$21 Bucks!?

[NAILER341]

i just went to the chrysler dealer to pick up a couple of tubes of the suggested RTV silicone for my ditty bag, and to seal my current project differential..
they wanted 21 bucks for a tube of that stuff!
the jack ass wouldnt budge on the price either. is that really the going rate for that stuff?
he wouldnt move from the retail price on it, which i found unusual for a dealership in the first place..
luckily i found a deal on ebay for 2 tubes at $14 bucks delivered, and bought those, but it will be a bit later than i had hoped. i'll be using that after the first refill of the diff, and a few miles are pu7t on it to clean it out.
what is the real price for that stuff?

[DanB98TJ]

Originally posted by NAILER341
what is the real price for that stuff?

Probably about $3 per tube.

I just use red Permetex, and try to avoid going to the stealer for anything.

[TObject]

According to the consensus in the following thread, the parts store has every moral right in the book to charge whatever they want, and anybody would be an imbecile to question it.

http://www.jeepbbs.net/forums/showth...&threadid=7455

$21 must be fair, otherwise they wouldn't charge for it so much, would they?

[Chris L]

I wanna say i paid 9-12 bucks for the last tube i bought for mopar sealant. IMHO the stuff works the best. Even on unclean surfaces.

[NAILER341]

Originally posted by Chris L
I wanna say i paid 9-12 bucks for the last tube i bought for mopar sealant. IMHO the stuff works the best. Even on unclean surfaces.

that i would do.... maybe the salesman was just a jack ass.
that is still high, but if it is that much better than the over the counter stff at the parts store, it would be worth a bit mor.. but not 4-5x

[TJP]

Originally posted by TObject
According to the consensus in the following thread, the parts store has every moral right in the book to charge whatever they want, and anybody would be an imbecile to question it.

http://www.jeepbbs.net/forums/showth...&threadid=7455

$21 must be fair, otherwise they wouldn't charge for it so much, would they?

They DO have every right to charge whatever they want. It's THEIR store. You , on the other hand, have every right to not shop there.

[TObject]

Originally posted by TJP
They DO have every right to charge whatever they want. It's THEIR store. You , on the other hand, have every right to not shop there.

My question was not, "Do I have the right not to shop there?". My question was, "Would they charge $21 if it was not a fair price?"

Can you answer that?

I am not angry or anything. I am just in the mood for a deep philosophical conversation.

[TJP]

Originally posted by TObject
My question was not, "Do I have the right not to shop there?". My question was, "Would they charge $21 if it was not a fair price?"

Can you answer that?

I am not angry or anything. I am just in the mood for a deep philosophical conversation.

Define "fair". I'll bet your idea of fair is totally differant than their idea of fair.

[TObject]

Let's use their idea of fair. Do you thnk they think their price is fair?

[NAILER341]

Originally posted by TObject
Let's use their idea of fair. Do you thnk they think their price is fair?

i'll bet they wont pay "their" price

[cbassett]

Originally posted by TObject
Let's use their idea of fair. Do you thnk they think their price is fair?

I think we covered this in the linked thread , but...

"fair" is whatever price seller sets, provided people buy it at that price. If noone (or not enough people) buy at the set price, then the price must not be fair and seller must reset price.

If you think a price is to high, let seller know before you buy. Also, offer to pay what you think is a "fair" price. If they don't budge, keep shopping for whatever you consider a "fair" deal.

[TObject]

But does the seller think that their price is fair?

Are they aware that the price is ridiculously high, or do they think it's fair? That's what I want to know.

Let's take the buyer out of equation, and define fair price as the price that seller thinks is fair.

[speaceman]

I"ve only ever been quoted 9-12 for the mopar RTV.

I do know how you feel about the price gouging though.

My dealership that I usually go to is either average on price half the time and then the other half, it's like they are pushing a randomizer button on the computer when calling up the price because the'll come up with some astronomically high prices every once in awhile. I don't get it.

[Paradiddle]

Erik - I'm with Chris and Shalmon on this - I've paid about $11 per tube - which I thought was expensive but the stuff really does work much better then anything at the auto parts store.

Jeff

[cbassett]

Originally posted by TObject
But does the seller think that their price is fair?

Are they aware that the price is ridiculously high, or do they think it's fair? That's what I want to know.

Let's take the buyer out of equation, and define fair price as the price that seller thinks is fair.

You are a disgruntled buyer.
You cannot take the buyer out of the equation.

buyer *(Product/price)-selller = purchase

Remove the buyer, you have a collector insuring his stuff.

[TObject]

Ok, lets try it a different way.

I run a cunsulting business. I set the prices for my consulting services. I realize that it is possible that somebody out there may think that my prices are unfair. However I think that the prices I set are fair.

Do you think that whoever set the price of $21 for a tube of sealant thinks that the price is fair?

[cbassett]

Originally posted by TObject
Ok, lets try it a different way.

I run a cunsulting business. I set the prices for my consulting services. I realize that it is possible that somebody out there may think that my prices are unfair. However I think that the prices I set are fair.

Do you think that whoever set the price of $21 for a tube of sealant thinks that the price is fair?

The answer to that question was covered above as well.

Dealerships are an exception to an extent; I'm not sure what they smoke to charge what they do. But, in the end, it comes back to the basic arguement of 'because they can'.

Eliminating dealerships from the equation...
If seller is selling more than they're losing at $n, then the price is "fair" enough for them. If it weren't, they'd try $20, then $19, and so-on until the tubes started selling.
Mixed in with that "fair" price is the desire to foster repeat business. A "fair" prices is the absolute most you can get for your product, and still get the customer to come back to you. Excellent customer service can help in this regard, to the extent that without it customers that would've left feeling they'd been had would instead leave appreciating the great deal and excellent service they received.

[NAILER341]

Originally posted by cbassett
The answer to that question was covered above as well.

Dealerships are an exception to an extent; I'm not sure what they smoke to charge what they do. But, in the end, it comes back to the basic arguement of 'because they can'.

Eliminating dealerships from the equation...
If seller is selling more than they're losing at $n, then the price is "fair" enough for them. If it weren't, they'd try $20, then $19, and so-on until the tubes started selling.
Mixed in with that "fair" price is the desire to foster repeat business. A "fair" prices is the absolute most you can get for your product, and still get the customer to come back to you. Excellent customer service can help in this regard, to the extent that without it customers that would've left feeling they'd been had would instead leave appreciating the great deal and excellent service they received.

bull crap!
no amount of customer service can make a 4 dollar tube of silicone worth $21 bucks. just the sheer thought of someone marking something up THAT much is the opposite of customer service.
the only way that tube of silicone would be worth that much, would be for the salesman to come over to my house, and apply it to the differential himself.
it is painfully obvious that, that particular dealership has no intention of catering to the public on a parts sales level. they plan to make their money from car sales, and repair sales.

[cbassett]

Nowhere, anywhere, have I said that tube was worth $21.

Maybe, just maybe you missed the point with a cusory glanse at, or skipping the rest of this thread and Sergey's link. Reread and get back to me.

Also, it's not just a "that dealer" thing. Hence the term stealerships. Again, not the point.

[NAILER341]

Mixed in with that "fair" price is the desire to foster repeat business. A "fair" prices is the absolute most you can get for your product, and still get the customer to come back to you. Excellent customer service can help in this regard, to the extent that without it customers that would've left feeling they'd been had would instead leave appreciating the great deal and excellent service they

oh, i read it just fine... you may not have directly said that you thought it was a fair price, bur what you did do is try to justify why they charge what they do.
and it is indeed, THAT particular dealership. [i'm sure not the only one] but i have dealt with dealerships for parts in the past, and this is the first time i have had them be non-negotiable in their outlandish pricing.
of course, every vehicle has the "dealer only" items that fail regularly, and are unavailable at your local parts stores... i have made many of these purchases, and never paid full retail. they will always knock off a few bucks just to make you feel like you didnt get your ass compleetely kicked at their store.
ask around, see what others pay for this stuff at their dealerships.
i have been hearing between 9-12 bucks. now that would be a "fair" and acceptable price for a 4 dollar tube of silicone. i could buy that over priced OEM product, and not feel like i got raped, and still be comfortable knowing that i paid 3x what it is really worth.

[cbassett]

Originally posted by NAILER341 oh, i read it just fine... you may not have directly said that you thought it was a fair price, bur what you did do is try to justify why they charge what they

Not even remotely close to the truth. You and Sergey should setup a DBA group.

[NAILER341]

LOL

[Art Welch]

Originally posted by NAILER341
and this is the first time i have had them be non-negotiable in their outlandish pricing

So buy it somewhere else, end of story. If enough people do that they'll drop their price, if not they won't.

[NAILER341]

Originally posted by Art Welch
So buy it somewhere else, end of story. If enough people do that they'll drop their price, if not they won't.

and i did... i will likely never go back to that dealership. thats how hard headed i am about getting screwed

[Matt Pascoe]

Makes me wonder... If I brought my Jeep to that dealer for a service that called for said silicone, would they add $21 to my invoice?

Bet they would and thats why they stick to that price.

They dont care about selling you 1 tube of silicone. They care about the extra $21 bucks on every $200 service.

MP

[JLemieux]

I would like to know how the people here define a "fair" price.
What percent or dollar amount of mark up do you think is "fair"?
What do you base that on?
Do you know how much this $21 tube of sealant cost the dealer?
If you don't know the cost, how do you know what is fair?
What you know is called perceived value. The botton line is that the price has to be "fair" to the guy selling it.
Perceived value is a problem we have in the automotive industry. Let's say one guy buys a product (or even sees an advertisement) for $100. That becomes the products perceived value. That is until someone else sees it for $80. Now the perceived value becomes $80. If the cost of the part was $70 is the $100 price unfair? Absolutely not, but to someone who doesn't know the cost it is only worth $80. Is that "fair"?

[Robert J. Yates]

Originally posted by Art Welch
So buy it somewhere else, end of story.

....or else just use gaskets.

[TObject]

Originally posted by JLemieux
The botton line is that the price has to be "fair" to the guy selling it.

That's how we define "fair price" here.

[cbassett]

Originally posted by JLemieux
The botton line is that the price has to be "fair" to the guy selling it.

Originally posted by TObject
That's how we define "fair price" here.

Am I the only what not seeing Sergey's definition of "fair"?

Sergey, please define "fair to the seller".

[TObject]

The seller is in good position to determine the fairness of price. Since the "fair to the seller" price is assumed to be higher than the "fair to the buyer price" for the purposes of this discussion we define "fair price" as the price "fair to the seller". So that to error on the safe (higher) side, so to speak.