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Pet peeve of the day: Dealers who want you to pay in full w/o getting item

76.178.31.161
Posted on July 25, 2014 at 18:43:33
mbnx01
Audiophile

Posts: 7956
Location: Eagle, Idaho
Joined: October 22, 2004
 Hi, this won't be in stock for another month, but don't give me a deposit, just PAY IN FULL FOR THE ITEM.

Lazy, greedy bastards.

Seeing more of this lately and I do not tolerate it.




'A lie is halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on'. -Mark Twain

 

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RE: Pet peeve of the day: Dealers who want you to pay in full w/o getting item, posted on July 25, 2014 at 20:39:16
Trouser Trout
Audiophile

Posts: 286
Location: New England
Joined: August 25, 2010
 I agree and the way you change equipment the dealer is biting himself in the ass.

 

Shows you how hard up they are, posted on July 25, 2014 at 20:48:29
genungo
 Tell them you'll pay in full one month in advance if they mow your lawn for free one month. I'm pretty sure they'll do it.

 

Interesting ...., posted on July 26, 2014 at 05:04:24
Bromo33333
Audiophile

Posts: 3502
Location: Ipswich, MA
Joined: May 4, 2004
 Given typical markups, paying 50% up front is the regular "special order" deposit if something is expensive. One of the dealers in the area has called me to ask to "settle up" before the item arrived for something or two in the past.

There are a couple of possibilities:

1. This is the summer, so the guy is somewhat cash strapped.
2. Given your past with the dealer (such as cancellation of a special order that he ended up stuck with), the guy wants all the money up front.
3. The margins on the item are such that a 50% deposit wouldn't begin to cover it.

Given my wild speculations without much in the way of information, could you clarify what you were trying to buy, used or new, and your relationship with the dealer?

====
"You are precisely as big as what you love and precisely as small as what you allow to annoy you." ~ R A Wilson

 

Care to clarify what you mean? , posted on July 26, 2014 at 05:31:59
three_sox
 ... Is a dealer asking you to pay in full one month before the item will arrive.... as in if you baulk then he will still order the component you want with just a deposit?

OR

Is the dealing telling you if you don't pay in full he won't order the component?


There is a world difference between the two scenarios.

I have rarely paid a deposit and NEVER paid in full before an item arrived.

 

RE: Care to clarify what you mean? , posted on July 26, 2014 at 05:48:47
Bromo33333
Audiophile

Posts: 3502
Location: Ipswich, MA
Joined: May 4, 2004
 Usually I have paid a deposit.

One time, I paid a deposit for something (~US$800 total price, I put US$400 down). I got a call form the dealer about a month later, saying that the item was about to ship, and would I be "ok" with settling up now, rather than when it came in.

I went ahead and paid up then, but I have been working with him for about a decade, so I did (and do) trust the guy. He probably was caught in a cash crunch. No biggie for me.


====
"You are precisely as big as what you love and precisely as small as what you allow to annoy you." ~ R A Wilson

 

Different places, different products, different customers and even different countries .... , posted on July 26, 2014 at 06:20:50
three_sox
 ... It can be all different practices.

I have never paid in full beforehand and I think the maximum deposit is 10% to have something special ordered.

Even ordering a car it is only 3% or so deposit to get the specific model ordered.

Correction, I have paid in full once before. When I auditioned my Audio Aero CDP the dealer sent it to me to try out. No money changed hands other than me agreeing shipping it back was at my cost. I liked it and ordered one. It was about a 3 week wait. The dealer did ask me if I could pay in full. I said yes. But, I already had his demo unit.

When the new one arrived I had a new one and the demo unit. I sent the demo unit back a day or two after the arrival of the new unit.

Paying in full to order a product here is rare in my experience.





 

RE: Pet peeve of the day: Dealers who want you to pay in full w/o getting item, posted on July 26, 2014 at 07:47:24
abs1
 I'll pay what I think would be a "reasonable" deposit, but only with a credit card so if the deal goes upside down I can protest the charge and have my account credited back for the full amount.

Another thing - dealer, do not process a charge on my card until you're shipping the product and can provide a valid tracking number!

Cheers,
Al

 

RE: Different places, different products, different customers and even different countries .... , posted on July 26, 2014 at 08:10:09
Bromo33333
Audiophile

Posts: 3502
Location: Ipswich, MA
Joined: May 4, 2004
 This is true!

I have bought from places that didn't even want a deposit, too, let me borrow the component until mine came in, and then settle up! But that was an exceptional circumstance.


====
"You are precisely as big as what you love and precisely as small as what you allow to annoy you." ~ R A Wilson

 

RE: Pet peeve of the day: Dealers who want you to pay in full w/o getting item, posted on July 26, 2014 at 10:35:14
Mr. Dick Hertz
 It's fair for the dealer to ask for a deposit that amounts to dealer's cost for the item, especially if it's special order, non-stock merchandise. There should also be the understanding, in writing, that the customer is responsible for any re-stocking charges should he refuse or return the item.

 

NOT A SPECIAL ORDER, posted on July 26, 2014 at 11:04:32
mbnx01
Audiophile

Posts: 7956
Location: Eagle, Idaho
Joined: October 22, 2004
 Regular stock item.





'A lie is halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on'. -Mark Twain

 

RE: Pet peeve of the day: Dealers who want you to pay in full w/o getting item, posted on July 26, 2014 at 11:23:01
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 15518
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
 OP-

is this your local dealer/retailer or a biz from the net?
what is/was the piece of gear/speaker in question?

 

Why do I get the feeling we are not geeting the full story? , posted on July 26, 2014 at 19:05:39
budget fi
Audiophile

Posts: 709
Location: seattle
Joined: August 8, 2004
 Doesn't make sense.

 

RE: Why do I get the feeling we are not geeting the full story? , posted on July 27, 2014 at 07:25:05
abs1
 "Doesn't make sense."

It does under some circumstances!

Here's an example of something that happened to me about 15 years ago -

I visited a local B&M dealer to audition new speakers for my home theater system. This was an established dealer whom I had patronized for at least ten years and had spent thousands of dollars with over that period of time. I selected $4K worth of speakers from a large and well known Canadian manufacturer. This store had been an authorized dealer for this brand for several years and had a fairly large selection of product represented in its listening rooms, just not the models I wanted at the time. They assured me that they could order my choices and that they could have them within "a couple of weeks" if I gave them a 25% ($1K) deposit. Okay, invoice written, deposit given, and order placed.

To make a long story short, two weeks went by, then four weeks, then six, and finally eight. I had been checking with them every couple of weeks and received the same answer - "they're on order and are due to arrive next week". Finally, I became fed up with this mess, demanded my deposit, and drove across town to a competitor who was able to get me what I wanted almost immediately.

I later found out that the first dealer was in financial trouble and owed so much money to the manufacturer that their account was placed on a COD hold, which meant that there was no way that I was going to get my speakers from them until they were able to pre-pay in full. Several months later they were gone.

I learned to be sure that the dealer is on firm financial footing before allowing him to operate his business with my deposit money, and that's just one example of why a stocking dealer might want a customer to pay in full upfront. I'm not saying that this is the case here, but it's certainly something to consider.

Cheers,
Al

 

RE: Pet peeve of the day: Dealers who want you to pay in full w/o getting item, posted on July 28, 2014 at 07:12:31
geezerrocket
 +1 , that's the only way to go.



 

RE: Why do I get the feeling we are not geeting the full story? , posted on July 28, 2014 at 21:11:49
sboez23
Audiophile

Posts: 115
Location: Vancouver
Joined: September 10, 2003
 I had the same experience some 30 years ago. I left a deposit on a pair of speakers and was promised deliver "soon" - after the 3rd time of promised non-delivery, I called the distributor and found out the dealer had not paid for past shipments of speakers from the distributor and wasn't going to get any more until he paid up.

 

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