It’s not unusual to find decent discounts on expensive tech gear. In fact, we’d say you’re a bit of a chump if you buy anything at its retail price in Australia.
When you do see a good discount, though, don’t automatically presume it’s going to be the best possible deal that you’ll get.
JB Hi-Fi has a flat 10 per cent off Apple computers at the moment, with savings of as much as $425 on the top MacBook Pro available until the end of tomorrow.
Officeworks has a lowest price guarantee that’ll see it beating competitors’ prices by 5 per cent. And, in some cases, JB Hi-Fi will price match its competitors.
You see where we’re going with this?
Throw in an extra 5 per cent on top of that 10 per cent discount and you’re getting yourself a brand new MacBook Pro for less than $1900, like deal-hunter Vaedant detailed getting in this post at OzBargain. That’s more than $300 off its $2199 RRP.
If you’re shopping for anything reasonably expensive — say, over around $500 — at JB Hi-Fi or most electronics retailers in Australia, it pays to do a few things before you’ve even walked in the door:
- Check prices online for Australian retail competitors (Officeworks, Harvey Norman, Bing Lee, The Good Guys) and see whether your item is in stock
- Check prices online for online shopping competitors (any eBay store, for example) and consider whether you’re happy to wait for shipping
- Check whether there’s not an alternative from a similar brand that might be on sale or significantly cheaper than the item you’re looking at
Then, when you’re actually in store in front of the item you’re considering buying, it pays to do a few more things:
- Ask for the store’s best price on that item, whether that’s for cash or on a store card
- Ask if the store has a price-matching or price-beating policy for competitors
- Tell the salesperson that you’ve found a better price elsewhere — only if you have, though, there’s no reason to lie
There are a few caveats here. Officeworks and JB Hi-Fi, for example, will usually only match a price (or beat it by 5 per cent, in the case of Officeworks) if the item is in stock at a retail store of a competitor. It makes sense, since if you can’t actually walk into another store and buy your gadget, what incentive does the first store have to offer it to you at its best possible price?
But the moral of this story is — always ask. It can never hurt. And you might save yourself an extra hundred bucks or even more. [OzBargain / JB Hi-Fi]
This story originally appeared on Gizmodo
Comments
19 responses to “Don’t Leave JB Hi-Fi Without Asking For A Deal”
Last time I bought something rather expensive I said to the guy “lets cut all the negotiation and go straight to 10% off.” Worked 😀
So do you just randomly advertise retailers now and hide it under a thin veneer of helping us get a bargain?
That’s not how advertising works mate. A retailer wouldn’t pay Kotaku to advertise their competitors. And they wouldn’t pay Kotaku to tell their customers how to get products for cheaper than their sale prices. On top of that, if it was paid for Kotaku have to disclose that. Case closed.
This is absolutely correct, and any paid ads/advertorials/sponsored posts are marked as such. It’s meant to be a pointer to help readers save a bit more money when they’re shopping.
they don’t hide it, some of the stories are just ads now
And those have markers disclosing them as such. This does not.
So what? To write this article, should they have disingenuously omit the name of the retailers just so you don’t feel advertised to?
Or just label it as an ad instead of disguising it as an article?
Except that Kotaku DOES run ad spots. They do not need to cheekily try to hide it, and it would be illegal if they did conceal having been paid to advertise something and not disclose it.
They already do.
Was there any need to name specific retailers? This is just general practice when it comes to bargain hunting.
Not everybody is a weathered bargain hunter veteran. Some people here may have heard for first time about price-matching.
To add some points, and I will state I work at Joyce Mayne (part of the Harvey Norman Group).
1. Don’t be a dick about asking for discounts. If we can do a better price without losing money, we will.
2. If a competitor doesn’t have it in stock, I don’t have to match the price. Don’t be a dick about it either.
3. Listen to your salesperson. Yes we are in sales, yes there are cowboys, but on the whole we are trying to find you a genuine solution. We have a big push for ethical selling, and constantly train our teams to ensure that we do provide the best service.
4. Remember to check that if you are buying online, that the stock is backed by the Australian arm of the manufacturer. Certain popular online only retailers grey or parallel import stock like Samsung phones, that are $3-400 cheaper than brick and mortar retailers, however Samsung Australia will not cover them under warranty. Yes there is the ACL and there is a 12month Australian warranty, but this is provided by the retailer not the manufacturer. Buyer beware…
5. Finally, don’t quote the ACL. Much misinformation or selective reading of the ACL does exist, and it pisses me off no end to be told “I’m entitled to.” In plenty of cases yes you may be entitled to what you think you are, but there are processes to take place before we can supply remedies. Nowhere in the ACL does it state that the remedy must be immediate and on the spot. Additionally an authorised repair centre is legally allowed to examine the device to check whether or not you have a legitimate ACL claim or if it’s just warranty, meaning your device usually has to be sent away somewhere. Don’t be a dick in this case either.
TL;DR: Don’t be a dick to your salesperson or a retailer, and you’ll get better service. Also buyer beware online.
Wow, I didn’t know Joyce Mayne still existed!
I have vague memories as a child of seeing Joyce Mayne ads featuring an older woman (who I can only assume was Joyce herself) drinking champagne in a spa bath …
I really hope they did exist, otherwise it raises some questions about my interests as a child.
There’s 6 stores in Queensland and NSW. And yes those ads did exist, search YouTube for them.
Good to hear the business is still going strong.
Cheers for confirming that I’m not crazy, I’ll check out Youtube.
I work at JBHIFI and the 10% / 5% doesn’t work like that, JB can match competitor set pricing or sale pricing but not a price beat and then a price match otherwise you could then go back to Officeworks and say ?well now JB are going to do it $XXXX so I want %5 off of that.
Also keep in mind the nicer you are the more inclined we will be to give you a discount, I have discounted the same item for a rude customer by $10 and a pleasant customer by $40. For the same item. Just for being nice.
Also keep in mind that we actually have to try and make money off of these items so if we tell you we cant do anything we really cant (unless you were being rude in which case its your own fault)
Yep price matches etc don’t stack. You can’t have your cake and eat it too you know… One curious question for all of you including the journos, do any of you actually bargain for things like groceries, or do you go and check prices at different supermarkets then go back and say “Supermarket X has Y at this price, can you match it?” If you don’t, why not, isn’t it the same thing?
Um… if you are buying Apple products why do you care about getting a discount? You clearly have more money that sense (cents)….