Trotec Speedy 300 Pricing: Trade Show vs. Sawmill Creek Pricing

[Ronald Erickson]

I just got off the phone with Amie. Our discussion was very productive and she was able to share her perspective on show pricing. I'm very appreciative of Amie taking the time (43 minute call) to speak with me about my experience and I look forward to working with Trotec to purchase a system.

[Mike Null]

Along the same line, trade show attendance has been declining and is a real concern to all exhibitors. For me, attending trade shows is a great learning experience and I consider them to be vital. Not only do you find aggressive pricing but, even more important sometimes, you learn about new materials and techniques and even new vendors.

[Ross Moshinsky]

As someone that is pretty familiar with the trade show industry, "special pricing" is designed into having people make decisions after 30 minutes or pushing people on the edge into making a decision. It makes no sense that one day a machine is $23,000 and the next day it is $30,000. If you sell 10 machines in one day and none the rest of the month or 10 machines over a 30 day period, what is the big difference? There is none. Sale prices are there to force you into making a decision. It's no different then any other one day sale. Nothing has changed. It's just a way to push people over the edge to buy. Again, this isn't about Trotec but everyone in the industry.

I'd suggest negotiating hard and if they refuse to budge, place the order while the trade show is going on. Call up a salesman and make the deal happen while they are on the show floor. Believe me, it's not unheard of.

[Ronald Erickson]

Keith,

It's good that companies follow the forums and a smart thing to follow social media; word of mouth is no longer limited to those within audible distance.

[Khalid Nazim]

They should offer a sale price during trade show dates which is available to anyone irrespective of the person visiting the show. Only offering the special price at the floor is limiting their sale potential. I don't get it! In the current environment of all info available to everyone this type of behavior is not good business. If all mainstream laser companies are doing this then we as consumers must convey our displeasure at this behavior and demand a change.

[Kim Vellore]

I was looking at the Epilog quote and one of the standard feature includes a plumber for air assist... I think that is a good deal...

Kim

[Mike Null]

Khalid
I guess you showed 'em.

[Martin Boekers]

Trade Show pricing, my theory is they have many qualified buyers at one place and one time looking to by
a product, they discuss it, they negotiate, they sell it and move on to the next. What can take place in a matter
of hours, by telephone or emails can take much longer. This is no different than any other industry, many use
rebates as opposed to special pricing. At a show they are in direct competion with other manufacturers, so
you can go and and do the "trade Show Shuffle" until you feel you got the best price. I have bought equipment
or product from vendors that I didn't attend the show and got show pricing. Sometimes all it takes is asking the right person.

More troubling to myself is getting a bad representative that has your territory and you can't purchase from anyone else.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

I think we need to get some cheese with all this wine(ing). When I was partner in a 180 unit apt complex I used to here it all the time. Well Suzie in #104 is only paying $450.00 for her 1 bedroom, why is mine $515.00? We would say that when you signed the lease you agreed to the price. We can not discuss other peoples leases. If you do not think it is a good deal now, why did you think it was good when you signed the lease? Some units have upgrades and some were first floor and some had pool view. same thing with lasers...some have some bells and others have whistles. Some have bells and whistles. Some have 1 year warranty and others may have 2 or 3. So many variables. Some people are not as good negotiators as others. Some allow emotion/impulse to make their decisions. If you are not happy with how someone sells their product, learn to say "NEXT". If they sell the product you want, find someone else that sells it or go to upper management.

Every week you here new commercials for suits, furniture, mattresses, jewelery, clothes and electronics...25% off, 50% off, BOGO and the famous early bird special after Thanksgiving or Filene's basement wedding dress sale. Why would anyone shop these places if they were not having a sale and yet there are people in there all the time buying when there is no out of this world sale. Why????????

Because there are needs and wants. When you need something you get it when you need it at the going rate. When you want something you get it when you want and that means you are willing to wait until you can get it for the price you want and are not afraid to say next or I'll wait til it goes on sale. Just my 2.3 cents. (Inflation)

[Keith Outten]

I have no inside knowledge about how trade shows work but I have always thought that for some vendors they were primarily an advertising venue. Basically the companies that sold large machines or very expensive items would be happy to sell their floor models at the show discounting the price to cover their costs associated with the event. As I stated earlier when they ran machines for two to four days at a trade show they were then considered used equipment which was another reason to offer deep discounts. If a company could offset all of their advertising costs at a trade show by sacrificing most of their profit for a machine or two and break even on the event it made sense to me that it deferred their advertising costs and eventually could mean increased sales in the near future.

The other side of the coin is the more traditional woodworking shows where the majority of the vendors are there to sell their products and they brought a truckload of items offering small discounts to encourage on the spot sales.

A small advertisement in a woodworking magazine can cost $3,000.00 per issue or per month which is 36 grand per year. This ad has to spawn a lot of sales or it isn't a wise investment. At a trade show the tables are turned so to speak in that rather than paying an advertiser the customer is offered a discount that would have been spent paying a magazine or for a Television commercial. If a portion of every machines selling price has to be dedicated to advertising then it makes sense to attend trade shows and redirect the costs in another direction that might add another customer to the books. At the same time a happy customer will then provide the word of mouth advertising that everyone knows is the most beneficial to any company.

I never have become upset when a friend of mine got a killer deal on a machine they purchased at a trade show when I paid the standard price ordering from home or from a local vendor. I didn't invest the time and expense to attend the trade show and time is money. When I purchase locally I know that the company has rent and other expenses that each machine sold has to provide the necessary income to cover the costs. There is a major benefit when you can visit a local store and see tools and machines first hand and have an experienced sales staff to answer questions. I don't mind paying for these options because it is a fair cost of doing business.

Several years ago when the economy took a nose dive every company in the world took a long look at their inventory and the costs associated with keeping large numbers of machines and materials in stock. The result of that fiasco is that we all know that today we must wait a bit longer than we used to when we purchase equipment and materials. Some companies lost the volume shipping discounts that they used to receive when they could order in large quantities to maintain their inventory. Today large inventories are often impractical. We don't even need to discuss what rising fuel costs do to the prices of everything we purchase.
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[Ronald Erickson]

Thread Update: I spoke with Amie and my sales rep today. The end result is I'm currently filling out the paperwork to purchase a Speedy 300 80w system from Trotec.

I've been asked not to share the pricing. However I can confirm that if you're in the market for a laser, attending a trade show will most likely net you the greatest cost savings with the least amount of negotiations. (SGIA Expo 2012 is next week in Las Vegas, October 18-20; Trotec will be there in Booth 3039)

Thank you to Keith and Sawmill Creek for getting me connected with Trotec.

[Ronald Erickson]

Update: The laser has been ordered, the deposit has been paid, and the balance check has been sent. I expect to receive a shipping date this week.

On a side note, I made a trip to Harbor Freight to pick up a green dust collector http://www.harborfreight.com/13-gall...tor-31810.html . The blower noise is quite reasonable and unobtrusive. The blower vibrates a little when operating so I'll see if I can adjust the balance of the impeller.

[Gary Hair]

Ron,
If you paid full price for that blower you should return it and use the coupon in this link - 20% off! Also, they put that thing on sale quite often, I just bought one for about $90 a month ago.

http://www.harborfreight.com/digitalsavings.html

Gary

[Ronald Erickson]

Of COURSE I used a coupon. I'm on their email list so I used a 20% off my entire purchase coupon. You offer good advice though, thanks!

I had hoped it would have been on sale AND use a 20% off coupon, but no such luck (I've been watching for a couple of weeks now). My laser will be arriving soon so I need to get the exhaust system completed.

[Keith Outten]

Ron,

We use the same dust collector for our Speedy 300 in the sign shop at CNU. It has just a bit more air flow than you need but it works well. I made a couple brackets and mounted a piece of plywood on top for the DC to set on using a couple bolts. The DC is mounted high on the wall above the Trotec so the exhaust line is about 6" long through a masonry wall with a dryer vent installed.

Works real nice.
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