[quote]
Amazingly, all of these sales tactics were used on me during my recent purchase of an HDTV. The salesman was one slick dude, and he was visibly annoyed by the fact I didn’t bite on any of them.
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Hehe. splendid. :-)

1. Once a manufacturer warranty expires E.g. Computer, TV. Issues that occur post the warranty period will need a lot more monetary expenditure to fix those issues than the cost of an extended warranty for a year would cost. Though consumers are always under the impression that if the product doesn’t go bad for a year it wont do so for the rest of its life. That’s a myth – When purchasing expensive electronic goods its good to get the extended warranty as a protection for the investment.

2. No matter how much ever the research is done online it will still not account to the fact that there might be a good deal for accessories that you dont want pass on.

3. Not all sales men are bound by the requirement to sell what they want. Some actually think from your perspective and even advise you to buy a less sophisticated product depending on your needs in the present and the near future.

Good sales people minimize yeses. Do you want this laptop? Yes. Do you want this overpriced power bar? Yes. Do you want this printer? Yes. Do you want this extended warranty? No. The customer has said yes so many times that they feel they must say no to something. A good salesperson will minimize yeses– just something to be aware of. When you have your cart of goods, say to the sales person.

Good sales people are not stupid, they know 80+% of their customers research their major product purchase online before even coming into the store. It is that sales person job to sell what the customer wants and only switch them if they are truly purchasing the wrong products for their needs. They also know they may only be looking at that product in the store to buy it online. It is also their job to inform the customer of their price matching/beating policy.

Lots of customers want financing. It sucks and I felt horrible for selling it because 9/10 the customer did not NEED that product. The customer asks for financing more than the salesperson will offer it. However when people are financing something it makes selling warranty that much easier. All I would ever have to say is, “It would be horrible if this product were to fail or not function as it once did 2 years into ownership and you’re still paying it off. For only $x per month TOTAL you can protect your product too”. Don’t fall into this trap. Don’t buy financing unless you absolutely NEED the product to live your life (i.e. computer for work or school).

Customer tactic: A lot of times stores will sweeten the pot by offering a better deal on your product for buying extended warranty. Say you MAY buy the warranty, however it’s a purchase for working at home, your employer is paying half, and you have been instructed you will not get reimbursed for the warranty so if the warranty does appear on your receipt, it must appear as a second line and you must pay for it with a different card. This prevents “packaging” tactics– a bunch of items consolidated for one price. Refund one item and the deal is lost. Then you hop over to a different store the next day and return just the warranty and maintain your great deal. Do not let the salesperson write any deal details on your receipt! The receipt is now your property.

Customer tactic: Figure out when the quarter ends and buy things on the day prior. This is especially good for clearance. Your negotiating power goes up as stores will take a heavy loss to get rid of older product.

Sincerely,
An electronics sales person for 2 years and department manager for one year responsible for generating 14 million dollars per year.