what to do..ethically

[hottubdan]

Yea I know what you mean if my local dealer does not give me something real close to the deal 3 hours away I will just get everything ready for a tub and start again in the spring when I really wanted to buy it. I was only going to now because of the $1000 off deal. I cannot afford to get the warranty work all screwed up.....and don't get me wrong I can also see it from the other point of view...I guess I will find out tomorrow....I want to thank everyone for their input.

Hopefully your local dealer will work with you. 

[icenogle]

If it was me I wouldn't buy from the original guy especially if he came down $1,000 or even half way.  If he does come down he is still making an acceptable profit, so that means he was going to charge you a 10% premium.  How will he jack you in the future if there is a need for repairs.

I don't understand how these repairs cost the dealer money, although I am new to this.  I bought Jacuzzi.  I'm pretty sure the manager there told me if there is any warranty work that Jacuzzi the company pays for it, not the store I bought it from.

Maybe I understood that wrong

[Hottubguy]

If it was me I wouldn't buy from the original guy especially if he came down $1,000 or even half way.  If he does come down he is still making an acceptable profit, so that means he was going to charge you a 10% premium.  How will he jack you in the future if there is a need for repairs.

I don't understand how these repairs cost the dealer money, although I am new to this.  I bought Jacuzzi.  I'm pretty sure the manager there told me if there is any warranty work that Jacuzzi the company pays for it, not the store I bought it from.

Maybe I understood that wrong

Hot tub prices vary. What your not taking into account is overhead. Say one guy pays 5k for rent and another dealer pays 10k for the same size store in a different location. It only makes sense to me that that guy would charge a little more. Or it could be volume. If one guy is in a busier marketplace he might sell a little cheaper because he is moving more tubs. More goes into it then just slapping a sticker with a price on a tub. Another factor is the customer always wants to feel like he "wins" so a lot of dealers put a higher price on a tub expecting there to be a negotiation. I prefer just to give my best price and go from there.

As far as warranty work the manufacturer does pay a flat fee usually much cheaper then the hourly rate most techs charge. Say the manufacturer pays $60 for the hour. Now say you live 20-30 miles from the shop. My techs all make $20 per hour at the minimum. Now you have a half hour drive time each way a hour at the job site plus gas and vehicle expenses. The $60 they pay you gets eaten up quickly and that's taking into account that you have the part you need on the truck

[icenogle]

Hottubguy,  you and Jim are giving me a good education here.  I personally did not negotiate on my price at all, it seems fair from what I read.  I'm not good at it and don't like doing it.  Kind of weird I can't do it but when I sell something on craigslist it always seems like they come with a lower price and I accept.  I did want my sales person to make a good commission - life is expensive.  I did expect honestly in return, probably didn't get that.  In this case if the first place dropped $1,000 I would go somewhere else.  Can't explain why, I just would.  Sales must be though glad I'm not in that line of work.   

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Part of the problem in buying from a big company is once the sale is done it moves to someplace/someone else.   In other words the salesman is done.   In most cases if you have a problem with your spa your calls go to a service dept and they handle it.  Not often the original salesman ever hears about it.    With our company it works that way in the HVAC division, with spa's it's me.   I sell the spa I deal with the problems, if someone else sells the spa I deal with the problems.   I pride myself in customer service, and I say what I mean. Pretty much why I chose not to sell to icenogle.  My biggest dilemma is since letting Jacuzzi go they have pretty much cut us off.  That put's me in a bad situation that I am not happy with.   Were still hashing it out but Jacuzzi is plain out stupid in cutting dealers off.   I plan on giving any customer I can't help my reps personal number.   

[Thedoc]

Well it is all over ...went with the envoy with my local dealer after a few contacts we got pretty close on the price and I made the trip to his location and made the deal...He came real close to the dealer that was 3 hours away and I have no worries about warranty work if needed that is a big relief ...but the main thing is I left happy with my deal and he was happy with his sale I assume....I think my wife is happiest of all she wet tested again and her favorite seat is the captains seat..thanks to everyone for their help

[Hottubguy]

Congrats doc. You made a good choice. Hot springs makes a great tub. @jim I never understood why manufacturers did that. In the long run it makes them look bad especially if it takes awhile to get a new dealer in the territory

[d00nut]

Congrats!  The Envoy is an awesome tub.