Dealing with Distrubutors (Bobs your Uncle)

[MikeLogix]

Hi all, Back in the day, I recall TE distributors visiting the production supervisor in attempt to sell test equipment. There always seemed to be deals getting cut, etc. Sorta like buying a car if you will. Supervisor would say things like, if we add an extra meter how does that affect the price? Those kind of things.
Now when I contact these guys looking for a deal, I pretty much get quoted what is out on the website. I was looking to get a scope, and also a Bench multimeter, but no wink wink, nudge, nudge, Bobs your Uncle deals to be had.

So I ask ya, what is the secret to scoring a sweet deal when working with the distributor guys, or is it that I am just to small time to score a deal?

[Tandy]

Isn't the internet a bitch? Now nobody can hide the true price of things because prices are there for everyone to see.

In the good bad old days the salesman would give you artificially inflated prices and then pretend to give his boss a call to authorise a great deal for you the special customer. These days if they want to win the business they have to give you a fair price to start with or you will just laugh at them. As they are starting with a genuinely sensible price they don't have far to go with discounts. Perhaps if you are a large customer with a regular need they may give you a 5% discount, or if they are trying to move in and grab the contract from their competitors they might even take a bit of a loss for the long term benefit. If you are a small business or individual though you can forget it, your best bet is to trawl the internet for the best deal.

[bson]

Depends on what seller you're talking to.  I've had good luck with the good people at TestEquity (testequity.com).  Ask for a quote; it will come from an individual person, then contact this person by email or phone using the contact info included in the quote.  They don't carry all brands though, in particular not LeCroy, but they're great for most of the other big ones.  They also frequently have good deals on refurbs.  The Authorized LeCroy Reseller I've dealt with though will disappear once they have your money so picking the right reseller is tremendously important.  (I have no relationship with TestEquity other than as any other customer and there are of course many other excellent TE sources out there; just picked them as an example of someone I can personally recommend.)

[tautech]

Hi all, Back in the day, I recall TE distributors visiting the production supervisor in attempt to sell test equipment. There always seemed to be deals getting cut, etc. Sorta like buying a car if you will. Supervisor would say things like, if we add an extra meter how does that affect the price? Those kind of things.
Now when I contact these guys looking for a deal, I pretty much get quoted what is out on the website. I was looking to get a scope, and also a Bench multimeter, but no wink wink, nudge, nudge, Bobs your Uncle deals to be had.

So I ask ya, what is the secret to scoring a sweet deal when working with the distributor guys, or is it that I am just to small time to score a deal?

With the growth of Asian TE there is much more competition for them to deal with and AFAICT less fat in the system to trim in the way of offering good deals, however from time to time manufacturers offer deals, either directly to distributors or to the public for distributors to then supply.
For a small guy like myself there's no way I can carry all the models that might be offered in one of the promo's but we can offer some small saving when we have a confirmed deal prior to order from the factory.
Alternatively most of us have demo models that at some stage it is beneficial to move on for one reason or another and if you'd consider slightly used equipment a demo unit could save you a few bucks.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Somehow I could not resist the title of this thread ...

According to published info, outfits like Amazon run with a typical margin of about 3%. That's what the internet test gear guys are competing against. If they are running at 10%, that is pretty good. Of course if they don't ever publish a price, who knows how their prices compare to anything anywhere.

I'd be glad to toss in a "free" oscilloscope on your order of 5 if you want me to do so. Of course, my price quote is "strictly confidential, void if shared with others, and good for the next 30 seconds (so you don't have time to check it out)".

Is there money to be had buying a skid full of gear? Sure, the shipping is going to be less at a number of levels. The ability to go one tier up in the process is possible at the higher volume. There's likely 10% to be had there. Are you buying 50 scopes? There's at least on "free one" (maybe two).

====

Now, if you head over to the world of used gear, just like used cars, the system has a lot more "room" in it price wise. The gear may have been out on lease for 14 months and effectively the least paid about 120% of the purchase price of the unit. Anything the used gear guy can get for that scope is pure profit. Now, since he also has another 10 that went out for 2 months and have sat for another 12 months, he may not be really excited about just dumping the one. If all 11 were out for 14 months (and you catch him at the right time).... you get a pretty good deal.

Bob

(yes, Bob's your Uncle).

[edavid]

You can get a 6% EEVblog discount from Tequipment or Saelig.

If Zoro has what you want, they have periodic 20% or 30% off coupons.

[uncle_bob]

You can get a 6% EEVblog discount from Tequipment or Saelig.

If Zoro has what you want, they have periodic 20% or 30% off coupons.

Hi

Back in the "old days" HP had what they called the "10% for asking" discount. More or less: all of the prices in the catalog had an extra 10% in them that, if they got it - fine. If somebody wanted a discount, there is 10% built into the price to play with. Because it was already in the price, the local sales office could do a "discount quote" all on their own. No need to bother higher up's for authorizations. I'm sure there were some things it didn't apply to. If so, I never found out what.

I've also seen gear that sold for $5K when done by the original outfit. Once the line got bought out, .... zip .... it's now $8K with no options and $15K with the options it had at $5K. Maybe the early units were done at a loss. That's still a pretty crazy markup. Odd that the same piece of gear now goes "on sale" for $10K from time to time. Just think of all the money you are saving when it's on sale .... hmmm ..... (Just to be clear -- this is *not* an HP story or a story about any part of that empire. Names and details withheld since they add no real value).

Bob

[Someone]

If you deal directly with the big TE sales people you can pay for what you need, the trick it not to let on how much of the product you will make use of. You say its for a specific project with funding and provide one example of what you'll use it for, which happens to be possible to achieve with the competitors product for a lower price. All of a sudden its usually possible to adjust the price.

[Wuerstchenhund]

These days if they want to win the business they have to give you a fair price to start with or you will just laugh at them. As they are starting with a genuinely sensible price they don't have far to go with discounts. Perhaps if you are a large customer with a regular need they may give you a 5% discount, or if they are trying to move in and grab the contract from their competitors they might even take a bit of a loss for the long term benefit.

5%    Let's put it this way, if I buy for myself then 10% is what I usually accept because it's a single sale. If I buy for work (i.e. large orders) then the discounts are high. Like, a lot (I won't say how much). For 10% I wouldn't even lift a finger. And none of the test gear providers is making a loss in those deals.

However, that's for big brands only. B-brands work with much tighter margins and have less wiggle room for discounts. How much I don't know because I don't touch them.

If you are a small business or individual though you can forget it, your best bet is to trawl the internet for the best deal.

No, it's not, simply because test gear isn't like cell phones or flat screen TVs, prices are much more controlled. Pretty much everyone advertises list price or slightly below.

In general it's recommended to talk directly to the manufacturer and leave out resellers if possible. Generally T&M prices are negotiable (even individual sales), and I know it sounds harsh but only the lazy pay list price. What deal you get depends on how good you can haggle. 10% should be doable even for individuals, or paying for the basic variant and getting options on top of it. Sales droids are paid for selling, and the amount they sell counts towards their performance, so they're usually flexible. If not, hang up and call again until you get another droid.

Also ask for demo gear which usually is loaded, looks like new, comes with full warranty and is a lot cheaper than a "new" instrument.

Hi all, Back in the day, I recall TE distributors visiting the production supervisor in attempt to sell test equipment. There always seemed to be deals getting cut, etc. Sorta like buying a car if you will. Supervisor would say things like, if we add an extra meter how does that affect the price? Those kind of things.
Now when I contact these guys looking for a deal, I pretty much get quoted what is out on the website. I was looking to get a scope, and also a Bench multimeter, but no wink wink, nudge, nudge, Bobs your Uncle deals to be had.

So I ask ya, what is the secret to scoring a sweet deal when working with the distributor guys, or is it that I am just to small time to score a deal?

Sounds like Tek    They are pretty much the only big brand I found that is completely inflexible in pricing, and not just for small buys. They seem to give huge discounts to the edu market but that seems to be it. Not sure if that's a great loss, considering how bad their product portfolio is these days.

Otherwise it's difficult to say without knowing the circumstances (did you talk to the manufacturer or some resellers?) or which manufacturer is involved, but if you specifically mentioned your workplace there might be some understanding to only deal with certain individuals. In these settings, the personal relationship can play a huge part as well.

Still, you should be able to get a decent discount for a big-brand scope that isn't Tek if you do some legwork.