On more than one occasion, I have seen posters on this board insist that customers want and like the negotiating process. Apparently, I'm abnormal, because I have no desire to engage in psychological warfare with a person who, if it all works out, I will expect to support me for several years. I have absolutely no desire to negotiate for anything - cars, hot tubs, electronics, jewelry. Nothing. I am not Donald Trump trying to buy the Bellagio; I'm just a schmo trying to buy something to make my life a little more enjoyable.
Our culture has come to accept negotiating for cars. We are also now accepting it for other items. I guess maybe we need a poll: do any of you (consumers, not dealers) want to negotiate a price for your hot tub? If I am in the minority, I will apologize and withdraw my objection.
I just ordered a hot tub (a Bullfrog 462). I have been looking for about 6 months, and have been to at least a dozen dealers within 100 miles of my house. The number of dealers who had prices on their tubs: one. I have seen a couple of the service guys on this board say that the majority of the dealers they work with have prices posted; apparently you guys live in spa heaven, because, based on my experience, 8% is nowhere near a majority. I guess I just live in the wrong part of the country.
Here's what I want: a fair deal at a fair price. I don't expect a dealer to starve or give up all his profit. I also don't expect him to put his kid through college on my inexperience. I want them to post a price on their tubs, and if I like the price, I'll buy it. If I don't, I'll go somewhere else. How come three quarters of the dealers around me have their spas on sale ninety percent of the time? Today it's an end-of-the-year-sale. Next month, it will be a pre-Valentines sale. Then an Easter sale, and then a pre-summer sale, and then a summer sale, etc. You know what it makes me think? These aren't sale prices, they're just the regular prices being pimped as sale prices. What if I'm stupid enough to just walk in and pay (gasp!) the regular price? Do I get the "sucker" label?
One of the main reasons I ended up going with the Bullfrog (apart from the fact that I really liked it ) was that the shop owner is a good friend of a good friend of mine. So I feel a little more confident that I won't get screwed and/or abandoned. I did not get that feeling from other places I looked.
The bottom line is, we vote with our dollars. Although I did not buy a Costco tub, I can't say I didn't consider it. If I had not found a dealer I trusted, I might have gone that route. Because that big downside to the Costco experience, the lack of support and service, wasn't looking like such a downside when I considered the people I met at the dealership. This is, theoretically, still a buyer driven industry. It's up to us to show the sellers what we want.