Price Swapping!

[SGY]

You guys make CC sound as though they are alone in this. Many manufacturers do the same thing. For example, at one time, I was a hi-fi nut. A particular dealer would not sell me a new CD player because I had a dealer in my territory.

I always thought that these kinds of restrictions were imposed to protect dealer territory. Given the fact that cost of doing business is different in various parts of the country I can understand why a dealer would want this type of protection. Otherwise, most people would simply travel to those portions of the country where the boat is cheapest. I'm not saying I'm in favor of it, just that I understand partially why this is happening. I gotta tell you, Mastercraft is the same way. Dealers are very protective of their own regions--so much so, that if you are a promo driver for MC, you have to sell your boat in your area. That's at least what I hear from MC promo guys around here. Just my two cents.

[skinautique]

What happens if I go to order a 196 (or any specific hull) and the local dealer is "sold out" of this model? I get bent over by the next dealer that has one?

This is what the warehouses are for!

[AbunDiga909]

What happens if I go to order a 196 (or any specific hull) and the local dealer is "sold out" of this model? I get bent over by the next dealer that has one?

This is what the warehouses are for!

Isn't that what the regional distributers used to be? And didn't CC get rid of the distributers and now they're just managers? I used to go to NECC just b/c I remember them being the distributer for my local dealer, and they told me they no longer do that and the boats go directly to my dealer from the CC w/o stopping there first anymore. So in that situation wouldn't Hollywood (for example) have to buy new from the factory and wait 2 months or the boat be sold through his local dealer???

[skinautique]

boats can either go through the "warehouses" or direct. The warehouses also keep boats in stock so dealers can get them quickly if they can make a sale.

[bkhallpass]

Do you dealers only by a car from your closest dealer and not check the prices from another local dealer?

CTRider. People always try to compare boats to cars. They are very
different businesses. While cars may cost a lot, they are primarily
a very high volume, ubiquitous, and disposable product. The car
business is closer to television or ipod sales than it is to the boating
business.

The fact that car manufacturers choose to honor warranty claims
at any dealership, is an anomoly in the volume goods marketplace. You wouldn't buy your ipod at Fry's and expect to returne it or get warranty work at Best Buy.

If anything, the fact that Auto manufacturers honor warranty claims
at any dealership is in itself a protection mechanism for smaller dealerships. If you had to take you car back to the dealer you bought
from, you would likely go to a national chain like Auto Nation rather
than the single dealership in smallville usa. Also don't forget that the
entire American Auto industry is protected by Tarrifs and other
regulations put on foreign imports. But that's another story.

BKH

[bkhallpass]

You guys make CC sound as though they are alone in this. Many manufacturers do the same thing.

You're absolutely right. Many, many, many businesses have similar
setups. High end computers, storage and software certainly do.
Not to mention consumer products like the hi-fi units you mention.

BKH

[CTRider]

bkhallpass wrote:

The fact that car manufacturers choose to honor warranty claims
at any dealership, is an anomoly in the volume goods marketplace. You wouldn't buy your ipod at Fry's and expect to returne it or get warranty work at Best Buy.

BKH
I did not say anything about buying a CC and trying to return it or get warranty work done at MC that is more in lines as to your quote. If I purchased an Ipod at Best Buy I can bring it to any Best Buy and return it or have warranty work done. Car dealerships do it because a Ford is a Ford as a Chevy is a Chevy and they all get paid to do the work so they do.

How is a car or truck a disposable product but a boat is not? They both have motors and a body so things will happen to both to make them need work. My last boat did not last as long as my last truck did.

I need my truck more that I need my boat, so what do we do when the car and truck dealers start doing this and now you can only buy from your closest dealer and the prices now go up another 5 or 10 thousand because you can no longer shop for the best price. Now that I work out of the region that I purchased the truck and need service done I need to travel to drop the vehicle off for service because the dealer closest to my work won’t service my truck for three months or at all.

The only reason I see auto sales as a different business from boat sales is because we let it be. I know boat dealers do not sell as many boats as car dealers sell cars so they need more of a margin to stay in business, that all makes sense. The thing that does not make sense is if dealer A wants to sell a boat for one price and dealer B wants to make more money than dealer A on the same boat with the same options I as a customer should be able to choose whom I buy from.

The internet has changed how many businesses run and how much they make. I can buy almost anything on line for less than at a my local retail shop that does not mean I will but I now have a price point to shop with at my local seller.

[gotpwr]

CTRider. People always try to compare boats to cars. They are very
different businesses. While cars may cost a lot, they are primarily
a very high volume, ubiquitous, and disposable product.

I agree. The auto business is a high volume, low margin, high fixed cost business where small changes in market share can mean the difference between making a billion dollars or losing a billion dollars. The boat building business is a low volume, higher margin business with a very fragmented market with a lot of manufacturers. Correct Craft has found their little niche in the marketplace, and as long as customers continue to buy their boats and keep their factory maxed out, there is no reason for them to change their business model.

Also don't forget that the entire American Auto industry is protected by Tarrifs and other regulations put on foreign imports. But that's another story.
BKH

I disagree, as evidenced by the bloodletting going on in Detroit right now. I agree that this is not the place to debate the state of the American auto industry.

[83sn2001]

Let it go

[AbunDiga909]

Let it go

No. This is a good, clean, discussion. No one is getting angry and there is no profanity. This is what sites like this are for... I find it very interesting to read and to respond to...

Let it be

[83sn2001]

Good point. My bad.

[AbunDiga909]

no prob, thanks for understanding

[redelf75]

Hollywood, well that's part of the point. You can't control all the dealers all the time. But in the case of Tommy's it appears they are advertising a resnable 10% discount. Maybe that puts them under the radar.

So why are we having this discussion? Oh yeah, I stated that I didn't think price sharing was productive. So, let me ask you something. Did anybody really price out two exact same boats from different dealers and get a significant price difference? How much difference was it?

[Mikeski]

I did. The boats were very close in options but there was about a 5% discrepancy in price. There were lots of other variables in the equation. I ended up buying from somebody I trusted that gave me a very good deal right out of the gate. I just don't buy anything without doing a little price shopping. Typically I know more about my products then the salesmen, that was the case when I bought my Tahoe, not the case with the boat. I am still happy with my decision, I will send him my friends business.

[Huffy2k]

Buy a used boat - problem solved!

Original owner has to deal with the CC dealer network problems discussed in this thread AND takes the depreciation hit. You get a great value AND you're not limited to any geographical area. I just drove 13 hours one way to pick up my new (used) 02 Air.