I went to go buy a pair of sunglasses in the “fashion” section of Target. They all seemed so flimsy but at $12.00, one can’t expect much. I go to the mall and look at Sunglass Hut. They typically run at $100 and up. I saw a pair I liked… They were $170.00 (ouch). I seriously considered them… Until they informed me I was buying the floor model. No discount.
No thanks! Sure they might be fine but it seems like if are asking almost 200.00… I want a minty fresh pair.
What are your thoughts on buying the floor model? The salesclerk looked at me like I was being unreasonable. I can’t be the only one, right?
Something like Sunglasses Hut, I never considered the stock on display as being “the floor model”. It’s the stock. It’s on display. If you buy one of the glasses on display, they take another out of the drawer to replace it on display, don’t they?
(I guess I don’t really know for sure, since I’m not in that market and haven’t bought anything from there, but I just assumed it worked like the silver jewelery or hippie handbag kiosks at the mall…)
But if I’m buying a computer or vacuum cleaner or something else that’s not routinely rotated from stockroom to salesfloor, yes, I’ll ask for a discount. Generally there’s some small scratch or dent from frequent handling that I can point to as evidence that a discount is warranted, though. I’m not sure I’d have to balls to request a discount for an item which has merely been stared at a lot.
The only model they had was the one on display. They “didn’t have any others in that model”. I don’t want to buy an expensive pair that everyone has been trying on.
Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor, I am not sure what “funky items” you are referring to.
Another reason I don’t buy floor models is because a lot of things require assembly. I don’t know if they assembled it correctly or if they still have any paperwork that came with it.
WRT a boutique like Sunglass Hut, folks shouldn’t be free to manhandle the merchandise, they try them on, under supervision, then hand it back. It’s gentle use, like at a jewelry store. There’s a big difference between that and having an open display of sunglasses getting pawed over by every person who walks by. Or the floor model TV set that’s been on 10 hours a day for the last 5 months.
I’m okay with it. When I bought my last computer, I looked online to see what versions Best Buy had, read reviews of them, and decided to pick up the Asus tower. Went down to the store and they had it on display, it looked good, so I said I’d buy one. “Sorry, sir.” Turns out there was a new (unknown and un-reviewed) model coming out “real soon now” and they had been told to return all the boxed versions of that model. I bought the demo model, and got the computer I wanted with a 10% discount.
I’ve bought lots of floor models of various things. A 10% discount is always the starting point for negotiations, and then I start looking for scratches/dents/missing things and using them to work the price down. Managers have a lot of leeway in price when selling the floor model, I’ve found.
Even if the sunglasses were 100% pristine and put back in the original box with all the original wrappers and whatnot, I’d still expect a 10% discount. You weren’t being unreasonable.
My daughter’s college computer was a floor model. I was wary, but she pointed out that we had computers running in our labs 24/7 for years without any hardware issues. They gave us a discount and reformatted the hard drive. Worked fine (the one issue it had – overheating – was a problem with all computers of that model).
But a floor model usually refers to a mechanical or electronic device that is set up in order to demonstrate how the item works. Sunglasses are put out on the floor to sell, and there is no demonstration. Worry about people touching them and trying them on is overly fastidious. You buy clothes off the rack, don’t you?
I’ve bought a floor model computer, and a TV, and once time, a shirt – sales clerk took it right off the mannequin. It was the only one in the size I needed. Got small discounts on everything.
One time I couldn’t get the floor model – an artificial Christmas tree. It was the only one left in stock, the store wasn’t going to be getting any more of them, but the clerk said no. I could understand the denial if the tree was part of the store’s display, but it was one of many (the others were different sizes). I figured the clerk probably had dibs on it.
I do buy clothes off the rack, but not it’s the only one that all the interested people have been trying on. Several of the pairs the had they had extras of. Its not the case of what’s on display is all that’s out.Just not the ones I wanted. Sure, they shouldn’t be manhandled but I’ve seen how crowded malls are. When i went in, there was one clerk and 3 different customers. I dont think they keep an eye on the manhandling as much as you give them credit for. IMO, they just weren’t worth it.
AndBosda, I explained I wanted a nicer, sturdier pair. I’ve had “nice” one and “cheap” utilitarian ones… I didn’t think the lenses were the same or the frames as sturdy.