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What is a reasonable discount from MSRP from a local dealer?

More specifically:
  • the type of transaction I am talking about is one-off - not a known customer or promise of repeat business, could just be by phone/website.
  • I am considering new Goldenear Triton One or One.R to replace my Triton 3+

I ask because:
  • Recently I ordered a pair of "used" Klipsch Heresy IVs online for $2,200. New ones were listed at $3,000. Immediately I was contacted and asked if I wanted to 'upgrade' to new for just 10% more! I declined, though I was (naively) surprised that they would knock $600 off the new price without me even asking. What I received appeared to be a brand new; a sequentially numbered, veneer matched pair, drop shipped from the factory. A little old fashioned bait-n-switch. Anyway, they were happy to sell me brand new speakers of a new model that does not appear to be widely discounted at 27% discount, probably because all they need to do is take my order and $$ and pass it on to the factory. Anyway, these have come and gone.
  • I just inquired about some Goldenears that were advertised as 'demos', and was offered instead a brand new pair shipped to me from the factory for 20% off list. Again, just process my credit card and send the order to the factory. Same thing happened when I bought my Triton 3+s, except I was oblivious to what was going on so I paid way more than I needed to.
For now, I would just like to place an order, and not avail myself of all that the local dealer can offer, like auditions and advice and support. So I wonder, does a dealer buy a pair of GE One.R at 50% of MSRP ($6,600)? If so, is $1900 too much to pay for taking an order? Anything important I'm missing? Your feedback appreciated :-)
lorendavis
rh67
307 posts
 
I was in the industry for three decades both as a manufacture and retailer i`m talking about the 70`s, 80`s and 90`s. As a manufacture of high end products we would sell to dealers at 33% less than retail. High End Audio had much less of a mark up than generic Japanese audio at that time, we were approached by a well known Japanese brand during that time with the pitch that we could make a lot of money.....  well yeah as the retail was 500% over wholesale, we declined.

Not sure of the margins today but dealers and manufactures deserve a fair living. It`s up to each individual to determine if something is overpriced or if they are getting a deal or fair price.
riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook's avatar
riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook
981 posts
 
I never buy anything without getting at least a 20% Discount. On gear that costs 5 Figures I ask for 25-30%.  Only time that hasnt worked was with small boutique brands for me (Valvet/Bakoon etc)  When there is only 1 dealer/distributor that has a monopoly on the brand they tend to not give breaks to new customers.
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,274 posts
 
LoL... I was just thinking about this the other day.  Theres a well known site that I wonder if they just mark up everything so that they can then lower the price and sell in on sale. Just about everything he sells is on sale and at an enticing discount.  I mean, how can you afford to pass up $3k speakers for $2k...?

This is really quite silly and its a shame that we live in a world where no one wants to pay full price or pay for professional expertise.  Im as guilty as anyone here so Im not pointing fingers

jjss49's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
like buying a persian rug or being at a street market in china... haggling, discounts etc etc just part of the game... much of the world operates this way...
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