Tweeter Store - will they deal with you on prices ?

[omikey]

Anyone have experience working on getting a package deal from Tweeter ? What kind of percentage were you sucessful in getting them to come off the asking prices ?
Were they easy to deal with ? Of couse I know that some sales people are easier than others, just wanted to know if Tweeter deals at all, some store don't (Saturn)

Thanks,
Mikey

[JSE]

They will knock 10% off right off the bat. You can usually get them to knock off between
15% to 20% if you really negotiate.

Just as a example. I was getting ready to buy my Yamaha RX-V1400 from a company that my company has a discount program with. The receiver list for $799.00. I was going to get it for $540 total. Just out of curiosity I stopped by the Tweeter near my work. I went in and told the sales guy I needed a yes or no answer. I expl. the $540 price I was getting and wanted to know if he would match it. He said the lowest they could sell it for would be $650 or approx. 20%. I did not buy it, but you could probably expect 20% is about the max they would take off on "most" products. Some products will have different markup so 20% may vary a little one way or the other.

JSE

[Woochifer]

They will knock 10% off right off the bat. You can usually get them to knock off between
15% to 20% if you really negotiate.

Just as a example. I was getting ready to buy my Yamaha RX-V1400 from a company that my company has a discount program with. The receiver list for $799.00. I was going to get it for $540 total. Just out of curiosity I stopped by the Tweeter near my work. I went in and told the sales guy I needed a yes or no answer. I expl. the $540 price I was getting and wanted to know if he would match it. He said the lowest they could sell it for would be $650 or approx. 20%. I did not buy it, but you could probably expect 20% is about the max they would take off on "most" products. Some products will have different markup so 20% may vary a little one way or the other.

JSE

With most chain stores, the sales reps don't have a lot of authority to deal down by a huge amount, and even managers can only go down so much on price. Even at the store where a friend of mine whom I've known since junior high worked, he had to mix and match various discounts to get me a good markdown on an item.

With my system, I got some of my best deals at independent stores. General rule there is the more you plan to buy, the more they will mark things down, and the sales reps have more discretion to make a deal. Also, a store close to where I live has periodic warehouse sales where they mark items down to near closeout prices. It's the only time of year where I'll buy Monster cables because during those sales they're marked down 40-50% off.

[wasch_24]

Just two weeks ago I purchased my whole home theater from Tweeter. I was able to negotiate between 10%-15% for most of my equipment. The thing is though it really depends on the sales person, the store location, and the day.

Let me explain: I live outside of D.C. in the suburbs. My local store that is about 35 miles from D.C. was very willing to drop prices and deal. The sales guy seemed so excited by the large sale that he didn't even hesitate when I made price suggestions. Then one day I was closer to town, 15 miles, and stopped by the Tweeter there. In this area the population is much more affluent and the per capita income is much higher. I was going to pick up two surrounds and my center channel on my way home. The total price was around $600. I suggested that since I was paying cash that maybe he could knock 10% off the package. This guy just freaked out and started become confrontational with me saying things like "Would I ask you to do 100% of your job for 90% of the pay.." and more crazy analogies. Any way to make a long story short I didn't buy the speakers and continued home. On the way I stopped by the local store and successfully purchased the package for 15% off with no problem.

Here is the final result of negotiating with Tweeter:
Receiver- Yamaha RXV-1400 $729 (msrp $799) 10%
DVD Changer- Yamaha DVDC-740 $249 (msrp $299)(Progressive Scan) 17%
Mains- Boston Acoustics VR-965 $589/pair-open box (msrp $1000) Built in powered subs
(These don't really count they were already discounted)
Center- Boston Acoustics VRC $339 (msrp $399) 15%
Surrounds/Rears- Boston Acoustics CR-65 $170 (msrp $199) 2 pair in 6.1/7.1 setup 15%

MSRP Total $2995
Actual Total $2332

One final note:
In talking with the sales guy some more he said that Tweeter corporate management is considering a no haggle policy chain wide in the near future. That is not the end all of deals but it will make it more difficult. The sales guy I was dealing with was able to change the prices on the fly with no manager approval.

[omikey]

Thanks everyone for you input on this. Thanks Whooch, and Wasch, Thank you too for all the details of your deal. I hope to do as well on my purchase. I already have a quote from them .... since I have a very complex installation that I'm planning. I intend to discuss a discount on the entire package tonight or Friday.

You may be asking, what is complex .... in summary:

We have a very open living room, with built in book shelfs along the wall where the tv will go. We are putting in a plasma over the fireplace and book shelf mains with a center ...two bipole surrnouds in the back.

Two speakers in the dining room ceiling, two speakers and a sub out on the deck.

Sourround in the bedroom. Exsisting JVC AVR will be used to drive the surround in the bedroom and the speakers on the deck.
The new Denon will be used to drive the surround HT in the living room and the speakers in the dinining room.


OK ALL of the equipment is to be out of sight (wife factor). The only way I can do this is to put the equip in a cabinet in the dinining room.
So that would be two recievers, CD player, 1 dvd (the other dvd sits in the bedroom, vcr, and HDTV converter box.

Everything has to be remote controled..... IR repeaters on everything. Even the speakers on the deck will be RC, the system in the bedroom will be RC back to the dinning room, the speakers in the dinning room will have a volume control knob on the wall ........

Anyway, you sorta get the picture ... it's wiring throuh exsisting walls and all that, set up all the IR repeater wiring, new electrical for the plasma, no visible cables ANYWHERE ..... so I have asked Tweeter to provide me with a proposal to include the entire installation YIKES

Anyone have any experience with installation from Tweeter ?

Thanks again everyone, you've all been most helpful !!

[wasch_24]

Excuse me as I lift my chin off my desk and wipe up the drool!

They should definitely deal!

That sounds awesome. Keep us up to date on your progress.

[omikey]

Excuse me as I lift my chin off my desk and wipe up the drool!

They should definitely deal!

That sounds awesome. Keep us up to date on your progress.
OK, I will. I'll post some pictures somewhere and post links to them also .... this will be awhile before we get to pictures ... since we are still working on reaching an agreement on the price :-)

[omikey]

Just two weeks ago I purchased my whole home theater from Tweeter. I was able to negotiate between 10%-15% for most of my equipment. The thing is though it really depends on the sales person, the store location, and the day.

Let me explain: I live outside of D.C. in the suburbs. My local store that is about 35 miles from D.C. was very willing to drop prices and deal. The sales guy seemed so excited by the large sale that he didn't even hesitate when I made price suggestions. Then one day I was closer to town, 15 miles, and stopped by the Tweeter there. In this area the population is much more affluent and the per capita income is much higher. I was going to pick up two surrounds and my center channel on my way home. The total price was around $600. I suggested that since I was paying cash that maybe he could knock 10% off the package. This guy just freaked out and started become confrontational with me saying things like "Would I ask you to do 100% of your job for 90% of the pay.." and more crazy analogies. Any way to make a long story short I didn't buy the speakers and continued home. On the way I stopped by the local store and successfully purchased the package for 15% off with no problem.

Here is the final result of negotiating with Tweeter:
Receiver- Yamaha RXV-1400 $729 (msrp $799) 10%
DVD Changer- Yamaha DVDC-740 $249 (msrp $299)(Progressive Scan) 17%
Mains- Boston Acoustics VR-965 $589/pair-open box (msrp $1000) Built in powered subs
(These don't really count they were already discounted)
Center- Boston Acoustics VRC $339 (msrp $399) 15%
Surrounds/Rears- Boston Acoustics CR-65 $170 (msrp $199) 2 pair in 6.1/7.1 setup 15%

MSRP Total $2995
Actual Total $2332

One final note:
In talking with the sales guy some more he said that Tweeter corporate management is considering a no haggle policy chain wide in the near future. That is not the end all of deals but it will make it more difficult. The sales guy I was dealing with was able to change the prices on the fly with no manager approval.
wasch_24 (http://forums.audioreview.com/member.php?u=235757)<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_19879", true); </SCRIPT> - I was wondering if you bought the Tweeter 5 year service package ?

I love the sound of Boston speakers !
I'm putting Boston's in the HT setup in the living room.
Book shelf VR-M50
Center VR-MC
Surrounds VR-MX

[wasch_24]

wasch_24 (http://forums.audioreview.com/member.php?u=235757)<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_19879", true); </SCRIPT> - I was wondering if you bought the Tweeter 5 year service package ?

Yeap! I think it was around $50 for the receiver. I almost always buy the service plans, and when I do I always use them eventually. The thing that I like is that it just seems easier to get things done when you have the plan. I didn't get it on the DVD because I suspect that I will be replacing it eventually anyway.

[omikey]

Yeap! I think it was around $50 for the receiver. I almost always buy the service plans, and when I do I always use them eventually. The thing that I like is that it just seems easier to get things done when you have the plan. I didn't get it on the DVD because I suspect that I will be replacing it eventually anyway.
Thanks for reply.... I plan to also take them up on the extended warranty, hell if ANYTHING goes wrong with that Plasma it will more than cover the cost of the package .... I'm also going to get an overall package that covers EVERYTHING else.

I'm still working with them on a price..... meeting with them again on Sat. so I should know by then what I'm going to do. I told them on Monday past that I didn't think that they had been very agressive in the price they quoted me so far.....go back and come to me with a price that shows me that you really want to do this deal, I'll be back on Sat. and we can close the deal.

I'll post next week and let you know exactly what I bought, and what I'm paying....... It's a LOT of stuff, and a TON of money ....

It's like any other hobby or 'entertainment' ..... they make you pay for it big time :-)

[wasch_24]

I don't know if you need 'em but here are some tips on negotiating:

Silence is the most powerful tool, when they give a price just stand there and think or something, just don't say a word until they do. It's hard to do, but it ensures that you are in control of what's happening. Most likely the guy will stand there for a few seconds and then start defending how he came to that price and such.

Also if the price they come up with isn't what you were hoping for, wait until the guy gets tired of the silent treatment and simply state "That's just not good enough." That's it, don't say anything else (silence again). This forces the ball immediately back into his court and he will have to scramble under the pressure of your silence.

These things are very hard to do, especially if you are really itching to buy the stuff. Try it and you will be suprised.

[omikey]

I don't know if you need 'em but here are some tips on negotiating:

Silence is the most powerful tool

I know this is right, I've used it in the past, both in buying and in selling

.
These things are very hard to do, especially if you are really itching to buy the stuff. Try it and you will be suprised.[/QUOTE]
Agree with you on this point too.

I do want to buy, but am not really itchy about it because of the total cost. I hate to spend that much money .... I have it, I just don't like giving it up !

I am considering posting here for you the total picture of what the plans are and what they have quoted .;....... this would be at the risk of having someone jump on my post and tell me how crazy I am, but what the hell
It's a very complex installation and entails a lot of new gear ....

Thanks for the tips, I will be using them :-)

[wasch_24]

Omikey-
Did you buy or what?

Did you get the price you were hoping for?

Let's have an update.

[omikey]

Omikey-

Did you buy or what?

Did you get the price you were hoping for?

Let's have an update.Wasch - I wish I had some good news, but alas I don't.

I'm very frustrated at this point because I was anticipating that I would have bought the equipment by now.

I've been to the store about 3 times since last time we spoke about it. I was just there last night. Last week when I was there the guy said to me: This is it, this is the best that I can do (problem was he was still at LIST price for all of the speakers, AVR, cables, and everything). So I said OK, and started looking for other authorized dealers. No other dealers in this area that carry both Boston and Denon ..... so that sorta limits my leverage in getting a package deal, but can still work that. There are several dealers about 70 miles from here.

So I went home, discussed it with my wife. We concluded that we would not get: Speakers in the dining room, or new speakers for the deck, and I would do all the install myself.

I redesigned the IR repeater systems that the guy in Tweeter had laid out, saving about $600 dollars. He had TWO controllers in the plan, one in the living room, one for the sensor on the deck and about 12 emmiters. I went and looked up Niles equipment and designed a system with a sensor in the living room, one on the deck, both feeding a single controller that has two sensor inputs, and one high power output IR blaster that can emit IR to the entire stack of components in the closet. I showed this to him .... he says: Well most of my customers aren't as technical as you, and I wanted to make sure that this system would work for you 'TURN KEY' so I put in two controllers so the AVR wouldn't get confused when you were trying to control zone 2 from the deck. ...... more sales BS

I tell you, the more I talk to him the more BS he lays on me. I guess he thinks I'm stupid and that I'd just let him come to the house, design whatever he wanted no matter what the cost, no matter how much redundant stuff he put it, anything to jack up the cost.

SOOOOOOOOOO, yesterday I went and told him, we are not going to be able to reach a deal - (IMMEDIATELY he said, what if I give you $1000 off ?). I had just come from another store and the guy is willing to give me 10% off on the speakers (I'll have to go elsewhere for the AVR).

So he gives me this big story about how he might be able to get me 10% off, and blah blah. I reminded him of how he told me that he had already given me his best offer, and I had made choices on his position........

So now I am in the process of calling stores in Charlotte to see if someone will give me a pkg deal. I'll drive the 70 miles to go get it there if I can get a package deal. He is off today but told me that when he comes in on Friday that he would work up a new cost for just the speakers, AVR and IR Repeater and give me a package price .... I have to grin because at this point I've already decided that I'm not buying from this guy .....

The solution now looks like this:


New TV mounted on the wall over the fireplace (already bought the TV from them - Pioneer Pro800-HD marked down to $5,500 and a $500 rebate from Pioneer)
Denon 3805,
Boston speakers (5 speaker set VM series)
Niles IR Repeater system. One sensor in the living room, one on the deck, single controller and a cabinet blaster emitter
No pronto remote
No speakers in dinning room - not a big issue, it's a very open space between the livinging room and the dinning room
We'll use an older set of speakers out on the deck
All in all we remain VERY excited about getting it all in place .... just taking quite a bit longer than we thought. It's not the time so much, but just all the sales BS that I'm dealing with that I find frustrating.

In the mean time I've taken the opportunity to get in a lot of research about AVRs, speaker types (bipole/dipole), remote controllers and IR repeaters.

I've learnt a lot and am grateful for that and all the tips the nice people like yourself have given me.

I will post again as soon as I can nail down a price and make some progress.

CYA then :) Wish me good luck in Charlotte !!!

[Mania]

Wasch - So now I am in the process of calling stores in Charlotte to see if someone will give me a pkg deal. I'll drive the 70 miles to go get it there if I can get a package deal. He is off today but told me that when he comes in on Friday that he would work up a new cost for just the speakers, AVR and IR Repeater and give me a package price .... I have to grin because at this point I've already decided that I'm not buying from this guy .....

The solution now looks like this:


New TV mounted on the wall over the fireplace (already bought the TV from them - Pioneer Pro800-HD marked down to $5,500 and a $500 rebate from Pioneer)
Denon 3805,
Boston speakers (5 speaker set VM series)
Niles IR Repeater system. One sensor in the living room, one on the deck, single controller and a cabinet blaster emitter
No pronto remote
No speakers in dinning room - not a big issue, it's a very open space between the livinging room and the dinning room
We'll use an older set of speakers out on the deck
All in all we remain VERY excited about getting it all in place .... just taking quite a bit longer than we thought. It's not the time so much, but just all the sales BS that I'm dealing with that I find frustrating.



CYA then :) Wish me good luck in Charlotte !!!




Omikey. I am also in the DC area, and if I were to put down cash at a brick and mortar store, I wouldn't go south. Go NORTH my good man, to Delaware, land of tax-free shopping. There are two tweeter stores in the Wilmington Area (easily accessable from 95) that may or may not deal with you on price. If you are spending that much on equipment, the 4-7% sales tax can add up. The drive is an easy 2.5 hours to Wilmington. Its good to hear you are going to do the install yourself. If you take your time, do the reasearch, and measure twice/cut once, I think doing things yourself gives you a lot more satisfaction.

Good luck

[omikey]

Mania,
Thanks for the Good Luck wish :)

I'm not sure what I said that lead you to conclude that I was in the DC area but I'm not really. I'm about 500 miles from DC, down towards Columbia SC way, about 70 miles from Charlotte. That's why I'm heading to Charlotte. There are about 5 Tweeter stores over there, I'm sure hoping that one of them will be inclined to give me some break on the price.

I agree on that measure twice cut once stuff .... I've done quite of bit of woodworking and know this routine very well :)

I also agree on the satisfaction factor when you do it yourself, also you know that it will be done to your satisfaction too, just one of the additional benefits of DIY.

DIM will also put me more in touch with my gear, I'll know exactly how everthing is connected in, be very familair with the IR setup and where all the wires are routed. I'll be much happier with it this way, and heck I'll save some money to spend on CD/DVD ........ what a deal !!!!

Thanks for the tips on the tax free shopping area, just a bit out of my way though.

Mike

[wasch_24]

Mania,
I'm not sure what I said that lead you to conclude that I was in the DC area...

Mike, I think he got my reply confused with you.

Sorry to hear about all the troubles.

You are right though, doing it yourself will make you more proud of your setup and you will definitely be able to trouble shoot or upgrade easier because you know how it is all put together.

[Mania]

Mike, I think he got my reply confused with you.

Sorry to hear about all the troubles.

You are right though, doing it yourself will make you more proud of your setup and you will definitely be able to trouble shoot or upgrade easier because you know how it is all put together.


Yup, I confused your posts.

[omikey]

Mike, I think he got my reply confused with you.

Sorry to hear about all the troubles.

You are right though, doing it yourself will make you more proud of your setup and you will definitely be able to trouble shoot or upgrade easier because you know how it is all put together.
Wasch - yep, he thought I was you :-)

Yep - I was thinking about - what if I let them install this, and then I want to add a new CD jukebox ..... or a new whatever ... I'm sure that could present me with a challenge, at which time I'm thinking I'd have to do it all over anyway.

This is going to work out for the best ...

Thanks,
Mike

[wje]

In talking with the sales guy some more he said that Tweeter corporate management is considering a no haggle policy chain wide in the near future. That is not the end all of deals but it will make it more difficult. The sales guy I was dealing with was able to change the prices on the fly with no manager approval.

I would hope that if Tweeter "adopts" this sort of policy, they make a price cut off their retail prices on all their gear. I think if they invoke such a plan, they could easily lose sales.

Fortunately, the DC-metro area has other audio shops that are pretty good to work with.

I recall a visit to Tweeter about a year and a half back. I wanted to get the Denon AVR-3803 receiver. The salesperson would not budge on the price, but did mention that the 0%/no-payments Tweeter card would save me some money. Needless to say, I decided not to go with the 3803 ... especially @ MSRP.

[AZHT]

I was in a Tweeter store a week ago looking at the new Denon AVR-3805. The sales rep said he could do the "customary" 10% off. When pushed a bit he went to almost 17% off. So, at least in AZ, they are still open to negotiating.

[Debbi]

....they bought Sound Advice chain here in Fla (approx 40 stores-fairly high end).....notice immediately that there are no scratch and dent and used equipment sales... it appears that demos are sold as new...They push for MSRP only and it is very noticeable that old sales people were gone immediately.The minute they were involved, the Klipsch and B & W lines were gone.....one employee told me they push the limit to both suppliers and customers....its not a very comfortable place to shop anymore....it appears to me that local chains are melting into national chains who feel they can better protect their pricing...it almost makes me wish the internet only companies like axiom etal teach them a lesson

[samgupta]

Hey Mike--good job knowing what you want to pay and sticking to your ground. It might be hard to walk away w/o the goods, but on the plus side your $$ is still your $$.

Don't buy if it doesn't feel right--as long as you have the cash, you are in charge.

[omikey]

Hey Mike--good job knowing what you want to pay and sticking to your ground. It might be hard to walk away w/o the goods, but on the plus side your $$ is still your $$.

Don't buy if it doesn't feel right--as long as you have the cash, you are in charge.
YEP, and now get this !!
So the guy 100 miles away gave me a 10% cut on the price.
Last Friday he calls and says, my speakers are in. They did a transfer from the store 20 miles from here ...... LMAO, this is the store where the guy wouldn't deal with me.

Here's the real SWEETNESS of it all...... Then he says to me, and we have a nice present for you when you come to pick them up. The price WENT DOWN on the speakers and we will credit you back $325.00 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So that's $625.00 less than the store where the guy wouldn't deal with me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't tell you all how EXCITED I am about how this worked out.
Took awhile, like the whole exercise lasted about 6 weeks.
But hell that's worth it to me !!

I agree with Debbie and the others too, about how these national chains are really controling the prices in this market.

And if you live someplace like I do, you're kinda stuck with them. Not a lot of choices here ...... but I'm willing to travel, or wait until I go someplace to vist family, and then buy.

Regards ......

[wasch_24]

Awesome! So now instead of reduced comission he lost all chance at making any comission.

[omikey]

Awesome! So now instead of reduced comission he lost all chance at making any comission.
Wasch I knew you'd get a kick out of this since you have been following me through all of it, and HELPING me too !!!

I would've thought that the salesman in the local store would've figured it out as many times as I talked to him. OH well, his loss, my gain :D

I hope for his sake that his wife has a steady job, not dependent upon commisions cause his going to be lagging ..........