Don’t know if this has been covered elsewhere. Basically I’m wanting to order about £4000 worth of gear. So checking out who has the cheapest prices, offers the best warranty, who price matches etc.
I’m also a student so seeing if places do any kind of educational discount.
I just wanted to know what peoples experiences was with large orders. Someone’s going to tell me that this isn’t a large order which I can agree with but it’s a lot to me so just want to get the best prices really.
But I’m not clued up on the etiquette and if you can haggle? I wouldn’t mind some cables thrown in for instance and if it’s possible for them to order specific things in (decksavers for specific models).
I will be giving stores a call this week but any input would be appreciated.
You’ll find that you’ll come to a stale mate at some point with different stores. Occasionally you’ll find one that will drop it to a stupid price that NO ONE can touch, as they hope that you go back and buy something else.
If you buy it all from one store, £4000 is a lot of money, and any shop would happily take that off you… So just ask if they’ll chuck any decksavers or cables in for free. If not, and you can get it elsewhere for the same price, go to them and ask.
If you’re spending that much money, you have a bit of monopoly if you ask me.
Personally, if I was buying, I’d write very nice, polite letters or e-mails to EVERY supplier, and ask them for their best price. Them, share the lowest price with the other suppliers and see who van provide the lowest price.
Now is a really good time to do it, too. Mid-year is coming up, and 4k is a pretty nice little chunk to sneak in right at mid-year…
Haha. I bit. Just finished my first year and didn’t spend any of it. Hoping to get a grant for my second year as well. Cut a long sob story short I want to get back to doing things I enjoy and if it means spending some money on a proper setup then so be it.
Ah that’s a good point. Pretty much everywhere is the same price other than some Adam monitors I want and I think some French online store has a CDJ for cheaper but I don’t think UK stores will price match that.
That’s a good idea. Already started pricing up other places and pros and cons. DV247 has a 4 year warranty on all products which could be very very handy as it is DJ gear.
Generally the cheapest online prices are as low as it goes. For instance, the TV market is very competitive between retailers. You would’t believe that many are just making around £120 profit on a £1000 TV, which is a really crap margin. So that just illustrates that there isn’t much discount retailers can add in these days of internet competition. However, many will bend over backwards just to get turnover. As the old saying goes ‘Turnover is vanity, Profit is sanity.’
You might think a retailer would be getting 50% of the retail price, and once upon a time that was true. I would think that online prices for DJ equipment such as Pioneer and NI may be as little as 15%, and I doubt anymore than 25%. That is why you don’t see much variation in prices. Simply because there’s nowhere to go. However, a retailer may be willing to get a 12% profit margin on the whole sale of around £4k.
Once you take the VAT off, the retailer may be getting something like £400 clear profit.
12% profit in electronics is not a bad margin at all for a retailer…
Call around. For a 4k sale, almost any brick and mortar store will do something to help out and should be willing to throw in their house-brand cables for free. Retail isn’t about margins, it’s about turnover!
Talk to Musicians friend in Online chat or on the phone tell them what you want to purchase and how much you are plannign to spend. They will most likely give you a few no limit 15 percent off coupons.
Ive purchased most of my gear with them. Their weekly “15 percent offs” only go up to 500 off total discount. But if you talk to a rep you can get a no limit 15 percent off.
For me it was even better because except for 3 states in the united states CURRENTLY (its about to change) I dont pay sales tax on my online purchases. So, that saved me a good 5 to 9 percent (depending on your state tax or vat etc)
And no 4k is not alot of buying power. Unless you are repeatedly buying gear from them or in a contract, they will sell to you around their MSRP. Which is always higher than you will find at a retailer, especially an online retailer. My studio is hovering over the 40k mark and, price matching with a major company is the best route to go. ANd talking directly to their sales reps. Youd be amazed at what they will give you because of their margins.
I was looking to spend about that much at one time as well. I e-mailed different stores and saw what prices they could give me. I was able to get a considerable amount knocked off (like $700 off the total order), and I even got an innofader thrown in for free on my order. Ask around. Wish I could recommend some dealers, but I’m in the states
He’s right though. The average music store is clearing way more than 4k a day. Sure, it’s a lot to an individual and it still is a considerable portion of a days sales, but it’s not the same as someone going to a store and buying equipment for 30 workstations for a school or something. $4000 can be burned up on 2 cdj2000’s if you’re buying them brand new.
OP’s best bet is to just call around and hope for a 10-15% discount at brick and mortar stores. I’d be shocked to see an online retailer give any discount at all.
Someone needs to get a grasp on real life, if he has a problem with that statement. One mid range studio item is going to run 3 to 4 k, and upper tier much much more.
Like other have now agree. Make a direct call or use their online chat if they have one. I also live in the states, so I cant be much help. All the taxes youd pay from a site over here would negate all those great savings
If you were in the US, I know you can get some deals if you order from Guitar Center. They’ll frequently cut deals on stuff < 500 dollars. If you’re spending 4k the sales person would go nuts.
Make as large of orders as possible so the salesperson has the most margin to play with. I am about to spend about $3,500 CAD on some gear and was able to find ALL of it on one web-store and a 5 minute web chat later and I got it 10% off AND free shipping.
Unfortunately where I live it’s not possible to go into a music store that sells DJ gear. There isn’t even a place nearby. I would have to go Bristol/London area which is a 4 hour drive and I would probably loose any money I saved on petrol there and back. I was going to go to Digital Village in Bristol but they closed that down a few weeks ago.
Going to ask around online today. Will be sure to let you all know of my experience.
Really really good post…it will take time and might seem like a ball ache but as soon as you have a few prices to go to other places with you’ll be surprised by how much companies can knock off to get your custom.
Additionally, last thing on a Saturday was when the place I used to work at could be persuaded to go that bit lower, since we had targets for the week and were in competition with our sister stores to try and beat their takings for the week.
Saturday was the end of the weeks figures, so someone walking in an hour before we closed with a largish sale was unlikely to be shown the door.
