-ian

I don't know if I'm the only person that hates this but here goes anyway. Why do sponsors on this forum never ( or very rarely ) advertise the prices of the parts they are selling.

Is it an American thing because you will not see this on any car forum in the UK. If there is something I'm interested in I want to see a price. Not to have to pm the seller and wait days for a reply.

Sure material costs for manufacturing a diffuser for example can change. So advertise at a set price and then make another post at a later date if the price goes up or down.

A lot of the sponsors also sell on EBay and manage to set a price and shipping costs so why the hell can't they do it on here. Normal price is X. Cost to forum members is Y and shipping costs are Z. It's not exactly rocket science.

Rant over

BLKROKT

2-5 vendors do, and they tend to be the most well-respected ones out there (among them Weistec, EuroCharged, MBH). Not a coincidence.

The others must be retarded. It's the only logical conclusion.

Let your wallet do the voting. I know who won't get any of my business.

561design

I've only encountered this on this forum and it's very annoying. To Blkrokt's point, I just shop elsewhere.

roadtalontsi

alot of manufactures dont allow shops to post prices below their set prices. It's really stupid and annoying i agree. This is why typically the only shops advertising prices are selling their own products.

m a x i m u s

+1. Not to sound like a dick or a broken record, but as I stated on prior posts about this, manufacturers have "minimum advertised price" rules to prevent undercutting. This is not just limited to C63 parts, or the auto industry in general. If a vendor posts a price below MAP, they can get in trouble with the manufacturer, which usually involves getting their reseller contracts terminated.

xxaarraa

That is simply not true. Are you honestly telling me that vendors here are selling at below MAP and that's why they don't post prices? Please don't be naive.

I hate vendors who are shady "PM us, we make special price fo you!" and constantly flooding the forum with ads and bumping their ads.

Pusateri

[QUOTE=m a x i m u s;6382821]+1. Not to sound like a dick or a broken record, but as I stated on prior posts about this, manufacturers have "minimum advertised price" rules to prevent undercutting. This is not just limited to C63 parts, or the auto industry in general. If a vendor posts a price below MAP, they can get in trouble with the manufacturer, which usually involves getting their reseller contracts terminated.[/QU

What's the difference between posting it and sending it to 500 people. The manufacturer can easily send a pm to get pricing to verify. It's not a secret.

Kriston

I understand that its a tactic used by vendors to avoid price cutting each other. But at the end of the day, I still shop my parts. I will request the prices from multiple vendors. The one I feel most comfortable with will get the business.


So while some may not advertise the price, the business is still being shopped around. Its a free-market. Your price is your price. Unless your competitor has a serious buying advantage (I would assume for good reason) over you. All the prices may be relatively the same.


I have found that some vendors are better suited to international shipping opposed to others. Its the nature of the game I guess, but these value added services are what sets vendors apart. Not the product they are selling. Unless its there own, IE: Weistec / Renntech / Mode Carbon etc.


Just my 2 pennies.

m a x i m u s

It is true. I own a business and deal with MAPs all the time.

m a x i m u s

MAPs are in place to protect the manufacturer and their "brand value", not to protect vendors from undercutting each others' prices (not directly, anyway).

kjkidd21

I have been a member of other forums for other cars I have owned in the past and this is the only forum I've seen where vendors do not post prices. I agree with the OP that it is quite annoying to have to request a PM in order to get price quotes.

It's a free market. MAP's are dumb IMO. If you want to resell an item at cost, then so be it. Its your dumbass fault for not marking it up and making some money. If I was the manufacturer I'd ship you some more of my product and laugh all the way to the bank.

Ihopaz

You know I say we start posting PM prices!

I'm so tired of this ****, I won't buy from them I find it shady and find all the posts by vendors to be annoying and I think they take away from the forum as it is.

m a x i m u s

MAPs aren't the same thing as cost, they are above cost, but below MSRP. You can still make a profit on an item at MAP, as well as a certain amount below MAP. And I agree that MAP policies are annoying as hell. If you think they are annoying as a customer, imagine how irritating they are as a reseller.

realjones88

It's not about MAP, it's about generating strong sales leads. Someone who takes the time to PM asking for a price is more likely to buy or be convinced to buy if contacted again later than someone who just sees the price and moves on. Also, someone asking for a PM is a free bump, which moves the advertisement to the top, generating more sales leads, etc etc.

MAP lol. Maybe for something like a supercharger I can understand wanted to be contacted for the price, but most of the carbon fiber diffusers that companies refuse to post prices on are all made by the same vendor in Asia and rebranded for sale in America.

m a x i m u s

I'm sure this is also a factor, but MAPs are real. I suppose this is just another annoyance we will have to deal with on our forum, along with the endless repeat posts about tire sizes, headbolts, and wheel spacers.

afaedC63

MAPs are exactly why on websites like bestbuy and amazon you have to put certain products in your cart to see the price. My guess is its a technicality on the definition of advertising.

CarHopper

This topic comes up once every month or two. It isn't go to change. If you feel as though someone gives you a shady price then move along. That's the beauty of the marketplace.

Also, it has been touched but again, a lot of the vendors here aren't selling their own product, rather, reselling. If you go straight to the actual source chances are you'll find your price.

I honestly don't see why this is a huge issue. Waiting a day or two on a PM reply isn't the end of the world. What's the cheapest thing offered here that most people buy? Maybe a tune that is still $750 on special? CF parts that reach all the way up to $2500... Headers at $3k plus.. HRE wheels that are $8k when you buy forged? None of this stuff is "cheap" so $100 bucks one way or another really isn't going to bother me too much. Just worry about the SERVICE you are getting.

I'd rather pay an extra $100 to a company that responds to my questions which they've probably been asked thousands of times than save the $100 on a company that blows me off as soon as they have my money and a busted product out the door.

Ihopaz

It's a big to deal because most people have a problem giving money to companies and helping support their shady, corrupt, and possible illegal business activities. Which may and probably involve sending PM's of one price to one member and then a higher price PM to another member or set of members either based solely on favoritism, location, model vehicle or vehicles, post count, and or discrimination. It's that simple!

Why do we want this stopped, well for example. It's the same thing as when I went to pick up my car at a tuner and watched them go photograph my car without my permission. Why would I tell them they were not allowed to do that and they weren't allowed to use the pictures? Because I wasn't told before hand, I didn't give permission and just the d*mn point because it's not right!

It should and will change, because if they want to survive like any other car forum. they won't allow vendors to run around like children and they would only be allowed to post in the vendor section. Why because this forum allow vendors to screw over members. And members make the forum, not vendors! No member then vendors don't have anyone to make anything for or sell anything to!

Ever think they would price base on post count? I certainly would!

BLKROKT

Oh my god, stop your whining and just deal with it. Nobody *HAS* to give you the same price they do everyone else. Besides, what kind of paranoid delusions are you having that make you think the vendors are out to screw just you. Just go get the best price you can man and chill out. Go smoke a j man, you need it. Jeez they're just car parts, not a cure for cancer.

The main issue was the vendor spamming, and the fact that this is the only forum in existence where all the little lemmings all reply to the post saying "pls PM me ur supersecret bestest price to Timbuktu please please please". THAT is what's annoying, and it's the forum MEMBERS fault, not the retailers. They are asking for YOU to PM THEM, not clog up the forum posting garbage in their thread. So some people here need to learn how to ****ing read first, and half the problem is resolved.

As for their prices? Pick up the ****ing phone or send them an email and wait. Stop making me and others sort through all the annoying threads that you retards keep bumping up with your "PM me ur best price to xyz" bull****.

CarHopper

My thoughts exactly.

SaphGreyC63

Here's a legit question,

What are the reprecussions if we ask for a PM then post the price we got PMed?

-ian

Wow take a chill pill. Posts like that will do your blood pressure no good at all. The point I made in the original post was why all the secrect sneaky beaky crap.

It's pretty bloody obvious why they won't post prices. It's because if somebody else has the same item cheaper they won't sell. Like somebody else pointed out its only the reputable well know dealers like Mode Carbon etc that post their prices.

If the lesser known sellers want to get a reputation for selling quality merchandise they are going the wrong way about it with all the clandestine crap. They should have pride in what they sell. Set a price and make it public.

Point is I've pm,d a few sellers and not got a response for 2 weeks by which time ive bought elsewhere. So who's the loser ?

I was looking at buying a carbon diffuser and if I'm honest the top class ones are insanely priced. So I just got my standard diffuser carbon dipped. To the fan boys that bleat that it's real carbon or nothing. Well you have your thoughts and I have mine. It cost £75 looks bloody good and as it's an original part the fit was perfect.

Ihopaz

Read your own post moron, if vendors were required to post only in a vendor section half this cr*p would go away! The other half is just shady business practices, it just is also cr*ppy way to allow vendors to make money on a forum.

It's simple make them post in a vendor section and prices plus shipping. The more competition the better the market and the customer service will improve because if people offer the same or very similar products, they will need to offer something to set themselves apart.

Just because some of you enjoy being horrible consumers and it's begining to look like a large growing group of us do not like letting vendors dictate how the market works.

You can go smoke a "j" and bl*w yourself for me! Thanks good day sir.

Southways

RW Carbon have listened & responded.
Support them & maybe others will follow.


https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...thing-new.html