Curious about guitar purchase

Depends on the store. If you deal with the owner of a local shop, you can get the best deals, because they understand the idea of 'contribution margin' - that selling for even $1 over cost contributes $1 to their overhead expenses, and you have to cover your overhead before you actuay make a profit. Not that they don't want to make as much money as they can, just that they have a broader view of the business as a whole.

Most business owners don't (and often shouldn't!) entirely trust the judgment of their employees. So there might be a set rule that keeps the clerk or supervisor from cutting a deal.

There could be other factors, too. Manufacturers sometimes put restrictions on selling prices, especially on new products. You wouldn't want to lose your distribution franchise on a guitar line just because you cut a few bucks off one sale - the franchise is worth a lot more than the sale in the long run. Or maybe another manufacturer is offering some special deal - co-op advertising money or something - and they're going to steer all the deals to that brand/model to take advantage of that.

Also, if a model is 'hot' in his market - if he has a hard time getting it, and lots of them are sold at full price - he won't deal on it. On another model sure, but the one he sells you today for $300 is now out of stock for the guy willing to pay $350 tomorrow.

As a former music store owner, I can say you did the right thing asking for merchandise added on rather than a deeper discount. The customer loyalty card is another good one you played. There's one more you didn't mention - paying in cash (greenbacks, not debit cards). $300 in cash is $300 in the till.... $300 on a credit card is probably between $282 and $291, depending on the card used and his merchant banking agreements. That difference should more than cover the cost of a free capo for you, if he's smart.

This is what got me:
Capo is 20 bucks. I say guitar, book I had, and capo ... even 300+tax. (Guitar & book made 300 bucks, even.) No deal. "Best I can do is ... 330."

If the capo is 20 and the book+guitar came up to 300, why was he tacking on an extra 10 for buying them alltogether? This guy was obviously no math major to say the least.

Here's the thing: It's always best to pick up a guitar somewhere before you buy it. You can take all the good advice in the world, but if you buy it and have never touched one, you have no idea what you're getting.

Also, which acoustic is it that you're looking at? Is it new? Any nicks, dings, or otherwise unsightly problems with it? Is there a miget living inside who will jump out and tune it for you when needed (which is what I thought came with some of the more expensive guitars on eBay). I see no problem with haggling, since I do it myself. I always thought the tags were just a suggestion anyway. You do whatever is comfortable for you though. If you feel like he's trying to take you, or if you're just really not comfortable buying from a place called Daddy's Junky Music (I know that doesnt sound too appealing to me, but I've never seen the place), then find somewhere else to buy your guitar, which is what it looks like you're already doing :)

I know the Daddy's Junky Music Store by me has fairly decent prices..at least equal to that of Guitar Center up the road from there..so maybe he is being honest when he can't go any lower on the price...

When I was looking for a guitar stand I checked out a mom & pop shop near my house and their cheapest one was $20...I got the SAME EXACT model at GC for $9.95 AND yeat I still found it cheaper at Musician's Friend for $5.99 (so I bought an extra one for my electric (before they crossed me!)..

Sounds like you struck a bit of a jerk. :?

As NoteBoat said, there may have been good reasons why a shop can't or won't go lower than a certain price on a particular item, but at least they should be able to explain their reasons in a friendly manner. And there's really no reason why they couldn't throw in some other stuff at near cost price to help the sale along.

There's a saying in business that goes something like "5% of something is always better than 100% of nothing". The guy was a fool to throw away a sale and possibly sour a posssibe future customer relation too.

There are sometimes good reasons for not going lower on a particular item. For instance, some good friends of mine had a computer games shop. The distributors for one of the consoles (it might have been Playstation) had been screwed down to such a low wholesale price by some of the big chains, that the local Target was selling them cheaper retail than my friends could buy them wholesale. Bizarre but true. So they bought a few from Target themselves and sold them at no profit at all, just to keep the customer happy, and to then be able to sell them some games.

I'd be trying a different sales person or a different shop.

There's one more you didn't mention - paying in cash (greenbacks, not debit cards). $300 in cash is $300 in the till.... $300 on a credit card is probably between $282 and $291, depending on the card used and his merchant banking agreements. That difference should more than cover the cost of a free capo for you, if he's smart.

I told the guy look, I'm dropping 300 bucks cash on a Sunday and your store is dead.

He just nodded and that was it. Did nothing.

Appreciate the reponse, especially coming, like you said, from a former store owner. Priceless perspective. I thought my tactics were sound and reasonable. I wasn't going to try and get something for nothing so rolling in additional merchandise, I thought, would help close it.

Needless to say, I am glad I waited. Today I found a Martin DX Dreadnought for 400 dollars. Only has a wood top with composite sides but damn if it isn't the best guitar I've ever played. Didn't buy it but it certainly feels right. Smaller, local shop I do business with and I don't mind giving them my business. I'd gladly keep him in business than waste my money at Daddy's.

Anyhow... the search continues.

This is what got me:
Capo is 20 bucks. I say guitar, book I had, and capo ... even 300+tax. (Guitar & book made 300 bucks, even.) No deal. "Best I can do is ... 330."

If the capo is 20 and the book+guitar came up to 300, why was he tacking on an extra 10 for buying them alltogether? This guy was obviously no math major to say the least.

Taxes, my friend. Taxes. MA sales Tax is 5%.

That's what soured the deal. He charged me 300 for the guitar, "nothing" for the book, and so that made it 315 with tax. Then he tacked on 15 for the Capo, telling me he could only take off five dollars. At that point I realized I was wasting my time. I spoke to a clerk and a supervisor who actually seemed to be the head guy. Not totally sure, though. In any event, like you said, I have moved on and definitely prefer buying from a store so I can actually see what I'm buying as opposed to a jpeg I can zoom in on.