Consumer Corner
By Stuart Colson
As of lately, you may have noticed a change when pricing parts & accessories at your local dealer vs. an internet retailer. While comparing you may have noticed on more and more items that the prices are the same. What is causing this trend of the great deal disappearing and prices leveling out between the two? Has the current economy changed the industry so much that it has leveled the playing field, or is something else going on?
In this current economy, and with manufacturers protecting their product name, it is a little of all of the above. You will still find great deals out there on top name products, but you need to be aware of what the true cost is for that great deal. If you purchase a new motorcycle and the manufacturer was willing to take $2,000 off the price, but the vehicle no longer came with a warranty, would you buy it? This is the type of question you may have to ask yourself the next time you go to buy a helmet.
In the last several years, aftermarket parts & accessories manufacturers have started implementing pricing policies for all of their authorized dealers. Now like me, you might be thinking that having a pricing policy just doesn’t sound fair for the dealers or the customers. In fact, it is a benefit to both. By controlling the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) it allows for dealers, and internet sites, to openly compete for your business on a level field. It requires all retailers to provide the one thing that is sometimes missing, customer service. This requires us to EARN your business and your trust.
By purchasing through non-authorized dealers, will the item you are purchasing still have the manufacturer’s warranty? Many items these days come with some type of warranty even if it is just 30 days against manufacturer defects. By purchasing through authorized dealers, it assures that the manufacturer will honor your warranty. One might think a warranty is a warranty and it shouldn’t matter where you purchase from, but consider that if you bought a new Chevy from a Ford dealer, neither would have any type of warranty on it because it was not an authorized Chevy dealer. Do you want to take that chance with a new helmet and your brain?
Though many of us are looking for the best deal, it is critical that customer service be provided. This isn’t to say that customer service has not been provided, but we have all heard the stories of special ordering an item and when it comes in it was the wrong size. The retailer instead of doing the honorable thing and doing a straight exchange charges a restocking fee and/or a return freight fee for the item. Now in some cases this may be warranted, but was it made clear at the point of purchase so you could make an accurate decision to purchase now, or to do more research before ordering.
Make sure you know your retailers policies before ordering anything that might run the risk of not being 100% exact. This will help protect you from additional fees or non-returnable items. Some of the questions that you should ask include:
What if the item doesn’t fit properly?
What is your return policy?
Is there a restocking fee or return freight fee should it need to be returned or exchanged?
Did you determine what item to purchase or did the retailer advise you what item to purchase?
Are you a recognized authorized dealer by the manufacturer?
Though this question may seem strange as if they are offering the item they must be an authorized dealer, but in fact, they could be a 3rd party purchaser that does NOT meet the criteria of an authorized dealer. This would happen more with small shops and a small portion of internet type sales, usually dealerships and larger internet retailers meet the criteria, but look for logo’s online.
What type of warranty is there on the product? And how does it work?
For instance; Arai helmets come with a warranty registration card that you would fill out and send in to Arai when you purchase that new helmet. Then all warranty issues go through Arai not the selling retailer.
Much of this has created one of the key points in the pricing policies, especially with safety gear companies. Companies such as Arai and Alpinestars have set up within their policies so that dealers can exchange an item for another. This is to assure that you get the properly fitting safety gear not just “…this will do…” (See 2WT story Size Does Matter More Than Ever Dec. 4th, 2008). Now the policies vary and you should find out directly from the manufacturer exactly how their policies work, but generally, if you order an XYZ jacket in size 52 in blue and it is too small you can exchange it for an XYZ jacket in size 54 in blue. Note that it does not allow for exchange between other models or colors, just sizes, so make sure of what you want before you buy it. There may be a return freight fee, but again confirm what the retailers policy is, which could be a small price to pay for properly fitting safety gear.
Another key factor is to see if online retailers are an authorized edealer. These edealers have special logo’s from the manufacturer to assure you that they comply with all of the manufacturer’s policies for pricing, exchanges, and most importantly warranty protection on those items that come with warranties. Looking for these logo’s is crucial when purchasing any product as manufacturers in all industries have started implementing this for all of their products.
Watch for sales at year-end and around February. Between November and February, you will see many really good deals out there. This is because manufacturers are doing there model year change over which creates discontinued items that can be more heavily discounted providing you with a better buy. Dirt gear sales happen a little more between February and June as in June the new model gear lines are announced and released.
Listen for places holding an Open House Sale or Grand Opening Sale. Many of the pricing policies allow for these types of sales provided the dealer doesn’t directly advertise that the manufacturer’s products are on sale below the policies limits. Listen for advertising using key phrases such as “…save up to 50%...” or “…everything on sale…” these are important provided the ad doesn’t mention the manufacturer directly or list them on any print ads. Call ahead to confirm they carry the product you are looking for.
Many of the policies allow for lower prices as long as it is sold at the store location, and the price is never publicly mentioned. This would mean the retailer couldn’t even quote the price over the phone. Also the manufacturer has the right to allow retailers to hold special event sales with written authorization, after all if a new dealer opens and plans to carry a full line of a manufacturers product it benefits the manufacturer to help that dealer get the word out of where to buy.
When shopping online be cautious of phrases such as “Add to Cart” or “Proceed to Checkout” on internet purchases. These types of sales techniques are generally strictly forbidden within the new pricing policies. Remember that this could be a last year item so it truly can be a legitimate deal with a full factory warranty, just make sure. If a retailer is going out of business, or had their authorization pulled, they could just be blowing out their remaining product, which could put your warranty at issue again. It could also put you in a place where there are no returns or exchanges.
Be very cautious with auction type purchases. Most policies strictly forbid these types of sales. Yes, the seller can show a “Buy It Now” price that meets the policy, but the starting bid is 30% lower than that, hence creating a violation of the policy and jeopardizing all of the issues we have discussed earlier.
Now I know all of this sounds very overwhelming just to make a purchase, and by no means does this mean you can’t buy from other sources. Like any purchase, it is just important to do a little research before hand. We don’t just run out and buy a new motorcycle just because we can; we make sure it is truly what we want to invest in. We should treat all of our purchases this way to make sure we are getting the exact product to meet our needs, especially with items such as safety gear. Happy shopping and speed safely…
