@benjie Obviously your are being silly.
I think I covered all this in my post. Dealers DO NOT have 50% in MOST items, and probably not in any unless they "fell off the truck."
I am amazed at the lack of business intelligence so far in this thread. Several point out that stores actually cost money to open and run. A typical high-end store in 1973 cost $100,000 to open and stock. And that was when $100,000 was actually money, not lunch money for the 1%.
Where does that $$ come from? The BANK. They don't charge anything to borrow money, right?, so why should YOU have to pay full price? Interest rates in 1973 were about 9%+, and MORE if you wanted to open a business. I paid them, so I kinda know.
Go to business school before you walk in and demand a 40% discount. If you did that in my shop, you would be standing by yourself as I would have laughed at you and walked away.
If you buy online, don't expect service, but you MAY get it. If you buy brick and mortar, shop around and find a dealer you like and form a relationship. For those who postulate relationships are useless, like to see you at the MB dealer walking in and demanding a huge discount. You would be WALKING out soon.
GOOD businesses want to build a loyal customer base and will pretty much do whatever it takes to do so. BUT, as Bon Qui Qui says, "Don't get crazy!"
Go to eat at Peter Luger's or Katz's and walk out if the wait staff doesn't kiss your butt. You will go hungry, I promise. Sure, these are classic places that promote their bad behavior as part of their "schtick."
YOUR bad behavior in my shop would have resulted in you leaving with nothing. Happened a lot more than I thought, which is one reason I sold the shop. I was there to HELP you find the best at your budget. What YOU want for free meant nothing to me. We "fired" customers every year at xmas--idiots who thought they were "entitled" to whatever because they--wait for it--were RICH! (Gee, in Boca Raton a RICH person is so rare. They might be driving a Boca Chevy (MB) or a Boca Ford (BMW).
WOW! Impressive!
We simply called them and suggested they call Mr. X at another shop who could "better meet their needs."
Saved a LOT of my sanity and sometimes they would come back being more professional and appropriate in their behavior. If not, we simply worked to attract more customers who wanted high-end audio products. There were plenty of shops for medium and low-end stuff back then that took care of that market segment. That is what we wanted, so that is the business plan we executed.
Your dealer may be a jerk. I can't help that, but check out your own behavior as well. Also, dealers hire people who may have a bad day--unfortunate, but it happens. Ask to see the owner or another sales person. After all, YOU may be the jerk in all this without realizing it.
Cheers!
