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I almost bought a Mk6 (I may still)

Fair point Howard. What particularly irked me was that they were perfectly happy to offer me interest-free credit, but not to give me a discount for paying by debit card (which AFAIK does not incur fees, or at least, less than the cost of providing finance).
 
Yes, I can never follow the reasoning for some finance discounts/charges. The card operating companies do charge a small % for a debit card transaction and a bit more for a credit card. However we regard these as part of our overheads and don't charge any extra. I suppose the theoretically logical thing would have been to accept the offer of interest-free credit and use your money for some other purpose, like gaining interest elsewhere (not much chance nowadays!) but it doesn't always seem worth the hassle if you don't really need it.
 
I think there are different trading models, and it's often difficult to distinguish which applies in particular circumstances. I remember buying a camera and being surprised when a couple of free films were thrown in with it. Later I heard that it was standard practice, not just that dealer. And with cars, there's always a lot of fat bilt into the price to allow for haggling. If you're in a situation where haggling is the norm, then failing to haggle means you're losing out.

But it's the seller who determines which model applies. And this can lead to incorrect expectations from a customer. As a customer I like to see where my money's going - and to check that the seller, often unknown, is charging a fair price, not an inflated one as often happens.

Here I'd say that the haggle/sweetner selling model would be a reasonable expectation for a buyer, especially as a lot of new saxes are sold with cheap extras thrown in - strap, mouthpiece, reeds, cleaning kit... It's not a fixed price supermarket deal (and even they often have specials, two for the price of one and so on). But as I said above, on a commission sale, things may be different. And here it clearly was. Pity the salesman didn't handle it better - it led to confrontation and dissatisfaction/ill feelings. And if the sax hadn't been such a good match, the sale would have been lost. Knowing in advance that I'd be dealing with a salesman like that would certainly put me off going in in the first place.

So although I agree with you, unless you know the seller, it can be difficult to know what to expect.
 
Here goes .... I'll probably get lynched after this!
Nahhh.....;}

However in my manufacturing business we work out the cost as well as we can, add a reasonable markup and arrive at a price. This is not negotiable. If someone asks for a discount it implies that we were trying to sting them for as much as we could get out of them, without reference to the cost of the job and I regard that as mildly insulting.
A reasonable mark up is so subjective and often not disclosed which may prompt haggling so I don't think you should be insulted by it, obviously not every one is honest about mark ups.
I'd never employ a plumber with a porsche who only works 4 days a week.

In my opinion the seller is just as justified in "walking away" from an offer as the buyer if an agreement can't be made. Why should the seller automatically be called mean?
Absolutely, just as justified. Entirely their choice.
I don't think they are automatically classed as mean though.

I only hope that they are not encouraging all retailers to always artficially raise their prices so that some margin is available for haggling. However I fear it is too late for such optimism.

I think it's common that people try to get as much as they can these days in every sales field. No one owes you a favour, so back to one of your early points, price is some what dictated by what people are prepared to pay.

In brief regarding many a sales tactic, here is one example.
'A players horn' which is often the description of a tatty looking sax.

It's a dress me up approach to squeeze a few more pennies out of a buyer.
My cash is hard earned, I spend and I want value for money.

The same seller would have probably remarked when acquiring the horn that if the condition had been better he would have been able to have given more for it.... yeah right!!!

When I sniff greed I'm away.
 
The salesman didn't have to give-that horn will sell, and probably at a higher price if some time goes by. Such is the mystique of the VI!
Given enough time and effort, you will find another one cheaper. But if this is the one you want, and you can stomach the price, go back and get it. Nothing humbling about "thinking it over."
 
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