How Many Dealers Clearly Post Prices

[Jordy]

Hi Everybody,
I have two questions I would like to throw out there for discussion:

1.) How many dealers clearly post their prices in the showroom?

2.) Do Consumers Expect prices to be clearly marked in the showroom? What % of dealers do this?

I ask these questions because I think it is the exception rather than the rule in this industry that dealers clearly post their prices.  I believe it is one of the poor business practices that creates mistrust and skepticism in the minds of consumers. What do you think? Would this be helpful? Would you be more prone to deal with a company that upfront and clear about their pricing by displaying it?

[Chaser1]

My opinion:

How many customers walk through your door actually know what some of the features on a spa are example: ozone, hydrotherapy, Full foam insolation, and cost of ownership? Unlike the car industry most people have know Idea what features and advantages in a spa purchase are. Also true in most manufactures models may come in a variety of diffent price ranges by having one model. You also have to consider a cover remover, Delivery some may need crane and some may be 200 miles away from the location you are not just driving around back to pick it up like your local Home Depot.

So for what reason would there be to put the price on the spa when you or as conumers do not have aclue on why your spa would cost more then the Sams club version.

From what I have seen the only companies that put there prices directly on their spas are companies that will give you the big drop in price. Meaning they may put $15,000 on the unit but when presented to you the customer they tell you for you today and today only this spa runs $3000.00 so it looks like you are saving alot of money today. You may purchase this spa just for the mark down not having any Idea what it is worth. The thing is, is that $3000.00 is what you would have paid for it today and tom. and any other day of the year.

For what it is worth

[empolgation]

Of the 8 or so dealers that I visited while shopping recently, all but one of them had prices clearly posted - 5 of them posted the "MSPR" thousands above an educated selling price 2 of them posted "actual" selling prices. The one that had no price postings spewed of the prices when asked.. "that goes for about $12,000 but I can make you a deal today..."

I expect prices to be clearly marked, marked as a reasonable selling price - in my experience that was about  25%. I agree completely with your belief in how this is "poor business practices that creates mistrust and skepticism". With regard to a product that includes service I only deal with companies that are upfront and clear about their pricing.

[steve771]

Yep, very few had prices on them in my experience.  As far as someone being uninformed, then the dealer should list all those "extras" or "features" along with the price to show why the price is what it is.

[Vinny]

Out of the 8 to 10 dealers I visited to look for my tub, only two had the prices listed of the tub and the place where I bought it also had the price of the options (lifter, ...) on the tub.

I felt better knowing how much it would cost up front, knowing that the dealer couldn't pull the price out of thin air. It was easy to figure out what I could afford and what options I wanted.

Now with that said the dealer did some "negotiating" still. To be honest, she was busy at the time with a buying customer (I was just there to look) and we didn't discuss anything about her pricing policy. I called her about the tub and told her I was concerned about the price when I added up all the options I wanted. She informed me that the tub manufacturer was running a $300 off discount and she gives the options a 2 for 1 discount.

I didn't pressure her and I would like to think that everyone who walks into the store gets the 2 for 1 discount; as far as the factory discount, she informed me it was until the end of the month that I purchased it in. There was no haggling on my part and I do believe if I discussed pricing with her on the first visit the same deal would have been mentioned.

I do feel good about my purchase.  Yes, I wondered about if I got a good price, but I feel I got a price not based on a sales person's whim at the time and I believe that if others bought at the time I did they would have gotten the same price!

[bobhol]

I am a car salesman(not a typist) and i can tell you diplaying prices is VERY IMPORTANT.!! Customers need info and they shop and read while sales people are tied up. unless you give them info ,they will walk.Put the lowest selling price for that tub,list all accessories and their cost ,arriving at the price for that particular tub. the more detail the better.successful (car) salespeople and explain and disclose as much as possible to show knowledge and to gain trust.If you are honest and sincere to your prospect,they will LIKE you. People tend to buy from people they like nuff said,bobhol

[salesdvl]

I have been a dealer for many years.  The way it evolved for our store is that many years ago we priced all of the little items but did not price the big ticket items ( spas, swimming pools, pool tables etc ) because there were so many different ways it gould be packaged.  As it is now we have decided to create the packages and put prices on the signs as to what those packages would be.  

[wetone]

In our showroom all spas have the selling prices cleary displayed including the prices of all options available for each model. The prices for delivery, cover lifts, watercare kits, GFI's are also listed, allowing the consumer to see exactly what each item costs.

We also have a copy of the manufactores warranty posted for each series. Instead of just telling the consumer, we find it more informative to actually show them the details of the warranty.

Displaying MSRP then the selling price in my opion is poor way of trying to build up the value of a spa.

[Steve]

This has always been an interesting question.

My take on it is that there should be signage on all spas detailing the specific spa with included options including a monthly cost for financing.

The large majority of consumers walking into a spa dealer have never owned a spa nor have they been to many dealers in most cases. How many people come in expecting spas to be in the $4000 - $5000 range? From my experience...LOTS!

Sales people are there to help educate the consumer and signs with pricing can't do that. Take this scenario...

Mr. Smith walks into your store. There's no price on your spa and his first question is "So how much is THIS one?" We all deal with that right? If I say the spa is $8000 Mr. Smith, is that a good price? Are you getting good value?

Mr. Smith has no clue. With pricing on the spa, you run the risk of someone walking in, seeing an $8000 price tag and suggesting that they saw a similar looking spa (cause they all look the same to Joe consumer), and walking out feeling they can get a better deal at XYZ Spas down the road. It's exactly what the big box stores rely on.

Every once in a while someone will come in and ask why there's no pricing on the spas. My answer is this...
Very few people are aware of the differences that make up pricing on spas. Most have no idea what to look for and are unfamiliar with this purchase in general. Let's keep in mind that this isn't a car and we can't compare it to the dealer 3 blocks away selling the same thing.

There are multiple reasons why there are huge price differences within one line, never mind taking the 6 dealers in your area into consideration as well. I want to spend the time showing you this product and at the end of it, you will be able to determine if there's good value or not. One price means nothing until the consumer is educated and understands what it is they're looking at.

Chaser1 made some very valid points and I agree 100%.

Empolgation wrote:  "I expect prices to be clearly marked, marked as a reasonable selling price". This is my point in a nut shell. 99% of consumers are unable to determine what reasonable is in this purchase!

Vinny mentioned something in his post worth exploring. So if this sales person was tied up for some time and the pricing on their sign was (in your opinion) too high, chances are good that you would assume that these spas were poor value. It's the risk taken with pricing spas in the showroom. Initially, it's left up to the unknowing consumer to determine this. Now granted, not all consumers are totally unaware of the cost of a quality spa, but I'm generalizing for the most part to make a point.

I also agree with bobhol that when selling a car, it's VERY IMPORTANT to list the price clearly!

The people walking into your store deserve to be asked all the important questions, fitted into a spa in their budget with the features important to them, explained the real benefit of owning a spa and the recommended maintenance. They need to understand the after sale service you provide, free water testing, they need to know about your company, they need to be shown why you carry the brand you do and the real features and benefits of your wonderful brand. At the end of all of this, they will have a clear understanding on whether or not they are getting good value at your store. It's them and only them that can determine this! There's far too many aspects to take into account before this can clearly be determined.
blah, blah, blah...I'll shut up now!

Steve

[Brewman]

Most of the places we shopped had prices marked.
I'd rather have a real price posted than an inflated one.
The whole percieved discount thing bugs me.  
Just tell me what you want for your merchandise, then I'll decide if I want to pay or not.  
Having to negotiate prices is something I'd rather not do.
Brewman

[zzaphod42]

Most of the places we shopped had prices marked.
 I'd rather have a real price posted than an inflated one.
The whole percieved discount thing bugs me.  
 Just tell me what you want for your merchandise, then I'll decide if I want to pay or not.  
Having to negotiate prices is something I'd rather not do.
Brewman

I agree wholeheartedly, and wish that more people had this train of thought. Whenever I am shopping around for something (mid - large size purchases) I always ask what their "best" price is, making it clear that I dislike negotiating and will not ask for a better price. At that point if I feel it is worth the money, (or I really really want it) then I will purchase it.

FWIW, all of the tubs on my floor have "real" prices on them. I feel that we could sell more tubs by using inflated prices and discounting them, but I also feel better being up front and honest with my customers.

Caution Car Analogy To Follow!

The worst thing I have ever experienced is with the local Nissan dealership in town. They would not give me a straight answer on the price of their (used) cars. They insisted that I make the first offer. Not only that, but I would have to sit down and basically have a contract written up before they would consider my offer, and offer anything in return. It was bad enough putting up with the (quite common) nonsense lines like "we respect the fact that it is your money," and "no reasonable offers refused"

Joe

[bobhol]

some car salesman are locked in the 80'sand really struggle to be straight forward and honest . thoseare the sales guys who don't get repeat business or referalls.All good sales people share common traitsand thats what makes them successful. I struggle all the time to kill the image people have of a car salesman. My repeat customers are my indication I am treating them correctly.Spa sales people should get that same indication by the amount of referral businessthey generate.Always treat the customer with respectand honestyand more often than not you will be rewardedwith the sale. It is all about trust. bobhol

[stuart]

Just when we start to wonder where Steve is he comes out from lurking in the shadows and BAM throws a whammy on us!

Thank you for the thought and effort you put forth in you post! I couldn't agree more with your statements.

I actually look forward to the day that consumer education is to a point in our industry that people will have enough information when they walk in the door that we can shoot them our best price and they understand the value. This will also weed out some of the ethics issues that surface from time to time with lies like "ours is just as good as theirs at half the price"! It's way to easy for many companies to BS a customer with a story and not support it with quality.

This really is a two fold dilemma, as a customer I want the tools to control what kind of a deal that I get and as a salesman I want full credit for what my product is before a price judgment is made.

What it boils down to is trust.... I believe it was Ralph Waldo Emerson that said, "One man can only trust another man when he understands how much mistrust he's allowed and still be cordial.”

IMO, the best thing for both customer and salesman is an agreement to help educate the customer regardless of price.

Maybe what would work best is to separate out all of the spas according to a budget range with a big sign over each area stating something like this – “ALL SPAS IN THIS SECTION RANGE BETWEEN $3500 AND $5500!

It would also be helpful if every customer agreed to where a name tag with their budget spelled out so we know what to show them….!

[tonyp]

Of the 5 places I shopped only 1 had posted prices.  The salesman then gives me a price much lower than the posted price and says that he can do better when I'm ready to buy from him.  Needless to say I went elsewhere.  Evrybody wants you to go to them last.  My attitude is give me your best price and make me want to return.

[salesdvl]

I'd rather have a real price posted than an inflated one.
The whole percieved discount thing bugs me.  
 Just tell me what you want for your merchandise, then I'll decide if I want to pay or not.  
Having to negotiate prices is something I'd rather not do.
Brewman

As a consumer I agree.  Unfortunately we don't live in such a cut & dry world.  When we first put signs on spas & pool tables the first thing customers would want to know is " What kind of a deal are you going to give ME"  They didnt care what the sign said.  We also have a competitor that plays the inflacted sign "package" price game and "throws in" or gives a "free upgrade" so customers now expect it.