Thread: Today I set out to buy a Toldo

I wanted to buy a Toldo I wanted to shop locally. Give my local town a chance, they are less than 10 kilometers from me, I was quoted 1250 euro from Torrevieja.
I shopped around on the internet and got the same one same size, same material, same quality for 400 euro delivered from Valencia.
WHY?

Originally Posted by ELJEFE

WHY?

A very important question....

Is it the same reason why big corporations can charge 10 euros for a chicken that cost them 50 cents to produce? or is it because this local company thought it could get away with the big price tag?

Ask the right questions and you will get the right answers...

ELJEFE, please ask them... Confront them and fint out!

Then come back here and share your wisdom in the think tank with some creative sustainable solutions...

I have already investigated. One the person I saw did not own the company SHE was an employee. She read the price of a paper did a calculation on a calculator and had no authority to give a discount even when I mentioned cash purchase.
Two they did not have the quantity of material I required in stock 20m2.
Three I dealt with the spanish owner on the telphone in Valencia, who I got to negotiate down from his original price of 472 euro to 400 euro.

Originally Posted by ELJEFE

I have already investigated. One the person I saw did not own the company SHE was an employee. She read the price of a paper did a calculation on a calculator and had no authority to give a discount even when I mentioned cash purchase.
Two they did not have the quantity of material I required in stock 20m2.
Three I dealt with the spanish owner on the telphone in Valencia, who I got to negotiate down from his original price of 472 euro to 400 euro.

OK excellent so we already have some information to work with... What would you suggest to the business owner?

- The employee, needs to be a representative of the customer and communicate the need with the boss...
- The price needs to take into account more than just a purchase... Giving a decent price, might have made you into a long-term customer. Prices must become more flexible and relevant to the situation...
- Stock is a tough situation. Especially for SMEs when competing against big corporations.... What could you as a client have contributed to create a win-win situation?
- The owner wasn't present. He wasn't interested? So owners should be present and much closer to the front line?

I know the people behind a place in Valencia that sells this type of thing - paneles japoneses, enrollables, persianas, toldos etc - so it was interesting to read this thread. They have pdf's with prices on their web (am I allowed to enter a link on my first post? Anella S.L. Las mejores enrollables y paneles japoneses de Valencia. | Las mejores enrollables y paneles japoneses de Valencia. ) so you can perhaps compare prices there... I think the economic situation is very tight in this area - if builders are without work, there isn't such a great demand to buy fittings like blinds or awnings for buildings. So, it's always worth trying to negotiate a better price, and yes a knowledge of spanish is invaluable in these cases. There seems to be a lot of competition in Valencia in this field, which may be why your chosen supplier was willing to give you a better price.
Having said all that, maybe your local supplier is content with the business he already gets (I know the employee may not have the responsibility to negotiate price) and so wouldn't want to give a one-off discount as it would jeopardise profit margin on existing custom.

I think some local businesses are a bit shortsighted in the way they run. Thinking that because they are right there the peices/service they give is ripe for mis use. If a local busines is priced competively and can offer that little something that helps swing the deal then they would fare much better.

I do think that as customers we should be more product aware, do you look at the whole picture when you go to purchase something like a toldo ? Have you sussed the material quality and type you want, the fixings, the lifetime of, the average price ? Do you do any homework on the product ?


In any purchase do you consider what you can give the seller, cash ? pickup if available / necessary any other options which might help get you both the result you are happy with.