Like I said, the sales people that are answering that phone call and taking all your questions and showing you demos have to get paid from something. Do you think it makes sense for them to spend all their time for free? So how much should a rep make? $50,000 a year? $75,000 a year? $100,000 a year?

The model has been for some time that the manufacturers set the base price to sell to the dealers. Then, the dealers can mark it up to what they want to mark it up to. They are distributors, that's HOW THEY MAKE THEIR MONEY!

You are free to shop all around.

I just don't agree with posting prices on the internet. Like I said, you wouldn't want YOUR prices posted on the internet, so why is okay to post their price?

You don't have to like it, but I can promise you one thing- keep this up and the prices are going to go up, not down, because NO ONE is going to want their lowest price stuck on the internet because then they'll have to give that to everyone. Maybe they like you. Maybe they went to the same school you did. Maybe they are just trying to meet a sales goal, so they let one go through cheap. What do they get for that? Penalized, because from that point on, as soon as it's on the internet, then they'll have to try and explain to everyone that calls about it why they gave you a low price.

I understand the motive, but I think there are things that are going to happen as result of this if it keeps up. If you're the guy that posted that low, low price, and you need help, do you really think they'll EVER give you a low price again? No way.

I've said it about 5 times now. If you wouldn't want your confidential quoting information put on the internet, then why it okay to put theirs?

And sure, they all know the base cost of each others machines, but I can assure you one thing, when someone is actively looking for a quote and they post a price, the other dealers had no knowledge of that price. Now they will. So where before, you had 3 people honestly quoting against each other, blindly, you'll now have 2 of the 3 with information that makes the original quote pointless.

Would you want your quotes put online so your competitor in the town you live in could just log in, look up your quote, and then beat your quote? I know I wouldn't. It would mean I'd probably never ever get another job.

This forum existed for the last 5 or 6 years without posting actual quoted prices, I'm not sure why it's needed now, other than a few people wanting to know. All of it can be done via private messaging and keeping it off of public forums.

The net result is it's going to hurt the dealers and when it hurts the dealers, who's going to pay? Us or them? I can promise you one thing, in the end, it'll hurt all of us.