[Shop-talk] car parts pricing tip

[Wayne]

Hey Guys,

Have a little heads-up on car parts pricing that might help you.

I looked up a part on Advance Auto's web site, then went to the local 
store to procure it.  The price was $2 higher then it was online.  Ok, a 
lousy $2, $17 vs $15 but hey, it's nearly 15% difference.  So I ask the 
guy about the difference.  He hits a single computer key and snooping on 
his computer screen I see it pop up with a yellow "warning" icon and 
some indication that it's "moderately higher priced than the 
competition."  With out really asking he offers to match the price, and 
the screen pops up a list of all the "competition" including their own 
web site and prompts him to enter a code for which vendor the price 
match was made with.

I couldn't catch it all on the screen, and he didn't want to share all 
their secrets, but it looked like they had instant price comparisons 
with other vendors, local and online, for the same part.

So anyways, do your pricing homework and don't be afraid to haggle at 
Advance Auto  ;)  When I was a kid back in the 80s I used to haggle on 
stuff frequently and had pretty good success, but I've gotten old and 
lazy (and less poor) and with the rise of big-box stores don't try it so 
much any more.  Like a boss said years ago, "you do not get what you 
deserve, you get what you negotiate"

-Wayne