Posted by David on January 19, 2002 at 03:18:58:
In Reply to: Re: Brookmays Prices posted by Anthony on January 18, 2002 at 21:47:35:
Amazing how we question the right of a music store to make a couple hundred dollars, put a little money in the pocket of the salesman and will without thought go pay retail price for clothing, shoes, groceries, cars (the discount most people get from the sticker price is the mark-up over retail and includes an advertising and/or a set back fee set by the manufacturer), and a variety of other products.
Anthony, I'm not picking on you, just want you and others to understand a little better the plight of music stores, no matter how large or small.
Competition has dictated that a music store heavily discount professional model instruments in order to make a sale. The best advice I or any other dealer would probably have is to get the instrument from a dealer that offers you the best service and not to buy on price alone. When customers choose to buy on price alone, they forget that customer service, repair service and other customer care issues get tossed out the window. Then when you take your horn to your favorite store to have a repair done, the first thought of the store/repair person is that they didn't make this sale (money out of the pocket). That will probably result in your paying more for the service as you insulted (not intentionally, of course) this store by not allowing them to make the sale.
I am not defending Brook Mays for their pricing policies, but am trying to shed a light on the pricing policies of any music company. You don't really think that Mark F. likes to spend a huge amount of time helping you figure out which horn you like and then watch you go somewhere else to make that purchase do you? They will be competitive as would many of the rest of the store owners who post on the BBS. Let them (us) make some money and create a happy customer.