Do You Try to Bargain at the LFS?
- Thread starter johnnycoolxx
- Start date
its depends on Supply & Demand a lot of times. If rare plecos etc. not much can do on prices. If it something raised in the hatchery & I have a thousand of them then I can work on price breaks buying a few & for cash.
To give you an example. Regular customers that spend a $100 a week or more etc I give a break here and there or throw in something for free or buy lunch or a soda?
To give you an example. Regular customers that spend a $100 a week or more etc I give a break here and there or throw in something for free or buy lunch or a soda?
oh for some of the dumb ***es that have came in & as an example we had some catfish $55 ea & next exit down is a Aquarium aVenture that was selling them for $75 as they told me & then asked for a better deal! Dah. Back to the common sense & respect thing.
read some of my responses for more input.
Now i'm fired up because some of the more pain in the arses come in at closing!!!! Then are nit picking this & that then change their minds & want this & that & put this back, dont have enough money then pay with a hundred dollar bill!!! What the F!!!! Then one the guys calls me a little bit ago with the register all screwed up!!!!! Now this is the moment in time I hate owning a fish store! ARG!
me again
read some of my responses for more input.
Now i'm fired up because some of the more pain in the arses come in at closing!!!! Then are nit picking this & that then change their minds & want this & that & put this back, dont have enough money then pay with a hundred dollar bill!!! What the F!!!! Then one the guys calls me a little bit ago with the register all screwed up!!!!! Now this is the moment in time I hate owning a fish store! ARG!
me again
As a manager of a lfs, I am more inclined to give you a discount at the register when you don't ask for it then I am to give you a discount when you do ask. Sure, I am willing to drop the price to clear out the one fish that would be left when you buy four of the five tetras I have in the tank. I'd also offer a discount to help make a larger sale. But if the purchase does not fit either of these situations, I do not feel the need to reduce the price.
Often times customers who want some sort of rediculous discount make statements like "I'm a good customer" or "I've been coming here for years". Again, these are often the people who try to haggel a 5.00 fish down to 3.99, only to then pay with a 100 dollar bill.
Once in a while when I get the "I'm a good customer" statement, I ask the customer what they are basing that fact upon. I just want to see what their rationale is.
If you spend $5 a week does that make you as good a customer as the person who spends $100? If you occupy 45 minutes of an emplyees time to make a twenty dollar purchase and the next guy makes a $50 purchase and requires a minimal amount of time, are you as good of a customer as he/she is? Don't get me wrong, I value every customer and appreciate their time and money, but when you make a statement such as you are a good customer, you need to have something to base that statement on or it is only your opinion.
As for the "I've been coming here a long time" comment goes, window shopping, shopping and dropping a wad of cash are three different things. Most of the customers who truly have been shopping with us (and I recognize that everyone shops around these days) for "a long time" are known by name or by the fish they keep and commonly receive discounts because they would never ask for one and never expect one.
Often times customers who want some sort of rediculous discount make statements like "I'm a good customer" or "I've been coming here for years". Again, these are often the people who try to haggel a 5.00 fish down to 3.99, only to then pay with a 100 dollar bill.
Once in a while when I get the "I'm a good customer" statement, I ask the customer what they are basing that fact upon. I just want to see what their rationale is.
If you spend $5 a week does that make you as good a customer as the person who spends $100? If you occupy 45 minutes of an emplyees time to make a twenty dollar purchase and the next guy makes a $50 purchase and requires a minimal amount of time, are you as good of a customer as he/she is? Don't get me wrong, I value every customer and appreciate their time and money, but when you make a statement such as you are a good customer, you need to have something to base that statement on or it is only your opinion.
As for the "I've been coming here a long time" comment goes, window shopping, shopping and dropping a wad of cash are three different things. Most of the customers who truly have been shopping with us (and I recognize that everyone shops around these days) for "a long time" are known by name or by the fish they keep and commonly receive discounts because they would never ask for one and never expect one.
yes, it is not always the amount. When I wrote the $100 a week I had a customer that was in today that spends that or more & I think he never has asked for a deal but knows that there is already cash discounts. He wanted some clay pots for the young calvus & gave him a few fore free. Its funny sometimes when you give them a break without asking then at times just put the difference in the tip goldfish bowl?
Is all it could be case by case persone by person & what kinda of day I'm having? lol
me
Is all it could be case by case persone by person & what kinda of day I'm having? lol
me
You are wrong. Complex electronics do not get marked up like bulk items. The highest mark ups on product are bulk chemicals and things like decorative rocks.
I bargain if my LFS has had a single, large oddball or monster predator for a period of months without selling it. It's not hard to convince them that 50 dollars today is better than 60 dollars never.
Otherwise, as a frequent customer, I am constantly given 5 Java Fern's for the price of one, free Anubias, etc. Some of the more laid-back employees even give me extremely discounted fish to the extent that they'd likely be fired if the owner discovered it.
Pays to make friends with the LFS people.
Otherwise, as a frequent customer, I am constantly given 5 Java Fern's for the price of one, free Anubias, etc. Some of the more laid-back employees even give me extremely discounted fish to the extent that they'd likely be fired if the owner discovered it.
Pays to make friends with the LFS people.
I don't like to bargain because I know people need the money, but I also see nothing wrong with bargaining. If somebody says no though, they should just be like alright I'll let you keep the fish. I guess it mainly becomes a problem when people continuously ask for a discount. (My parents own a retail store so I know the pain in this)
My last trip I went to the LFS, there were catfishes at $9.00 a piece. I told the owner to give me a deal if I buy all five of them in the tank. He sold all five of them for $8.00 a piece. Then several days later, the LFS had the same type of catfishes in again for sale. The LFS did not lose out because he made a profit from me buying and it makes room in his tanks so he can put more fishes in it.
There is a local membership card I have, similar to the Entertainment Book, that gets me discounts at my favorite LFS. I don't haggle since I have it, but I might try if it wasn't an option.
