and 200+# speakers! Magnepans are easy to move; that doesn't prove your manliness! You gotta get some 200-300 pound monsters to prove you are a real man! Magnepans are for warm up. ;) Remember Rosy Grier doing needlepoint? He even wrote a book about it. You didn't mock him - he could CRUSH you! In the end, if you treat the dealer with respect, protect your buying interests and do a fair deal without abusing the privilege of gaining from the knowledge and demos, go home with a badass system to enjoy, and have peace with the wife - you're a real man! Kudos. |
Hi All, So most recently I ran into a situation where I ended up selling off my Dynaudio Excites for all new Evokes. It started because I bought one of the last pairs of X44's (I had the X38's) in black satin via Ebay. I got a call from the dealer (who happened to only be 1 state over from me - drivable distance). He made a mistake and he had the 44's in Rosewood not black. He offered an even deeper discount but I told him I was the OCD type and cannot have mixed colors as the rest of my Excites were black satin. He then said "well have you listened to Evoke"? Told him I wasn't interested at all. He mentioned he could give me a "nice little discount on Evoke 50's" in black now my set matches. Except with the OCD thing I can't mix lines either. He laughed and said he understood "even though they'd all be matched timbre wise" and it's not like they'd sound different. I said no but thank you because then if I went with the Evokes I'd have to sell all my Excites and get an all new 5 channel Evoke setup. He then asked where I was and when I told him, he said if I'd like to take a ride down, listen to Evoke (because he was sure I'd love them after having a great chat about the old Audience line and how the Excites just weren't near what I experienced with my Audience line back in the day), he'd make it "worth my while". I said honestly man it'd have to be pretty ridiculous because the last thing I want to do is pack up, list, ship my 38's, 28C, and 14's. He understood and said "trust me just let me know when you're coming so I can have the Evokes set up and I promise to take great care of you...I grabbed the wife the following Saturday, let him know I was coming. Well low and behold the Evokes blew me away! I cut right to the chase, okay what are we talking "He said how does 25% off the package (50's, 25C, 10's) sound? I was FLOORED of course, that's unheard of! I said "can I think about it"? He hesitated and was like well, we set these up put the package together hoping this would make it work today. Needless to say I was like ya crazy for me to even ask that, I said "f--k it, let's do it"! I thanked him wholeheartedly for his time and generosity, drove around the corner to his WH and drove home giddy as a 6 year old at Christmas! One thing I always do BEFORE auditioning is asking about "willingness to work with me". If they won't budge at all, I won't go and waste their time. That's why I always call first and see if they negotiate... |
I totally agree with redwood audio's response. Don't feel bad as the salesperson's manager apparently jumped to the conclusion that you were a "no go" and decided to move on. With sales, salespeople size you up as noted by the person driving Nissan Sentra (cost conscious, efficiency minded) versus the Benz (money to blow, higher income bracket). Not necessarily accurate but people do make assumptions. Now that your actions have been analyzed by others in the forum, I would do my research prior to the visit and proceed with a mindset that "less is more" meaning don't feel obligated to say more than you need to. Let's say if the equipment you like comes to $10k retail and your budget is $8k, tell the saleperson, then be an active listener. See what transpires as they may offer less WPC, a different piece etc., and simply mention I do not want to get home and be disappointed as I have my heart set on this exact set up. They may have alternative solutions such as a gently used piece of equipment taken in on trade that can be discounted so you get more bang for your buck and reach your price point with both new and/or used. A reputable dealer will want your future business and word of mouth advertising helps when people are happy! I bet once you mentioned Audiogon, they simply concluded you were a bargain sampling new to purchase used and they figured you were wasting their time. Businesses have operational expenses including rent or mortgage which can be very expensive, employee wages, utilities,taxes, insurance, inventory, paving or sealing parking lot, advertising, cleaning, security system fees etc., which is not cheap and my thoughts are they deserve profit for bringing musical joy to our ears and our lives. And the profit margin is probably not as high as one may think. To me, quality sound is priceless and I will pay for the joy a great system brings to me to enhance my quality of life in this crazy world we live in! Opinions are like buttholes, we all have them and some people are! I'm sure I will be criticized for my opinion but at least we can speak our minds and criticism makes our skin a little tougher which is good! As redwood said there is no need for games. Make it a win-win situation and if you pay $1000 more than you had hoped and keep the system 10 years, your quality of life has been enhanced by $100 per year which is well worth it! Life is too short and you only live once so enjoy! |
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Is trying to outdo/outsmart a salesman (audio, car, house) some sort of a hobby? If you need to think of tactics to buy, just pick cheaper items you can afford. You will save time and money. And time is money so you will save money and money. Which is much more than just money which you were trying to save by playing this game for those who value their time as if they have unlimited supply of it. |
Is trying to outdo/outsmart a salesman (audio, car, house) some sort of a hobby? Yes it is. An ego boost when they score. Off the audio topic, but similar type of people. I was a home improvement contractor for 42 years and have seen a lot. I was at a potential customers house looking at a room addition project they wanted done. Commented on their hardwood flooring that looked like a fresh resurface. One of the nicest jobs I've seen. The husband and wife proceeded to give each other a high five and told me how they got their floors done for nothing. I asked how that happened. They told me the contractor was an immigrant and told them that if they didn't like the job they didn't have to pay. I'm glad that came out sooner than later. Never found out who the unlucky contractor was that did the addition. |
Agreed, 100% troll, but not a waste if everyone's time. This produced dialog of what could /should happen if these situations should arise. Personally I would not waste a dealer's time if I wasn't planning on purchasing at that dealer. To me that would be insulting. The only way I'm stumped with the OP is if he is in the customers' pov or the dealers'? I'm guessing dealers'. He wants to show how ridiculous it is when customers act that way. Now we are all proving his point. Mission accomplished. He and his friends are probably reading this thread and laughing at it. |
The eve of the night to be the kindest most respectful customer to get a good price on my Maggie system has arrived. I want to thank many of you again for being a positive influence on my process and others for being true to yourselves even if hateful. If I line you all up I bet those most endowed would be those that most helpful and those little peanut nubbin call me monster troll. I am big and handsome not big and ugly troll. i have choices identified for demonstration with my wife tomorrow. My pick is Stan Getz and João Gilberto Girl from Ipanema. My wife favorite song with excellent midrange presence is Indian Girl by the Slick Rick. One we both like to listen while my wife admire me in the gym is Iron Maiden Run for the Hills. Do you recommend any other picks to demo my Maggie? |
I would think an omnipotent omnidirectional speaker would be better suited to the gym audio environment.. that Magneplaners dipole is going to struggle with all that movement, mirrors, gold chains and baby oil..... I think a big pair of MBL with matching amps would suit you better - just lift the amps, no need for a weight set... |
@tubebuffer, I’ve been taught to always try to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. But after seeing your comment of: I’m always cruising these pages looking for next best tweak for my box.I have to agree with what everyone has to say here. How is that possible? These Agoners take their audio very seriously and I hope you may have learned something? @douglas_schroeder, The above, nice. I know this is off topic here but I read your upgrade/review of the Kinki Studio EX-M1(+?) integrated amp. At the time of reading I had no idea what OP Amps were. Thanks to you, I know what they are, the different manufacturer types, how they perform and after watching this you tube video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Rs-1KPxFL8 (in german of course) how to install them. Very informative indeed and I’m sure the OP (or anyone else?) doesn’t give a flip if this is off topic. |
Anybody that kicks you out of the room because somebody else wants to get in there doesn't deserve your money. No reason you couldn't listen along with the other prospective customer. If they are interested in a sale, treat you as a sale, today or tomorrow. I've never purchased anything on first pass in my dealer's audio paradise. But over time I have come back time and time again and ultimately spent and continue to spend a boatload of money (for me). It is about relationships, not just sales. |
Mr Pgaulkie, I believe the other man with wife probably not not want me to be in the room with his wife. Sometimes I am simply too much man. I think she want time to stay around for while with those eyes. Tyray, please a compliment to Mr Schroeder is compliment to me. He is fine man with me. Please enjoy your audio reproduction system and perhaps you and yours make another. |
I can tell you from experience that the disappearing salesman had bigger fish to fry elsewhere in the store. My guess is that you had been to that store previously and were known as a stroker. You got your demo and were left alone to listen--that's something. The mistake here was not so much yours as his. When you asked him for a price he should have given you one and asked whether you wanted it in the same color.I'm not sure I'd keep either of you in my store for longer than necessary. |
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Tuberist, I wholeheartedly agree with your agreeing with Dill and MC. :-) Seriously though, this sounds just like cold calls I get asking for 400 CPUs or 1,000 RAM modules and want “best price”..... I wasted my time on a “sale” like that just once. Now I know better, as does that salesperson.... He probably had to phone a friend to share the comedy. |
