Guitar Price Negotiation

I didn't really know what section to put this under so...

As a teenager, I've had little to know experience with negotiation. Now, negotiating seems to be popular when purchasing guitars...

...and I'll swallow my pride and ask how and what to do. :o

the best advice i can give you is to just tell the salesman your budget and either he can show you a very good guitar around that price, or you can get him to throw in some stuff like a strap, picks, maybe a free case or case half off, if you buy the guitar full price. if you show the salesman you're gonna spend around $400 to get what you need, he's gonna make sure you don't spend it elsewhere, if he's a good salesman.

keep trying to negotiate. the worst thing that can happen is if the salesman ways "non-negotiable". then you can either pay full price or look somewhere else.

just look like "u know the tricks in guitar quality"

i mean talk them about the guitar u wanna, n show them ur knowledge...

when i was go for my first guitar the salesguy try to sell me a crappy slammer. u know he act like its a great guitar. now i know its a bad copy of hammer, so u need some xperience for negotiation... if ur a newbie find smbody xperienced in guitar tech...

The way you negotiate will depend very much on the person you're talking to. The best thing is to do it when the person working there has some authority. You won't get anywhere with some teenager working on his holidays. No offence, but it's mostly true. ;) If you can deal with the owner or manager you're much better off.

You want to avoid telling them your budget if possible, because then they know how much you have and when they offer you a guitar for that price, they'll think, "Why should I go lower? He said he has this much to spend!" The salesperson will probably ask you your budget. Don't lie to them, just be vague. Say something like, "Well, I'm interested in [whatever] guitars. What can you tell me about them?" If you ask them a question, they can't keep questioning you.

Here's another tip for you: don't go in there with your money. If you've got it on you you'll probably act differently. If you know you can't buy something on the spot, but you have the money for it saved, you'll come across as less eager, but not a time waster. This is the key. You know you want to buy the guitar, but they don't. You want to make it so they want to sell you the guitar. If they want you to buy it, then you're almost doing them the favour by making the purchase, right? Once you have them thinking this way you can start to negotiate.

The way to negotiate depends on your own personality and theirs. You don't want to act fake and pretend like you know what you're doing. There's nothing wrong with being blunt and saying something like, "I can get this guitar for [this much less] on eBay. What kind of deal can you offer me?" Of course, some people might get peeved if you came right out and said it like that, so, like I said first, everyone's a bit different and you need to approach them according to how they tick.

You can try a more subtle approach, too. So when they try to close the sale, you say something like, "Well, I really like that guitar, but I'm not sure if I want to spend that much . . . maybe I'll think about it." At this point a clever salesperson will either offer you a cheaper guitar, or ask exactly how much you have, or a monthly payment plan, or whatever. The idea is to stick to your guns and keep saying stuff along the lines of really liking that guitar, but not wanting to spend that much. You can hint that you might look around and see what other shops are willing to let them go for.

There are tons of books you can read about this kinda thing if you're really interested. It's impossible to outline them in a short reply. A good one is Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

Originally Posted by: Mark Pav
You know you want to buy the guitar, but they don't.

I disagree Mark, after having worked in a guitar store in London, one of the biggest tips I learned is that EVERYONE in the store wants to buy...its just a matter of when.

I get what Mark is saying, but I find it only half true...its more that YOu know you want that guitar and are happy with the price and deal...but they are not certain and so will try to appease you.

another thing is to do your homework...go in and see some guitars, then try a few that you like, compare them, and even go home and investigate them on the net...a well informed customer doesnt get ripped off...you dont have to know alot or be a total gear head or anything, but comments like "I think I like the maple fretboard on that model a bit more" or "I'm not too fond of Duncan designed pickups" tends to let the salesman know that you kind of know what you're talking about..

another thing to remember is that after they agree to a price, you have it...say you are quoted a guitar at 20% less than retail price...asking for 25% is always good, because even if they say no, you still have it at 20% less, if you get what I am saying...they wont go back on a good price they have offered just because you asked for a better one.

another thing is to only bring, or say you only brought a bit less than the mark priced of the guitar...say for instance you see a guitar you like for 450$...dont tell the salesguy how much you have, but make sure he knows that the guitar is in your price range...maybe take 400$ with you...and then just say, "look, I really like this guitar, and obviously I would be needing a gig bag, cable and so on as well, the thing is I have exactly 400$ on me...can we make a deal?"

Also, just ask "what is the absolute best cash price you can get for me on this one?"( like Mark said, always go to an experienced guy in the store...every store has one salesman who is a law unto himself, who, if he likes you, will get you prices better than any of the other salesman...this is the guy you need to find and deal with...he's generally the guy who is walking the fastest, from one end of the store to the other.)
Once he gives you a price, just say "can you not do it any lower? I dont have quite that much on me?" he'll then ask how much you've got...so long as its a reasonable amount, he'll sell it to you.

I find the best method is to offer an ultimatum tho.."I want that guitar, I want a case, and I want a cable...I have ?$ can we make a plan?"

Originally Posted by: Andrew SaI disagree Mark, after having worked in a guitar store in London, one of the biggest tips I learned is that EVERYONE in the store wants to buy...its just a matter of when.

I find the best method is to offer an ultimatum tho.."I want that guitar, I want a case, and I want a cable...I have ?$ can we make a plan?"

I guess what I meant was that the salesperson only knows that you're probably interested in buying a guitar, but he doesn't know you have your heart set on any one in particular.

As Andrew says, it's good sometimes to ask for them to throw gear in rather than (or as well as) asking for a discount. This is because the price they pay for the gear is less than what they sell it for. So you can ask for, say, a $30 strap and a $15 lead, because they're only out of pocket maybe $20 (picking a random figure) rather than $45. So you get a good deal on stuff you'd have to buy anyways and they don't feel so bad about giving it to you if you're buying a big ticket item (I mean, who haggles when they buy a $15 lead, really?) Most every shop will go along with this. If they don't, find another shop.

Wow. Thanks so much for the insight and taking the time to help me out. Ya, I'll definately go for for free junk...and see how low i can get them to sell it for cash.

also, know that the percentage markup on straps, cables, plectrums and pedals is much, much higher than that on guitars...so its always easy for them to throw them in for free, or discounts, but still keep the total percentage markup of the entire transaction above the decided level (I dunno if every shop has this, but at Sohosoundhouse in London, so long as the entire sale goes through at above a certain level of profit, its ok).

i'd say know your prices, if you're buying a low-mid range guitar, like something that's made in china, and you're living in london, get it imported from germany, you'll save a heap, in the US everything's pretty cheap so your fine there. If it's a more expensive guitar you might want to get it from a store because it'll be set up and prices probably won't be so variable.

If you don't like a salesman or if he's acting snobbish like he knows what you want, don't buy from him, don't even bother, because if you're uncomfortable and you're being pushed into something you're not going to feel right about it in the end. you have to make your own decision.

Tell the salesman your skill level and how long you've been playing, so you feel more comfortable about trying the guitars out and you won't feel like you're trying to show off or something.

I always pitch at 10% less of the sale price of whatever it is (only with guitars or amps though - too much effort on lower cost items). Like the others say, just tell the guy what you'd pay (not what you can afford), and then walk away if he doesn't go for it. If you haven't already got it for 10% less, he'll want to negotiate as you're heading out the door.

Another trick I've used is to go on about a minor point - say for instance the guitar doesn't come with a case - just keep on moaning about how it hasn't got a case, and use that to start bending the price down. Missing Trem arms are another common one in the places I go.... £10 for a new one but potentially way more just 'cos someone nicked it in the shop.

Retailers will sometimes match online prices, and some do 'pricematch' as well. Make sure your offer is realistic though - you need credibility, which you won't have if you offer the bloke £25 for a PRS custom 24... 10% works for me though.

Next idea is to keep going back in to the same shop over a period of time and see what ISN'T selling. Making offers on goods the shop cannot shift can be even easier - I got a very nice US Tele like that.... :D

In addition to the great advice above:

It helps to do all your research on the guitar(s) you want. Know everything about it, pros and cons. That way you're prepared. However, when you go in, ask the salesguy everything about the guitar. That'll help you to see if the guy is worth dealing with. If he doesn't know anything about it, then he's not your man. Even if he's an expert, by being well informed, you can always throw something in like "yeah, but this guitar doesn't come with the active pickups like the 2006 JK4512XM". That will sort of level the playing field and he'll know that you're not messing around.

Also, you need to be willing to walk out if they're not willing to budge on the price. Even if it's just for the sake of walking out and coming back in a week and running the same game on a different salesman and getting the same response, at least you can be settled in your own mind that at least you tried.

Thanks tons fellas. Walking away empty handed sounds pretty hard...might not really be an option as I have to drive an hour to get to the store. But this is great stuff and I'm glad i could hear it here first. :)