Re: Price sharing etiquette

[Chris Chovit <cho@newdream.net>]

I wrote:
>
><It appears to me that sharing price information (or any non-proprietary
><information, for that matter) can only benefit us all.  The only ones who
><don't benefit are the retailers who are overcharging for their products,
><and I have no problem if they lose business.

Mark Sottilaro wrote:

>As someone that used to word in a retail music store, I'd have to say 
>that you
>couldn't be more wrong.  Do you have any idea what the markup on a piece 
>of
>musical equipment is?  How about less than 20%.  In a high compatition
>situation, it is usually as little as 10 or 5%.  Where they get you is for
>excessories and sheet music.  Anyway, next time you mail order something
>cheap, just think about the day that there wont be a local music store to 
>go
>and check stuff out in.

What was I wrong about?  That sharing price information can only benefit us
all or that sharing price information will not benefit retailers who are
overcharging?

I am not claiming that mail order is better than local
retailers.....surely, I'd be willing to spend a little more for a product
at a local store for the convenience of demoing the unit, having one-on-one
customer service, having the ease of returning the unit, etc....   But how
can I know HOW MUCH more I am spending, if I don't know what a good price
is?

What I was talking about is wakling into a store and being given a price
and not knowing if that is a good price or not.  In my experience, some
establishments (like Guitar Center) will almost assuredly NOT give you
their best price immediately.  You must haggle, and unless you have price
comparisons, they probably will not give you their best price.  My guess
(and maybe you can confirm this) is that these salespeople are getting paid
commision based on the price...that is, the better the price they give you,
the less they get themselves...

As far as I can see, the only way to deal with this type of business
approach is to:

a) Only deal with people who are up front and give you THEIR best price,
right off the bat.
b) Go to Guitar Center, prepared with knowledge about the product's
"reasonable" price, cause you ain't gonna find out from them (easily) what
is reasonable and what is not.

So, again, my point here is:

Sharing price information on a list like this makes it easier for us to
implement both these options.  Knowing the "best  price"of a product allows
me to determine if a particular retailer is being fair or not.  That is my
point, plain & simple.  If you choose not to share price info with the
list, I respect your decision.  I can only hope that enough people WILL
choose to share information, to make this list (& this capitalistic system)
more beneficial to me.

Inspired by the Invisible Hand,
Chris