Will the real price please stand up?

[Mastiffdog]

I have been doing some thinking (which is quite unusual). I walk into my local hobby retailer and see a Genesis 2-8-2 Mike and the price on the item is $139.95 and you would like to add a unit to your roster. (I have one and really like the way it runs - smooth and quiet)

Okay, so here goes:

1. Do you pay the shop's price knowing that you can buy one on Ebay for the $70-$80 range tops?

2. Do you buy from the shop to show your support?

3. Do you check one out at his shop and then go buy it from the internet sellers or Ebay?

4. So now you buy one at nearly half of retail. What happens when you go into the shop the next weekend to pick up a bottle of paint and some flex track, and the shop owner turns to you and says, "I noticed you drooling over that Genesis Mike last weekend, and I can make you a nice deal and give you $20 off"

Do you:

a. lie and say you lost interest in buying one right now?
b. tell him that you found one on the internet for $70-$80 and say that you like to spread your business around?
c. buy his and average your price at $95, now you have two?

5. Do you think MSRP is just a bunch of bull and always try to buy the item at the lowest price possible?

6. If you do pay full price, say $139.95 for the Genesis 2-8-2, do you think it is possible that the dealer is quietly laughing at you after you leave the store?

7. Do you have modeler friends that always ask you what you paid for an item and then get in your face by telling you they paid less for the same thing? (don't you hate that?)

Dog

"The Dog never bites, he never fights"

 

[shaygetz]

1. Nope...

2. I support my daughter's school, my church and 1 or 2 charities, I shop at the hobby store. I like my store but he could go out of business tomorrow and my hobby would survive just fine. To be honest, with Ebay and mail order available, I only buy the small quanity stuff, paints, track, etc. I couldn't imagine the guy surviving if a majority of his customer base was like me. On that note, I don't take advantage of his graces running him into the ground showing me his wares.

3. Yup...having owned my own business myself...and lost my shirt in it, it just goes with the territory.

4. d--"Thanks anyway, this'll be all for now."

5. Yes...

6. Naw...he's still got a lease, taxes, bills and probably just ducky over the fact that he's on his way to making his sales quota for the day. I've been there, and you can tend to be this side of begging just to make a sale.

7. Yup...but like the blown call in a football game, it'll balance out. Nature abhors a vacuum...and a smarta...er, well, you know what I mean.

Hope I didn't appear too terse or cold. After 31 years in the hobby, I like my local shop, but I have my own family to take care of. My family appreciates that model railroading is just my hobby, not my life.

That is a beautiful dog, I'm glad you get to feed it.

 

[brakie]

1. Do you pay the shop's price knowing that you can buy one on Ebay for the $70-$80 range tops?
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No. I simply refuse to pay the full price..I look for the better deals.
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2. Do you buy from the shop to show your support?
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Yes,I buy all my other items at the local shops except high dollar cars which I buy through the net or ebay.I will mention when I do this its for more then one car in order to off set the shipping charges for one car.
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3. Do you check one out at his shop and then go buy it from the internet sellers or Ebay?
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No,I have other ways to review a new product.
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4. So now you buy one at nearly half of retail. What happens when you go into the shop the next weekend to pick up a bottle of paint and some flex track, and the shop owner turns to you and says, "I noticed you drooling over that Genesis Mike last weekend, and I can make you a nice deal and give you $20 off"
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That will depend on how close he can come to the price I paid including shipping plus $10.00 that I am willing to pay and of course if I need or want another one.Say he has a Atlas GP7 for $79.95 and I paid $64.95 plus shipping. I would buy that unit as it is not much more then the $64.95 I paid plus shipping and falls in my $10.00 above rule.Understand?
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5. Do you think MSRP is just a bunch of bull and always try to buy the item at the lowest price possible?
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Yes.I feel that the MRSP is nothing more then "Robber Baron" prices.That is why I do not buy at full MSRP.
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6. If you do pay full price, say $139.95 for the Genesis 2-8-2, do you think it is possible that the dealer is quietly laughing at you after you leave the store?
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Before I got my computer and was foolish enough to pay full MSRP I felt like I was being a chump as I could have easily got the same engine at a lower price though mail order.But,I feel my LHS owner was grateful enough not to laugh.
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7. Do you have modeler friends that always ask you what you paid for an item and then get in your face by telling you they paid less for the same thing? (don't you hate that?)
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Yes,That has happen a time or three..I usually say yes that may be true but I got the road name I wanted did you? I found most will be speechless since they had to settle for a road name they may not have really wanted.I will also mention if the guy is being a jerk,then I say..Did you know the manufacturers sell their inferior units to mail order houses cheaply as they are production rejects like you would buy at some of the stores that sell production reject items that is not perfect??? Now that usually leaves them wondering..Of course we know better but some do not..

 

[Clerk]

Brakie...I love your answeres and agree with almost all of them

 

[Mastiffdog]

Gee Clerk,

You gotta do better than a ditto here!

Dog

 

[Clerk]

Sorry Dog...Just got back from town and spending over $200.00 and 2 hours on the car and I am tired. Just easier to ditto.

 

[Roger Hensley]

Let's see, the dealer paid about $85.00 for the unit and he's robbing you if he prices it at retail. He has brick and mortar expenses to account for...

Forget it. You'll never understand and your dealer will go under selling you your bottle of paint, and you'll wonder why. He can never compete with someone who buys as a jobber and sells at dealer cost.

 

[RidgeRunner]

1. Do you pay the shop's price knowing that you can buy one on Ebay for the $70-$80 range tops?

My LHS charges far less than retail... but if it's too big of a spread from LHS price to online price, I will buy online.


2. Do you buy from the shop to show your support?

Not particularly to show my support, but because it just makes sense to shop there... local and the prices are good.


3. Do you check one out at his shop and then go buy it from the internet sellers or Ebay?

Only if the situation in #1 applies.


4. So now you buy one at nearly half of retail. What happens when you go into the shop the next weekend to pick up a bottle of paint and some flex track, and the shop owner turns to you and says, "I noticed you drooling over that Genesis Mike last weekend, and I can make you a nice deal and give you $20 off"

Do you:

a. lie and say you lost interest in buying one right now?
b. tell him that you found one on the internet for $70-$80 and say that you like to spread your business around?
c. buy his and average your price at $95, now you have two?

I'd consider it if I wanted another, and had the $ in pocket. If not, I'd just say no thanks.

5. Do you think MSRP is just a bunch of bull and always try to buy the item at the lowest price possible?

MSRP is a good starting point to discount from.


6. If you do pay full price, say $139.95 for the Genesis 2-8-2, do you think it is possible that the dealer is quietly laughing at you after you leave the store?

Nope.


7. Do you have modeler friends that always ask you what you paid for an item and then get in your face by telling you they paid less for the same thing? (don't you hate that?)

Nope, nobody really bothers me about what I pay for my trains.

 

[Vic]

IF THIS IS FOOD FOR THOUGHT...I GOT INDIGESTION!!!!

Lawd Have Mercy!!!....Here goes the the LHS vs Discounter debate again!!!

We all have our different levels of participation and spending. We spend what we spend, we buy what we buy and we enjoy what we have. What the H--- difference does it make to anyone else?

There ain't nothing wrong with getting the best price on anything but if anyone pays more or less for a particular item it doesn't make that item any better or any worse.

'Scuse me now...I gotta go hammer some more nails in my soapbox

 

[brakie]

Roger,Having worked in a hobby shop I can assure you he did not pay $85.00 for that unit if the MRSP is $99.00.MSRP of over $100.00 you are getting close..

Yes,I am at a advantage over most modelers due to my past hobby shop experiences.That is why I used $79.95 he/she is still making money and competing with the internet shops like wise shop owners will do while the foolish shop owners will whine how the internet shops is killing them..I don't mean to be harsh but,that is the cold hard facts in todays hobby shop business world.You either completive in prices or your dead in your sales of high dollar items at full price..Not a very good choice is it?