Quote:
Originally Posted by Haasome
I find Martin’s pricing culture to be unduly complicated and undesirable. Most consumers are not interested in becoming skilled purchasing agents. They just want to know what the price of a guitar is. But, like buying cars, it’s survival of the fittest when it comes to buying a new Martin. The very slim minority of players who know there is room to negotiate and also have the will to negotiate on a new guitar have an opportunity to land a better deal than most people looking for a Martin guitar. Nothing wrong with that, just not what I like. Tell someone who received 25% off a new D28 that you bought one the same day for 40% off and see how they feel.
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Well, I agree it's unusual that Martin continues to stick with the MSRP/MAP dichotomy that confuses folks, but if you ignore their MSRP, the difference between the online "list" price of practically any guitar is negotiable. I've called up and asked about a Taylor and got the same 15% that you'll get on a Martin. It's not any different.
That extra bit of margin helps them cover a lot of other expenses, and in the case of many of the online shops that have financing, their no-interest deals at longer terms go out the window the minute they start shaving that advertised price. And, for places that do have large staffs and maybe a debt load, they might have varying flexibility, but they often have more liberal exchange policies (and the mentioned financing). So, whether someone overpaid or simply bought what they wanted at a price they thought was fair, I'm not going to judge. (Or rub their noses in what I might have paid.) Nice to have options
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