Has anyone had any luck getting SWFA to honor their 110% price match guarantee on scopes? I wanted to buy a high end IOR and found another site where the same scope was $250 cheaper. I filled out the form on their website hoping I would get a great deal on a great scope but so far haven't heard anything back from them. Is it worth it to follow through?
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Rifle Scopes Price match guarantees on scopes.
- Thread starter habu55
- Start date
Re: Price match guarantees on scopes.
In the US because of MAP those price guarantees are worthless. Because all they do after you have reported the price to the retailer is the retailer goes and cries to the manufacturer and then the manufacturer goes and makes the other retailer move back to MAP.
Im sure SWFA is happy to pay you 10% commission for being their internet spy. This ensure thats SWFA doesnt lose any sales in the future.
Im sure you will get your 10% but the next guys will probably lose the $250 saving the other retailer was offering.
Welcome to the Unites States of China.
In the US because of MAP those price guarantees are worthless. Because all they do after you have reported the price to the retailer is the retailer goes and cries to the manufacturer and then the manufacturer goes and makes the other retailer move back to MAP.
Im sure SWFA is happy to pay you 10% commission for being their internet spy. This ensure thats SWFA doesnt lose any sales in the future.
Im sure you will get your 10% but the next guys will probably lose the $250 saving the other retailer was offering.
Welcome to the Unites States of China.
Re: Price match guarantees on scopes.
Work out the best deal you can with your vendor of choice. By doing what you have done you may have hurt the vendor that offered you the great price in the first place.
Rather than kill the golden goose, buy from the people that offer you the best price, not aid the people where you would prefer to purchase, by giving them more ammo to report to the manufacturer! By trying to get another vendor to match against another dealer, you will have the manufacturer up the butt of the people that offered to "save you" some money and possibly cause them to lose their ability to sell said products in the future. Then where will you find cheaper prices?
Don't cut off your nose to spit your face. These dealers that try to help you out with lower than MSRP can be seriously affected by your desire to low ball for every last penny. The vendor that tried to give you a good deal and hopefully make a niche for themselves and give us all a break on MSRP, may lose that ability as the bigger firms will report their "pricing strategy" and they might lose the line that you so desperately want for the lowest possible price. Don't be an idiot. Think before you kill off the dealers that are willing to offer deals!
Rule #1: Never post prices paid for products from dealers that gave you a deal! You only hurt the people that helped you out!
Rule #2: Educate yourself and know what the majority of vendors are selling a specific product for and "know" when you are being offered a great deal! Respect them for "wanting" your business! Don't tell the world that you saved XX dollars from XXX vendor. Just tell people that you were treated fairly and with great respect.
Rule #3: Squeezing the last ounce of blood out of old Abe for personal satisfaction is great, but to use one dealer against another will piss off the bigger dealers and they will in turn do everything with in their power to kill the "offending" dealer that is selling for less than MSRP. You win, everyone that comes after you loses. I guess if you are selfish and live a lonely and solitary existence, you could care less.
Work out the best deal you can with your vendor of choice. By doing what you have done you may have hurt the vendor that offered you the great price in the first place.
Rather than kill the golden goose, buy from the people that offer you the best price, not aid the people where you would prefer to purchase, by giving them more ammo to report to the manufacturer! By trying to get another vendor to match against another dealer, you will have the manufacturer up the butt of the people that offered to "save you" some money and possibly cause them to lose their ability to sell said products in the future. Then where will you find cheaper prices?
Don't cut off your nose to spit your face. These dealers that try to help you out with lower than MSRP can be seriously affected by your desire to low ball for every last penny. The vendor that tried to give you a good deal and hopefully make a niche for themselves and give us all a break on MSRP, may lose that ability as the bigger firms will report their "pricing strategy" and they might lose the line that you so desperately want for the lowest possible price. Don't be an idiot. Think before you kill off the dealers that are willing to offer deals!
Rule #1: Never post prices paid for products from dealers that gave you a deal! You only hurt the people that helped you out!
Rule #2: Educate yourself and know what the majority of vendors are selling a specific product for and "know" when you are being offered a great deal! Respect them for "wanting" your business! Don't tell the world that you saved XX dollars from XXX vendor. Just tell people that you were treated fairly and with great respect.
Rule #3: Squeezing the last ounce of blood out of old Abe for personal satisfaction is great, but to use one dealer against another will piss off the bigger dealers and they will in turn do everything with in their power to kill the "offending" dealer that is selling for less than MSRP. You win, everyone that comes after you loses. I guess if you are selfish and live a lonely and solitary existence, you could care less.
Re: Price match guarantees on scopes.
If the dealer does have a MAP agreement with the manufacturer wouldn't the dealer NOT advertise it for less? Some products don't have a large dealer network and I would think the manufacturer would occasionally check their prices.
If the dealer does have a MAP agreement with the manufacturer wouldn't the dealer NOT advertise it for less? Some products don't have a large dealer network and I would think the manufacturer would occasionally check their prices.
Re: Price match guarantees on scopes.
When a company or person offers to "beat any offer" or a "price match guarantee" I pretty much never go back. They get one shot to give me their best price. I don't feel like letting them waste my time.
When a company or person offers to "beat any offer" or a "price match guarantee" I pretty much never go back. They get one shot to give me their best price. I don't feel like letting them waste my time.
Re: Price match guarantees on scopes.
Although dealers will advertise the MAP price some, not all, will give you a break on the delivered price in one form or another. But as others have said keep it to your self.
Although dealers will advertise the MAP price some, not all, will give you a break on the delivered price in one form or another. But as others have said keep it to your self.
Re: Price match guarantees on scopes.
Like an above poster said, I often feel that I should go with whoever has the best price. I'm not going to buy from SWFA just because they will price match. Why wait a day or two before ordering to wait for them to give me a price someone else will give me now? Plus I feel that a lot of times even though they can match the price, they are hoping you wont find the other places selling it cheaper and will over pay with them. I feel they don't deserve my business if this is the case, and I will just order from whoever has it cheapest.
Now, I did order my Burris from SWFA because they were the cheapest. If they are the cheapest, I have no issue ordering from them, but I'm not going to waste my time price matching. They should have offered their best price first. At least that's my take on it.
Like an above poster said, I often feel that I should go with whoever has the best price. I'm not going to buy from SWFA just because they will price match. Why wait a day or two before ordering to wait for them to give me a price someone else will give me now? Plus I feel that a lot of times even though they can match the price, they are hoping you wont find the other places selling it cheaper and will over pay with them. I feel they don't deserve my business if this is the case, and I will just order from whoever has it cheapest.
Now, I did order my Burris from SWFA because they were the cheapest. If they are the cheapest, I have no issue ordering from them, but I'm not going to waste my time price matching. They should have offered their best price first. At least that's my take on it.
Re: Price match guarantees on scopes.
It free market capitalism and if you don’t take the best deal then you are irrational and working to drive prices up for everyone else. You really think they are going to offer you a lower price in the future after they have monopolized the market because of your silly human attraction to an established brand?
It free market capitalism and if you don’t take the best deal then you are irrational and working to drive prices up for everyone else. You really think they are going to offer you a lower price in the future after they have monopolized the market because of your silly human attraction to an established brand?
Re: Price match guarantees on scopes.
We do offer the best prices we can, we cannot monitor every competitor on a daily basis.
We change prices on hundreds of items a day to ensure that we stay competitive.
In fact I double checked our system to make sure it is working and found the price match request the OP submitted and can see that we replied to his request with a better price and then updated the price in our system and on our site so that it is more competitive.
Here is the product in question:
http://swfa.com/IOR-35-18x50-Tactical-35mm-Rifle-Scope-P47633.aspx
It is a new item and its price was entered to be competitive based on our research at that time. As the product continues to be added to more and more sites we will continue to monitor it and the price matches to assure we have a competitive price.
Many items we hit the mark right off the bat and are the market leader in regards to the lowest price. With over 10,000 (different) skus, it’s a full time job to police them all. We get to as many as we can a day.
Some brands have enforced Minimum Advertised Prices (MAP) and cannot be changed on our site due to contractual obligations that we agreed to abide by as an authorized dealer. We still price match these, we just can't change our site.
We do offer the best prices we can, we cannot monitor every competitor on a daily basis.
We change prices on hundreds of items a day to ensure that we stay competitive.
In fact I double checked our system to make sure it is working and found the price match request the OP submitted and can see that we replied to his request with a better price and then updated the price in our system and on our site so that it is more competitive.
Here is the product in question:
http://swfa.com/IOR-35-18x50-Tactical-35mm-Rifle-Scope-P47633.aspx
It is a new item and its price was entered to be competitive based on our research at that time. As the product continues to be added to more and more sites we will continue to monitor it and the price matches to assure we have a competitive price.
Many items we hit the mark right off the bat and are the market leader in regards to the lowest price. With over 10,000 (different) skus, it’s a full time job to police them all. We get to as many as we can a day.
Some brands have enforced Minimum Advertised Prices (MAP) and cannot be changed on our site due to contractual obligations that we agreed to abide by as an authorized dealer. We still price match these, we just can't change our site.
Re: Price match guarantees on scopes.
What will happen to that vendor is the manufactor will recall all there products from them and pull their contract if thery fell they have enough ammo.
What will happen to that vendor is the manufactor will recall all there products from them and pull their contract if thery fell they have enough ammo.
Re: Price match guarantees on scopes.
Have to give SWFA credit for even extending themselves in this way. MAP as annoying as it can be sometimes is there for a reason. How would you like that brand spankin new shiny NF scope you just paid $1,800 for to only be worth $1,300 a week after you bought it? If these dealers don't stay within the same ballpark we would all be whining. Don't get me wrong I wish NF's were only $500, but that's not the price for high quality anymore.
Have to give SWFA credit for even extending themselves in this way. MAP as annoying as it can be sometimes is there for a reason. How would you like that brand spankin new shiny NF scope you just paid $1,800 for to only be worth $1,300 a week after you bought it? If these dealers don't stay within the same ballpark we would all be whining. Don't get me wrong I wish NF's were only $500, but that's not the price for high quality anymore.
Re: Price match guarantees on scopes.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tactical_Tom</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It free market capitalism and if you don’t take the best deal then you are irrational and working to drive prices up for everyone else. You really think they are going to offer you a lower price in the future after they have monopolized the market because of your silly human attraction to an established brand? </div></div>
Irrational is paying a lower price just because it is lower ... product AND SERVICE should be the determining factors.
If somebody doesn't care about service then just go for price and shutup but there are plenty of threads where people are bitching about what crappy service they got (usually because the got it cheap and the vendor doesn't care because his margin is so low)
and ... "Silly human attraction to brand" ... are you an alien or just drop a couple hits of acid before you posted?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tactical_Tom</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It free market capitalism and if you don’t take the best deal then you are irrational and working to drive prices up for everyone else. You really think they are going to offer you a lower price in the future after they have monopolized the market because of your silly human attraction to an established brand? </div></div>
Irrational is paying a lower price just because it is lower ... product AND SERVICE should be the determining factors.
If somebody doesn't care about service then just go for price and shutup but there are plenty of threads where people are bitching about what crappy service they got (usually because the got it cheap and the vendor doesn't care because his margin is so low)
and ... "Silly human attraction to brand" ... are you an alien or just drop a couple hits of acid before you posted?
Re: Price match guarantees on scopes.
It's all a catch 22,
If you don't talk to people about what they paid for their scopes by calling dealers and asking for the "real" price instead of MAP then no one can find out what the scopes are REALLY selling for so there's no way to make an informed purchase, it should be kept discrete though. I agree it's crappy that some people are making lots of calls then trying to price match by telling dealers what other dealers will sell it for.
I personally don't think I should have to go around calling dealers to find out what the "real" price is haggling with them because of MAP bullshit, it's not how I was raised and personaly it makes me uncomfortable. But since that's what the MANUFACTURERS force on the dealers, and the DEALERS force on the customers, I'll waste my time and dealers time doing it. However, I won't price match running to dealer B saying dealer A said he'd sell it to me for this. Call around, find the best price and buy from that dealer, don't call up other dealers telling them what you can get the scope for.
Also customer service in the optics world isn't really an issue, if your S&B, Loopy, NF, etc. scope takes a crap 3 months from your purchase, you aren't going to return it to the dealer so they can send it in for you, and the dealer probably isn't going to just send you a new one (yes I know it has happened but it's the exception) you end up sending it in yourself. I agree there are things like faster shipping, and many optics dealers here do go out of their way for you in smaller things, but it's not like they are the ones fixing your scope if it has issues, or refurbishing it etc. etc. The warranty is still between you and the manufacturer. Customer service is a much bigger factor when the dealer you buy from is actually servicing your purchase.
It's all a catch 22,
If you don't talk to people about what they paid for their scopes by calling dealers and asking for the "real" price instead of MAP then no one can find out what the scopes are REALLY selling for so there's no way to make an informed purchase, it should be kept discrete though. I agree it's crappy that some people are making lots of calls then trying to price match by telling dealers what other dealers will sell it for.
I personally don't think I should have to go around calling dealers to find out what the "real" price is haggling with them because of MAP bullshit, it's not how I was raised and personaly it makes me uncomfortable. But since that's what the MANUFACTURERS force on the dealers, and the DEALERS force on the customers, I'll waste my time and dealers time doing it. However, I won't price match running to dealer B saying dealer A said he'd sell it to me for this. Call around, find the best price and buy from that dealer, don't call up other dealers telling them what you can get the scope for.
Also customer service in the optics world isn't really an issue, if your S&B, Loopy, NF, etc. scope takes a crap 3 months from your purchase, you aren't going to return it to the dealer so they can send it in for you, and the dealer probably isn't going to just send you a new one (yes I know it has happened but it's the exception) you end up sending it in yourself. I agree there are things like faster shipping, and many optics dealers here do go out of their way for you in smaller things, but it's not like they are the ones fixing your scope if it has issues, or refurbishing it etc. etc. The warranty is still between you and the manufacturer. Customer service is a much bigger factor when the dealer you buy from is actually servicing your purchase.
