Salesman screw ups

marvda1 · « **on:** 5 Oct 2005, 01:05 am »

What was the worst salesman mistake that you profited from ? Here's mine:
Ultimate Electronics had just opened a new store in my area and I decided to drop by. They had a denon 2000r mk3 integrated on clearance for $800 (retail $1000), but under the display they had the new 2000ivr (retail $1200) so I got the new amp for $800 plus the salesman said it came with a touch screen remote plus it's standard remote which it didn't so I got a free $200 touch screen remote. Lucky...lucky...lucky!!!

marvin

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #1 on:** 5 Oct 2005, 01:46 am »

I was at a local hifi dealer a few years back on the 2nd day that their new manager worked. There was a pair of demo Monitor Audio Silver FX/i surrounds for sale with a price tag of $300 on them. Cautiously, nonchalently I inquired if that price was for the pair or for each speaker. He replied that it was probably for the pair. So I grabbed them, paid ASAP & ran them out to my car, then came back and shopped some more! Needless to say, the normal price was $1k per pair, and he told me he got a royal ass reaming from the owner the next day as the $300 was supposed to be each.

I apologized for getting him yelled at, and played dumb!

But I got one helluva bargain, there.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #2 on:** 5 Oct 2005, 02:24 am »

A buyer of a MAJOR chain I sell wanted a better price - she kinda' demanded it. They are MAJOR, so my partner and I relented and drafted up a Domestic Offer Sheet for $0.17 less than originally given a couple weeks later.

When I emailed it in, I emailed the first version by mistake...the quote at $0.17 higher. We didnt figure out my mistake until a couple months later when the orders came spewing out from said retailer. They didn't even notice the first price was the same as the second...the buyer just musta' just felt like acting like God that day

So that little salesman mistake netted us and extra a cool $23,800 that year....the retailer ended up ordering 140,000 units.

I know it's not hifi related, but it's a pretty good, profitable salesman screwup all the same

Bizarroterl · « **Reply #3 on:** 7 Oct 2005, 05:39 pm »

A local electronics store though they had only one of a large screen projection TV. It listed for $4K, but the one they advertised was $800. I took a look at it and it had been dropped off the back of a truck. It wasn't worth even $300.

After taking a walk through the store I found another in the back buried behind a bunch of other projection TVs. I went up front and said I wanted to buy the model advertised for $800. The salesman started to take me to the shattered set and I said no, I want the other one. They didn't realize that had the other one but since they advertised it, they had to sell it to me.

TomW16 · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 Oct 2005, 08:23 pm »

I was approached by a couple of gentlemen in a white van who mentioned that they were installing speakers and had been provided with a few extras and would sell them to me cheap rather than return them as extras.

Of course, the speakers are not "extras" and are crap but I have heard of many unsuspecting people getting hosed thinking they were getting a good deal.

Knowingly taking advantage of a store or sales person is running too close to stealing in my book. If, however, the store advertises a price and doesn't know that there are multiple items in the store, it's just poor inventory management.

Although I wasn't able to take advantage, Future Electronics in Canada advertized via their web site that a $100 MP3 player was selling for $10! I have to hand it to the store in that they honoured all single orders but would not honour orders for people who loaded up their carts.

Tom

kck · « **Reply #5 on:** 9 Oct 2005, 06:23 am »

A few months ago fatwallet.com users were told, via a massive thread, that Target stores should honor an ad touting mp3 players at around 30% off, for iPods. There was even a product code that included the iPods.

I tried it at my local Target and was refused, saying that it applied to "lesser-priced" mp3 players. In every way, according to the letter of the ad, the iPod qualified, but they blundered in not realizing there would be a run on iPods. Many people were successful with this ploy however, with several reporting that they bought as many as a dozen iPods in one go, until a corporatewide directive put an end to the gold rush.

Hm... isn't that kind of an opposite experience from what this thread asked for? The other side of the coin, I guess. Where the greed of some resulted in the exclusion of others. A form of capitalism no doubt.

As for me, I ended up buying an iPod for about the same deal when the 40G photo went into closeout a few weeks later.

scottielee · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 Oct 2005, 02:41 am »

earlier this year, i custom ordered our listening sofa (shown below) from Baker for $2,000. later on, i went back to the store to look for more deals and was told by my salesman that the sofa should have been on sale for $3,500 (retail $5,000).

rbrb · « **Reply #7 on:** 14 Oct 2005, 03:44 pm »

Sales people make a living off of selling product. If they screw up it comes directly out of their pocket if they work strickly commission. Pulling a fast one on a sales person makes you no better than a dishonest sales person.

What goes around comes around.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #8 on:** 15 Oct 2005, 03:59 am »

Quote from: rbrb

What goes around comes around.

God, if only the world really worked like that.