Martin pricing?

[DWKitt]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

The price you are seeing on webpages is MAP (Minimum Advertized Price). ALL shops are under contract with the manufacturer not to advertise a lower price. That’s why you see the same prices everywhere. Few folks actually pay full MAP. But you have to call or visit the shop to negotiate. Virtually all will go down at least some. Maury, Ted and some other sponsors pretty much routinely give the 40% off MSRP. No haggling necessary. Just ask for their best price. Because of COVID-related inventory shortages, though, some aren’t able to offer the usual discount for now. (See post #11)

Thanks Roy!

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

Few folks actually pay full MAP.

Based on my anecdotal evidence I read on Facebook Martin groups, lots of folks pay full MAP. They never knew to ask. Frequently you see those folks selling a used guitar for more than you can get a new one with that discount. If and when they do hear about the discount they usually call the person a liar.

[DWKitt]

Originally Posted by UncleJesse

Just email and ask for a price quote. Rev Roy pretty much nailed it above me. That said, you won't get 40% off on a D10 or D12. That 40% is usually for standard series and above. Lower series don't get quite as much discount but I would expect it to be something. It's super easy to just shoot an email. Some places will give a quote back in email and some will want to call you to give you a price quote.

Thanks UncleJesse!

[DukeX]

Originally Posted by UncleJesse

Just email and ask for a price quote. Rev Roy pretty much nailed it above me. That said, you won't get 40% off on a D10 or D12. That 40% is usually for standard series and above. Lower series don't get quite as much discount but I would expect it to be something. It's super easy to just shoot an email. Some places will give a quote back in email and some will want to call you to give you a price quote.

Yes, that was my experience when I bought my 000-15sm from a forum sponsor a couple of years ago. I received 35% off MSRP and was told exactly what you stated.

[Zedski]

Bought a Martin at the end of Feb. 2021
Only got 10 percent off after haggling.
Within days, all 4 of that model they had in stock were sold.
Glad I got it when I did, because by the looks of thing we won't be seeing Martin catch up with demand for at lease a year.
You have the pandemic to thank for that.

[IM4Nats]

The list price aka MSRP has been discontinued as of
01.01.2021. The former 20% off list is now the MAP and
there is not much negotiating on this current norm.
That D 18 you could get for $1850 pre pandemic (24.5% off of MAP)
will now set you back $2550, which is current MAP.
Effectively a 27.5% price increase.

[zoopeda]

Originally Posted by IM4Nats

The list price aka MSRP has been discontinued as of
01.01.2021. The former 20% off list is now the MAP and
there is not much negotiating on this current norm.
That D 18 you could get for $1850 pre pandemic (24.5% off of MAP)
will now set you back $2550, which is current MAP.
Effectively a 27.5% price increase.

Again, to beat a dead horse, it’s the vendors that are selling at a higher price because they can’t afford to have empty shelves for a year, not Martin selling to vendors at a higher price.

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by IM4Nats

The list price aka MSRP has been discontinued as of
01.01.2021. The former 20% off list is now the MAP and
there is not much negotiating on this current norm.
That D 18 you could get for $1850 pre pandemic (24.5% off of MAP)
will now set you back $2550, which is current MAP.
Effectively a 27.5% price increase.

Previous to the change dealers could discount off of MAP. Not all did. Same as now, except the usual suspects that gave you the deepest discounts aren't. But others are. I called around two months ago looking for a new CEO7 and received discounts from 0% all the way up to 18%. Not as deep as before but there are certainly still discounts available if you're willing to put in the work of calling around.

[TJNies]

Frankly, I wish Martin would set a price - perhaps a bit less than current MAP - and that's what you paid, similar to what Collings etc do.

If you have been good customer a dealer may offer a small discount. Mysteries and conspiracy theories removed.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

The price you are seeing on webpages is MAP (Minimum Advertized Price). ALL shops are under contract with the manufacturer not to advertise a lower price. That’s why you see the same prices everywhere. Few folks actually pay full MAP. But you have to call or visit the shop to negotiate. Virtually all will go down at least some. Maury, Ted and some other sponsors pretty much routinely give the 40% off MSRP. No haggling necessary. Just ask for their best price. Because of COVID-related inventory shortages, though, some aren’t able to offer the usual discount for now. (See post #11)

This is a very alien concept in the EU and UK. It is illegal for manufacturers to set an advertising or selling price when supplying retailers. And they can be hammered for doing so - as Fender recently found out when they were fined 4.5 million GBP (about $6 million) in Jan 2020 for trying to price fix in the UK. The penalty would have been around $20 million if they had not admitted the offence.

Retailers are free to advertise whatever selling price they want to charge. Manufacturers are also limited on other areas that may be construed as restrictive practice.

[jimmy bookout]

This thread is nearly ONE YEAR OLD.
Anyone taking info from this thread and applying it to late June 2021 is making a big mistake and probably giving others bad information.

[Skibum00]

Originally Posted by jimmy bookout

This thread is nearly ONE YEAR OLD.
Anyone taking info from this thread and applying it to late June 2021 is making a big mistake and probably giving others bad information.

Does this mean dealers are offering bigger discounts again? Or has it actually gone the other way?

[Tempotantrum]

It has gone the other way - at least on the high end Martins (A's and AA's). I called around in late 2021 looking for a D18AA and discounts ranged from 5%-8% max. And that was with dealers I had done repeat business with. The used market is also bad with folks asking near full retail on used items. At least with new from a dealer - you get a warranty and some risk mitigation in terms of setup and an evaluation period. In December when kicking the tires on a D28AA, discounts on new were even less.

[Street Glider]

Originally Posted by Tico

I doubt many dealers automatically volunteer to sell at this price

Gee, I can't imagine why.

If the MSRP of a guitar is $2,000, the dealer paid Martin $1,000 for it. Take 40% off of MSRP and the dealer has a gross profit of only $200, out of which must come paying employees, keeping the lights on and, what else? Oh, right, I dunno', being profitable!

When I go grocery shopping and a box of cereal is $3.99, I don't ask the sales clerk if I can have it for $2.39.

Seems to me that a group of folks such as who gather here would understand the need for a retailer to actually make money.

Maybe one of the sponsors who's a retailer can chime in, because it makes no sense to me...

[Ryan51]

Going back to the early 2000s I played an annual party for several years in Nazareth, PA. There were always a few Martin employees in attendance. One lady that I got to know offered to get me a Martin at her employee discount of 50% off list. She had bought a guitar for herself as an investment even though she didn't play. Looking back I could kick myself for not taking her up on the offer.

Fast forward to November 2021 Guitar Center had a VIP sale the weekend before Black Friday. I was able to get $540 off the price of an OM-28E with 48 months to pay at 0% interest. A financially painless deal with no haggling and no money out of pocket. If there is no rush to purchase I would get on the GC e-mail list for when a sale like this comes around again.

_________________
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