Henrik Toubro wrote:

On one hand I don't like people always asking for discounts, (I once worked in a store)

I still do (non-B&O)...

...and I'm generally annoyed with people who have to haggle about everything. It's OK if it actually helps to get a good sale done, but most of the time it doesn't. There are a few groups of buyers:

• - "Now gimme a good discount." (aha?)
  
• - "I'm a returning customer" (yes, I vaguely remember you were here haggling about that 15 euro item last year as well)
• - "Gimme a good price and I'll bring you more business later" (never to be seen again)
• People who think they are bringing me good business when they buy all my stock of something and want to get a large discount for that. The availability of some stuff is so bad, that this only leaves me with less money while I get to sell no-can-do to a dozen other, non-satisfied customers.
  
• People who actually come back, buy stuff regularly, and don't b**** and whine about the price every time

Guess which group is most likely to actually have the total rounded down without asking?

Every euro I take off the total is directly out of my profits. I don't get to haggle at the flippin' groceries store, where I need to buy my food with that same money. I'd much rather throw something extra - possibly more profitable / discountable - into the deal instead of haggling down the price of a single low margin item. Some people actually realize that...

Of course, the customer is always right blah blah blah, so they don't get to hear this, instead I vent it here... or as my German acquintance likes to put it, "WIR SIND KEINE BAZAAR!" 😂

Sorry, I have no idea about B&O discounts. 😁

     "annoyed"

I recomant you change your job ,you do not know anything about  services. Or try renegotiate with bang olufsen struer  , to have a higher profit.

If you are a good seller, you realize that buyers are trying to say.  (Your products are too expensive) . Why do you think beoplay is so successful?

claudiu wrote:

I recomant you change your job ,you do not know anything about  services. Or try renegotiate with bang olufsen struer  , to have a higher profit.

In case it wasn't clear, the store has nothing to do with B&O the company, nor its products.

joeyboygolf wrote:

What is a Beosound 8??

Regards Graham

Getting any sort of discount from any business effectively means that you are taking advantage of all the other customers who are subsidising your discount by paying full / higher price.

You are also helping to increase the risk of that retailer / business going out of business.

On the other hand, margins can be so high that a retailer always expects to make most profitable sales with increased turnover through building in special offers from time to time. In theory, now that recommended retail prices are not legal, the most efficient retailers will be able to offer the lowest prices. Look forward to a world where you just buy on-line from a big remote shed. 🤔

Graham

I used to work in a Bang & Olufsen store and the people who asked for discounts were few and far between until the "recession" kicked in. Everyone thought they were doing you a huge favour and that they instantly deserved a discount, because BMW or Land Rover would give them one and "no one pays full price for B&O these days." Working in a London B&O store meant that we always had to be competitive and some people would rise their prices and then give a big discount to make the customer feel as if they were getting a great deal.

The way to combat this is in my opinion is related on a customer by customer basis. Typically we used to include installation if it was a standalone product within the price and of course the price that product is sold for has to pay that, although when you get someone who wants a BeoVision 10-40 on the wall cables chased in, surround sound connected etc etc all within the price it starts eating away at the margin and that is what typically people want. Therefore discounts are difficult to give, if you look at the custom install industry where I now work it is very different because every step of the work is accounted and charged for:

Design (CAD Drawings, 3D Renderings etc)

Project Management (Dedicated project manager for the duration of your project)

Cables (Usually 10000's of metres of CAT6 and 4 core speaker cable, as well as interconnects)

Equipment (Screens, speakers, control systems etc)

Installation (Physical installation of equipment, termination of data points, patch panels etc)

Programming (Labour required to programme AMX, Crestron, Control4, Savant, Lutron system)

Everything is a lot more transparent and manufacturers set suggested retail prices and clients but on reputation of each dealer, very rarely is a discount asked for unless it is B2B, because the person investing their money understands that you get what you pay for in this industry, however as with a lot of things in the CI market this has not reached B&O, as it is still very focused on the retail element of the business (Client walks in, buys a BeoVision 10-40 on a stand, sale done)

Any way that's just my 2 pennies, if you believe that you get what you pay for and require installation work done and want it done well, a discount should not be top of your priorities, quality of work should be and that shouldn't be discounted.

tournedos wrote:

Henrik Toubro wrote:

On one hand I don't like people always asking for discounts, (I once worked in a store)

I still do (non-B&O)...

...and I'm generally annoyed with people who have to haggle about everything. It's OK if it actually helps to get a good sale done, but most of the time it doesn't. There are a few groups of buyers:

• - "Now gimme a good discount." (aha?)
  
• - "I'm a returning customer" (yes, I vaguely remember you were here haggling about that 15 euro item last year as well)
• - "Gimme a good price and I'll bring you more business later" (never to be seen again)
• People who think they are bringing me good business when they buy all my stock of something and want to get a large discount for that. The availability of some stuff is so bad, that this only leaves me with less money while I get to sell no-can-do to a dozen other, non-satisfied customers.
  
• People who actually come back, buy stuff regularly, and don't b**** and whine about the price every time

Guess which group is most likely to actually have the total rounded down without asking?

Every euro I take off the total is directly out of my profits. I don't get to haggle at the flippin' groceries store, where I need to buy my food with that same money. I'd much rather throw something extra - possibly more profitable / discountable - into the deal instead of haggling down the price of a single low margin item. Some people actually realize that...

Of course, the customer is always right blah blah blah, so they don't get to hear this, instead I vent it here... or as my German acquintance likes to put it, "WIR SIND KEINE BAZAAR!" 😂

Sorry, I have no idea about B&O discounts. 😁

 

 

 

I can relate to everything you write, I just didn't have the patience to write all that on my iPad :o)

The store I worked in was also a non-B&O store. 

Well if i get an extra years warranty just for shopping on the BeoPlay website, why bother with going to a store in the first place and getting the bulk standard 3 years warranty. 

I write that in jest, because i think it's a bit off of B&O to open a website which offers subtle advantages over it's retail stores. Are their products only going to last 3 years because i get it in store, or do you believe they will actually last 4? Which is it?

Chris Townsend wrote:

Well if i get an extra years warranty just for shopping on the BeoPlay website, why bother with going to a store in the first place and getting the bulk standard 3 years warranty. 

I write that in jest, because i think it's a bit off of B&O to open a website which offers subtle advantages over it's retail stores. Are their products only going to last 3 years because i get it in store, or do you believe they will actually last 4? Which is it?

You don't get an extra warranty.  There's no 4 year guarantee.  It's a 2 year warranty with proof of purchase if you don't register the product and buy it elsewhere (ie. Apple store in the US) but when you buy from BeoPlay it's automatically registered and the standard 3 year guarantee is already included without having to fill anything extra out.  At least that's how it works in the US.

Also on another note ... wasn't it once considered poor form to have a discussion like this on a public forum?  If you look at other message boards for high end brands (ie. Paneristi, Rolexforums, etc.) threads typically get locked for talking discounts publicly.