shop policy

profit_not_robbery

I'am thinking of buying a new leather reclining chair. Went to the local furniture shop to look at the make of chair I wanted,(ekornes stressless) after being directed there by the ekornes websight. I was quoted a price, and went home to check the web and other shops to see if it might be cheaper elsewhere. No prices on the web, so used mother-in-laws postal code to find the nearest supplier to her. Phoned the shop up and told them the make and style I was interested in. They informed me that it was not there policy to give out prices over the phone? I told them I stayed to far away, still no go. No price comparison on the web, no comparison on the phone. I'm new to this game but it looks like a bit off price fixing going on. Or is that just my suspicious mind? Anyone any ideas?

Alan_M_2

It's not the law that people have to sell over the web or give you discount.

You've found a product you want, it's available at a price, you either pay that price or you don't.

If you want to complain about the prices of items in the shops take a moment to consider why they're having to charge that. Probably to cover extortionate rents and business rates.

I'm all for a deal on any product but I'm also a realist that at some point the seller, be they retail or wholesale has to make a profit, because if they don't they just won't be trading to sell the next one.

Also you're after a specific product, the demand for this product might not be huge, therefore the price is fixed by sales volume, not in some form of anti competition attempt.

I'll compare this to power tools in the construction business, Everyone knows DeWalt, you can get them freely on Ebay for 30% of the High Street prices in the UK, ok they're made in Mexico and have no gaurantee, but at that price you can buy another if and when it goes wrong.

However out of choice every tradesmen would buy Hilti power tools, they are head and shoulders above any other make, yet second hand you still pay more then DeWalt power tools cost new.

It's supply and demand, plus an element of Brand image.

So basically take it or leave it, that's the free market economy.

profit_not_robbery

just like tesco's selling levi's. We know how happy levi's were about that. They were sold for £50 because they weren't selling enought of them? Is it not the case that the manufacturer tells the dealer to sell the product at a set price and if they do not the dealership might be moved to someone who does sell the product at the right price. therefor sustaining the brand image.

Alan_M_2

Kind of but the Tesco Situation was slightly different.

You're right what you say about Levi's governing the price of it's product, and as such Levi's refused to sell to Tesco knowning they'd drop the price.

However Tesco struck up a deal with a Levi wholesaler, but this got knocked on the head when Levi's threatened to stop supplying the thrid party wholesaler.

Levi are treading a fine line trading in this manner and Tesco I believe tried to take them to hand on this point, however that's a difficult prospect with intercontinental laws applying.

Alan_M_2

I have similar issues in my business but for different reasons and I need to be careful what I say here.

There are a lot of companies that sell low quality stone but pass it off for something else, that's misrepresentation.

There are also a lot of companies that sell low quality products, rename them and market them in a way that's errrr rustic shall we say and charge a lot of money for it., a very well known upmarket national tile retailer (that's as close as I'll get to naming!)

The Uk is 20 years behind mainland Europe and the USA in stone use, generally people aren't aware what thay are buying and often what's good or bad, you're at the mercy of the retailer.

There are now laws in place int he UK that mean you can't rename a stone, you have to be honest and straightforward with what the stone is and where it was quarried, this is to stop lets say, Chinese granite, which is quarried died black, cut and polished and sold here as Absolute or Zimbabwe balck grnite, looks great for two years then the dye starts to fade.

There's an awful lot of this going on and you have to be careful what you buy and where it comes from, to the extent that I now have to visit new quarries where I intend to buy a product to check what they're producing and what quality it is.

Then there's the guys that are selling on Ebay, I use Ebay to dispose of end batches and as a source of advertising, I've sold very little stone on there, but have had sales as a result of people finding my website through there.
But there are sellers there who sell at very littel margin on low or commercial quality products, people are buying thinking they are getting a bargin, but they're actually paying the correct price for a cheap stone.

I've chosen not to try and compete, however there is a market for low cost products, people would like stone floors but can't afford expensive shop prices, so we offer a lower quality product, but we're upfront about exactly what it is, a few more businesses need to take this on.

The sad thing is, in many cases the sellers themselves aren't really sure what they're buying themselves.

clairehi

Well, I cant believe they would be any cheaper than the other shop - otherwise they would have been happy to tell you.

So I dont think youve lost anything.