Sweetwater price increase alert

Got an email today from my sales guy. Basically all prices going up soon.

Lock in now.

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Well, that’s not much of a Father’s Day present. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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Or just wait for the next sale.

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If you’re looking for service and the ability to return an item no questions asked. Then Sweetwater is the place for you. If you want a deal however. Emailing or calling a mom and pop store will get you a much better price . It’s your money.

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You can actually do the same with sweet water. The more you are going to buy the more they will take off. You can usually get any discounts they are allowed to offer (by the mfg) if you call and simply ask.

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I think they already went up some. A Lakeland 55-02 I was looking at that was in the $1500s is now in the $1600s.

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I got one from my guy as well. I think it’s just a tactic to stir up sales.

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Fair point @John_E, I just found that with the last guitar and amp I bought, that once I’d asked my Sweetwater rep for the best price. I emailed a bunch of stores and was able to get even more money off. However for sheer choice it’s hard to beat Sweetwater.

On a side note - why is my sales rep called an Engineer? Is calculus a prerequisite to work there?

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For some reason they call their sales staff, “Sales Engineers”.

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I’ve gotten plenty of discounts from my sales reps at SweetH2O. Unfortunately, as soon as I’ve developed a good relationship with my sales person, they switch on me and I have to start all over.

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Don’t. Even. Get. Me. Started.
As a guy who actually has two engineering degrees, and seven damn years of college under his belt, it drives me bat$hit crazy when people slap the word engineer after a job title.

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I am of the same thinking as you.

At least they are not making near the money that goes with an actual degree, but still, to me, it still smacks of fraudulent representation. I guess this helps increase their self-importance level :slightly_smiling_face:

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I would think that lowering the price in a sale, rather than raising the price, would be a better tactic to bring in more sales, but then again I am not a sales engineer :slightly_smiling_face:

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Kevin Spunde is my guy at Sweetwater. Bassist who actually gigs, so he knows his way around the bass world.

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What I’m thinking is sending out a warning about impending price increases would create impedance for people on the fence to hurry and make the purchase they’ve been procrastinating about.

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Yes, this is clearly what it is. They have no incentive to do otherwise - it’s better for them for you to wait and buy at the higher price. This is clearly a mechanism to create FOMO to drive sales.

Remember, the sales droid is not your friend, the sales droid is your cash extractor :slight_smile:

So - just wait for the next sale.

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I don’t know if any of you watch Phil McKnight’s YouTube channel - Know Your gear. He has a Friday live Q&A (I think they’re up to episode 216). Anyway he used to own a music store and he knows a bit about the industry. He said something once that stuck in my head.

“Remember, your money will run out before the deals do. There will always be another deal.”

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I actually resent FOMO-based sales techniques like this, kind of scuzzy really. “Limited time offer” - yeah, until the one next month :slight_smile:

There’s two sales banners on their home page right now. They run sales events all the time.

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Companies run all sorts of sales schemes. However, one common thread is driving revenue at the end of each financial quarter. This is even more true for the end of the second quarter (known as H1 for first half) and the fourth quarter, which is H2 and the end of the financial year or course. This is even more the case if a company is publicly traded as they usually report how they are doing mid-way through the year. I don’t think Sweetwater is publicly traded though, but could be wrong. Keep in mind that not all companies financial years are the same as tax years. The most common ones though are calendar year (Jan-Dec) or tax year, which is sometimes calendar year and sometimes different (UK tax year is Apr-Mar). Sweetwater’s financial year is Jan-Dec and they are therefore finishing H1 in June. Sales may have specific targets they need to hit for H1. Sales commission structures drive a lot of sales and “do a deal” behaviour as well, especially if they are targeted just on revenue and not margin I’ve worked at many large public and private companies and they all do this behaviour. So, in summary, the end of a companies financial quarters, especially the 2nd and 4th is usually when you’ll get the best deals.

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That’s 'cause they’re “engineering” a sale, Pam . . . . :wink:

Cheers
Joe

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