z6joker9 wrote:Why not use that mentality at every place you shop? Go to a restaurant and tell them you'll buy a burger, but only at a 10% markup, not 50% markup. If they refuse to sell it at such a steep discount, threaten to go cook your own burger.
It's pretty simple- if word got out that shops were willing to drop their prices so steeply, they'd have to offer such discounts to lots of their existing customers or risk losing their business. This doesn't even count other factors, such as damaging a box, or the labor required to place the order, receive the order, add it to inventory, etc. 5 boxes a month at 10% markup would net them maybe $50, and if it's something they don't stock, they might have had to open an account, pay separate shipping, and/or meet minimum order numbers. I wouldn't bother with the trouble either.
Did you setup your pick'em group yet?
As far as the matter at hand, I don't think the restaurant analogy is apples to apples. To me, it was a win-win proposition. I wasn't trying to get a discount on existing stock. I was trying to give the shpo the opportunity to increase overall sales. At the same time I wanted to save a little money.
FWIW, the stuff I wanted to purchase was from the same lines already carried, but not stocked. For example, the shpo normally stocks one box of Fuente R44's. I was looking to purchase 2 unopened boxes. At the time, the retail price was around $7 per cigar. I was hoping to be able to purchase 2 boxes for about $6 per cigar, about a 15% discount. Considering they already offer a 10% discount on boxes, I don't think my offer would have left them in the red. Also, instead of having capital tied up in 2-4 months worth of inventory, I was willing to pay cash up front when the order was placed.
Their loss, not mine. In the end, I ended up spending that money elsewhere. Plus, they also lost me as a customer. I used to stop in an pick up a handful of cigars at least once a week. Haven't been there more than once or twice in the last year.
Also, from what I was told earlier, they weren't far from having enough volume to reach a pricing break from their supplier. A few of these purchases would have helped them reach that goal. C'est la vie!