I've been doing business with several online gear purveyors since their were such things.  I've developed long lasting relationships with some sales folks...some lasting many years.  I usually have paid the "mail order" quoted price without question...and have reaped the occasional "special deal" for being a regular customer.  However the last couple of years have been fairly bleak in my industry and "times is tough".  So I now find myself shopping very hard for the best price on gear...but especially software plugs and instruments.  And, as you know, it is very competitive out there.  One thing I have done recently though is to give my long term sales folks the opportunity to match (or even get close) to the lowest price I've found so that they could at least get the sale. I even went so far as to discuss this practice via email with one of my very best long term sales guys asking him if this offended him in any way.  He said in that email that while he didn't particularly like it, he understood the motivations behind it and seemed perfectly willing to "compete", as it were, for my business. I should also point out that he works for Sweetwater whose practice is to take every call and/or email and respond immediately with the sale process and then follow up to make sure everything is fine.  Which he always does.
 
So it's been very surprising to me that when I emailed him last week to try and match Audio Deluxe's price on the three Softube plugs I wanted neither he nor his assistant responded AT ALL.  Not even a no thanks.  I emailed a couple of times with the same non-response.  I then went ahead and purchased from AD.  But then, fearing I might just receive an invoice and serial numbers in an email from my Sweetwater guy out of the blue, I phoned and left a message as well to not order anything, thanks and better luck next time...that he was still a go to guy.
 
I've still not heard a peep from him, his assistant or anyone else at Sweetwater.  And if you purchase there you know...that ain't right.
 
So...my question:  Was I rude, a douche, or a horse's ass to ask them to match AD's price in order to get the business??
 
 
PS: And, yes, I know I'm already all those things in general.  But I really mean specific to this situation;-)
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
If he's anything like me he'll start forwarding you email flyers from JRR shop just to make it easier on everyone.
 
;-)

Bidness is bidness Olpal. Simple as that. Looks to me like you were more than courteous. Maybe he's on vacation?
 
Randy

I'd say you went out of your way to be nice.  Most customers wouldn't do that.

 
When I was a merchant I had customers try to be nice like this.
 
There seems to be some abstract notion that having a chance to compete with a business that uses going out of business pricing to disrupt and undervalue a market is an opportunity of sorts. 
 
I never formed a grudge against the people who tried to be nice in that way... but I did elect to send them to other stores and to preserve my supply of stock for customers who found ways to appreciate the pricing structure we operated with.
 
For example; if you were really nice in the way we are speaking of I might show you a product and let you touch it but then I would point out that it wasn't available for sale and I'd never get around to quoting a price. If you were really, really nice in the way we are speaking of I might even suggest that the shop down the road had ample stock. (where I knew they actually debated and argued with people who are nice in the way we are speaking of)
 
I totally understand that business is business... and that folks deserve to be respected for making good decisions for them selves. So, I never resented it when someone walked into our shop comparing mail order pricing to our full service brick and mortar outlet.
 
I learned that if a customer wants to let the bridge lapse into disrepair that there is no compelling reason for me to burn it. I simply elected to not waste any of my precious time discussing the merits of the really good deal they got. In these cases, silence is golden.
 
Olpal, you may have expected some response... my guess is that your long time partner decided that no news is better than the news he really wanted to convey.
 
You asked for the *I-don't-expect-any-service* price... and you didn't get any service. 
 
Call him back when they have what you need at the price you want and everything will probably be just like it used to be.
 
Business is business... customers say that all the time. Some actually mean it... I learned to like the guys that had some empathy for what we were doing.
 
all the very best,
mike
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
'Ol Pal, plug your computer into the internetz and try again
 
 

I have my "go to" guy too and I always do the same if there is a better deal elsewhere. I don't feel bad about it because they openly say that they will beat rivals prices. That said, he was little miffed at the 20% off anything and everything I choose offer that was offered to me by a rival recently, but he did stick to the deal, although somewhat begrudgingly on this occasion. Naturally, I chose items that you don't normally see discounted.
 
I don't think you have any reason to feel bad about yourself (apart from the usual ones). You offered them the chance of a sale, they chose not to take it. Shame that they have blanked you since, hopefully just a case of the messages not getting through.

OT:
 
how come I can mark posts in this fred as spam, but if I go on a spam fred, that option is not there ??

Trying for your best deal is good business. For the vendor to
ignore you is bad business.
 
I've paid more to keep my money in town. I expect if I were ignored
or treated without respect I could find alternatives with no regrets.
 
 

Well it turns out that is was a simple miscommunication and that he'd actually tried to see if he could "get close" to AD's price.  And I received a very nice, cordial apology email from him regarding his lack of follow up.  Which I told him was not needed.  So everything's hunky dory. 
 
And @Mike:  No, I didn't mean the way you are a douche.  I meant the way I am.  There's a clear difference;-)