Supplier Pricing

[DiamondWash]

Do you find it easier to buy from a supplier if they post the prices of their equipment/parts or for instance chemical manufactures either online or in a catalog, I have been seeing more and more "Call for Pricing" and when I do call for the price of their product(s) it's so outrageous and I feel I just wasted a bunch of time. I do understand from a distributors standpoint where you can't always post pricing but to know if I can financially afford something before committing to it will protect the customer and the supplier.

 

[washnshine]

These days updating/changing pricing on website is as easy as a few clicks. Suppliers should be able to post online and still allow for the fluidity of pricing items. A “ call for pricing” blanket statement is less work editing the site when there are changes, but also creates more phone calls to answer.

 

[MC3033]

It’s a terrible tactic. I imagine it’s used for a higher sale conversion as well as offering higher prices to certain people and larger discounts to others.

I would bet the amount of inquiries they get are much lower. I can tell you it costs them business from me, I hate wasting my time talking to a salesperson about something I don’t even know that I can afford (which you never get the price till you tell them all your contact info and they get to pitch you)

 

[MEP001]

I worked for a distributor that had "Call for pricing" in their catalog. It was because the prices were all higher than Kleen-Rite/Windtrax/etc. The owner figured they might make a sale because they already had the item on hand locally, or might try to sell the person on service, but they never did. When I went back they spent a small fortune on a catalog mailout, but we didn't get a single response.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Until the advent of EE;s posting prices boldly, many tunnels did not have obvious price posting. In Chicagoland the SS and IBA pricing is not visible until you are in the by or at the auto cashier. Is that the same thing?

 

[washnshine]

Until the advent of EE;s posting prices boldly, many tunnels did not have obvious price posting. In Chicagoland the SS and IBA pricing is not visible until you are in the by or at the auto cashier. Is that the same thing?

I see what you are saying Earl, but I think at the dawn of the EE, there was also the explosion in the use of the internet and prices of everything could be checked from your home and all washes were beginning to use websites and social media to inform customers about pricing.

Also - bold price posting might be a regional thing - before the EE’s came along, In my area, I remember tunnels having pretty visible “wash starting at” signs visible from the road, and many with menu boards visible long before getting in line. Also the gas station washes have always been very good at visible pricing signage.

I also liken this point to restaurants - most don’t have prices of meals or full menus posted before going in and looking at a menu, but hopefully the restaurant owners can check their supplier pricing fairly easily.

 

[mac]

I'm with the posting prices crowd. Hiding it is annoying. Some web sites will not disclose a price till you put it in your cart. That really sucks and I never go back to them.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Yep, that’s a big motivation for me to shop elsewhere.

 

[Greg Pack]

Some mfgs have a minimum advertised pricing policy. I could see it affecting a company like Cat pumps and some controls/electrical components from the big guys , but that's about it.

 

[MEP001]

Cat doesn't allow its sellers to advertise a price unless it's MSRP.

 

[Back4More]

Cat doesn't allow its sellers to advertise a price unless it's MSRP.

Not true anymore. They changed the policy in February 2020. They also restricted what Ecommerce companies can sell online.

Ron

 

[sparkey]

If I can't find the price listed on the internet I will go elsewhere. When I want to buy something I need it now and don't have time to call or email for a price, knowing they probably won't respond to my inquiry anyways. To me it means they are priced to high and are embarrassed to advertise their price.