I must look stuped ...

[JLSleather]

Had a guy show up this morning, wants to sell me new windows.  Wife wasn't around when they got here 40 minutes EARLY for the appointment.  I questioned it when his cost for the bay window sounded like about TWICE what it should be.  His response -- you guessed it - "you get what you pay for".

PRESSED on him a bit, (I'm actually pretty good at asking questions that get to the heart of the matter) and it turns out that he's including the price of a building permit (city's "cut") in EACH window.  So not based on city code, but more of a "add $200 to each window" mentality.  So I'm clearly NOT "getting what I paid for" if I'm paying for a separate permit for each window (that's not how that works, and I guess he's used to people who don't know that).

I asked if that meant if I give you something for FREE, does that then make it WORTHLESS?  I mean, if it has no price tag, and you "get what you pay for", then PAYING NOTHING should make it WORTH NOTHING, right... ?@!  According to these "get what you pay for" people, putting a higher price tag on it makes it "worth more" - as if the price tag itself somehow improves the thing.

Stuttered a bit, tried a couple of times to shift lanes and tell me some other version of that same story .. finally said "we may not be the company for you".  I agreed and sent him on his way.

Seriously, people -- don't be stuped and you wont get duped.  CONSIDER what you are paying and what you are getting. 

[bermudahwin]

@JLSleather

ref "I must look stupid..."

Whilst agreeing with the content of the post, its hard to comment on the title as I can not recall ever seeing a picture of you. If you post one, I'm sure you'd get comments.

H

[Samalan]

things are more expensive now some folks think a 93 trillion dollar deficit is ok !so when we get that tax bill the widow price should sound like a good price!

[Smartee]

Ha ha!  My husband is a home improvement contractor/builder.  I used to be a welder and have a pretty good understanding of how things work - go together - are built.  I love when at a home show, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. and the sales people see a 5'2" 110lb woman come in on her own and say "You need new windows, door, whatever..."  I bite and let them go on about their product, method, etc. and then I start asking educated questions   In the end they know I'm not stupid (but they might) and they didn't get the job. :D

 

[JLSleather]

2 hours ago, hwinbermuda said:

its hard to comment on the title as I can not recall ever seeing a picture of you.

Well, my question was liturgical.. er, sumthin' like that.

[Dave Richardson]

Great post. Knowledge and wisdom, now THATS the hoky-poky

[chriscraft]

JLS, I think today’s salesmen are now obsolete due to Internet shopping. I mean face it, we really don’t need salesmen anymore if they can’t get us a better price than what we can find by searching on google for a few minutes. 

  I know most salesmen work on a commission base and get a cut off each sale no matter what they say. 

It’s NOT that they are being dishonest, its just that an honest salesman won’t make any money at the end of the month.

  My friend recently told me while I’m shopping around for a new 2019 car, “it’s like a police detective expecting the criminal to give himself up without a chase”.  So we need to be good detectives and read, search for clues, compare competitor prices just to break the case of finding a deal. After all...The deal isn’t going to present itself without a chase....

[GRod]

Back in 2004 I was trying to buy a Toyota Tacoma, and I had a policy of never, ever buying new vehicles.  I was looking high & low, local & internet, but with what was available I was getting a much older and higher mileage truck than what I was comfortable with before I felt like I was saving anything.  This had gone on for weeks and I was getting pretty frustrated, and then my wife said, "You keep vehicles forever.  Why don't you just buy a new one?"  Of course, this was an entirely different branch of research, and an entire weekend was consumed by trying to establish how much I *should* pay for a new truck.

I walked into the dealership and found the salesman who arranged my test drive a week earlier.  We sat down at his desk and I handed him my opening salvo: a spreadsheet printout detailing my desired out-the-door cost (which was a good 15% - 18% below sticker, if memory serves).  He studied it briefly, slipped it into a clipboard, drew a line across the bottom with an 'x', and handed it back to me for my signature.

I was floored. I was prepared for an hour and a half of haggling.  Instead, I was driving home in my new truck about half an hour later.

And then I traded it on a (used)  F-150 six years later.   Which I sold three years after that.  An action which I immediately regretted and began laying the groundwork for another F-150.   Which I finally bought in '15 (a used one. ).

So much for keeping my vehicles forever.

[Lobo]

I think it was P.T. Barnum who said "There is a sucker born every minute".

Probably the reason some salesmen try to do business the way they do.

Seriously, home improvement contractors of all trades are looking for the low hanging fruit on the tree. A job that takes $1000 in materials and $1000 in labor/overhead is frequently quoted out at $3000 to $6000. The really creative contractors have arrangements in place for financing, with a cooperating finance company offering "low, low monthly payments", and instead of talking about total job costs they sell jobs based upon the monthly payment a customer is willing to pay.

Car dealers do the same thing. When a customer walks onto the lot the salesmen seldom want to talk about price or vehicle type, all they want to know is "What sort of payment are you looking for?"

Buyer beware. Do your research first, then when a salesman starts into his little schtick, take your wallet with you and leave.

[fallequinox]

I wonder if there is another forum somewhere were people are saying the same thing about us leatherworkers. Something along the lines of.." I called up a leather place to see if they could do this and that for me and do you have any idea how much they wanted to charge me ?!?!!? the insanity!!.... etc. etc." 

 

[JLSleather]

 

12 hours ago, Lobo said:

Buyer beware. Do your research first, then

Agreed.  Compare the product - not the "epic" story (hype).  Plus, when I ask a price and get "only 29.95 a month", I take that as a guy who refuse to answer a question. I'm out.

 

12 hours ago, fallequinox said:

I wonder if there is another forum somewhere were people are saying the same thing about us leatherworkers

If they aint one, they should be one.  That's a good starting test - ask 'em about they GOODS.  See if they revert to name dropping and blame shifting.  Examples... along with some comments ...

A:  Well, the cost is high because I use only Herman Oak leather .. founded in 1881, using american cow hides, best in the land, greatyest wonderfulest EVER,..... blah blah blah.. HO HO HO....

• But, so do those other guys.

A:   See, I polish m' edges from Tuesday 'til early Friday morn.  hashtag wax, hashtag oil, hashtag elvis was the king, Blah blah blah...

• Uh, okay. But your carving is not good, and your stitch lines are 1/4" away from my pistol (?@!)@#@!

A:  Uh, yeah, your holster is supposed to bind like that when you tighten your belt.   Plus Jeff is a dumb-dumb-poopie-head.

• Jeff ain't here, so it aint Jeff binding your holster.  And if your holster is tighter on the belt than it is in the hand, then it's a construction issue, not a "'newness" issue.

A:  Well, we sell a lot o' stuff, plus been doing this fer a jillion years now...

• The 14th St. "pro working girls" could say the same thing.  Does anybody really believe the "product" is better?@!

 

You get the idea.  I'm ALL FOR educating the customer and letting them make an informed choice (but not everyone is).  

Turning to current important issues... is there a 12-step program for pistachio eaters?@!