Hick couldn't wait to tell me a story from his Storage Unit Store on Saturday. In fact, he told me on the phone while I was driving home, rather than giving me monosyllabic answers and pretending he had a customer, to get rid of me.
"This couple came in here to look at one of my guns. It's new. Still in the box, still has the thing in the trigger so no one can pull it. They looked at it a while. Took it out of the box. Looked down the barrel. Then the guy asked what I wanted for it. I told him $300. He looked at his wife. They kind of acted surprised. 'Really? $300?' he says. And I told him yeah, $300. He said he'd take it, and paid me for it. Then him and his wife started talking, all wound up.
'We just looked at a gun like this down the row here. The guy said it was new, but when I looked down the barrel, I could tell it had been shot. And he was asking $450 for it! I can't believe that SOB flat-out LIED to me about it being a new gun!'
No wonder they questioned me about the price! I guess I could have got more out of it, but I only paid $212 for it, and it goes for $350 brand new in the store."
"Can you really tell if it's been shot by looking down the barrel?"
"Yeah. Shooting it wears away part of the blueing. Even if you clean it, you can tell it's been shot."
"Oh, well. I guess it's worth more to some people to pay extra to buy one there, so they don't fill out all the paperwork."
"Maybe. This guy didn't seem like that type, though. I don't think he'll be shopping from my buddy any more! Buddy comes up here all the time. Sometimes he buys stuff from me. He'll say, 'You're asking too much for that.' But he pays it. If it's not something he wants, he'll tell me, 'You should ask more for that! You're selling it too cheap.' I think he doesn't want me taking his business."
Hick must have the right price points. He does a good business. Whether he makes a dollar profit, or 88 dollars profit, he's fine with it. As long as he's not losing money.
The title could have been: Honesty Is the Best Policy, and a $150 Discount Doesn't Hurt.
Isn't that the truth.
ReplyDeleteI think Hick is more honest with his customers than he is with me!
DeleteHowdy, Val! I'm getting back into blogging...Can you believe it? I've missed all of my blog buddies and have gotten sick of FB. I will still go there for family stuff and cute doggie stuff, but that's it.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! Hick is addicted to FB. I don't know what I'm missing, having never been on it.
DeleteA fair price is when everyone is happy.
ReplyDeleteHick is a regular human smiley face, spreading happiness wherever he sells!
DeleteI think Hick has a sixth sense when it comes to his customers, while Buddy just tries to fleece them. I don't know anything about the price of guns.
ReplyDeleteHick's greatest asset is knowing the true value of his wares, and how little profit he is willing to accept.
DeleteHick is a bargainer. He knows how to make a buck. My dad used to drag all sorts of things home to resell. No storage units back then. One time he brought in a lovely couch and laid down on it with his hands folded on his chest. My mom screeched and told him it looked like a casket and told him to get rid of it.
ReplyDeleteWell, you know what they say: "One man's couch is another woman's casket."
DeleteI try to be fair in pricing my merchandise, never forgetting that I am creating my own karma. You lose business in the long run.
ReplyDelete