Are chipper prices negotiable

[JCtree]

Im planning on purchasing a brand new bandit chipper in the near future.
Got a quote from the dealer

Is the price negotiable or is it fixed from the manufacturer??

I noticed that there is a pretty steep charge for “freight” of the machine (over $1000.00)
I am surprised by this charge. I thought that the manufacturer would cover the freight to get the machine to the dealer.

Any help is appreciated
Thank you

 

[capetrees]

It's no different that negotiating a car. Extras, interest rate, trades, comparative price with a comparative chipper. Make them work for it if they want your business.

 

[JCtree]

Thank you for your reply

What about the freight cost from the manufacturer??
Is that really something that the buyer should be paying??

 

[blades]

Like a car one way or another you are going to be paying for it.

 

[capetrees]

If they all try to hit you with that then yes, you're paying for it eventually but if others don't, that's a negotiating point.

 

[capetrees]

And be sure to try one out/ I bought mine a few years ago and one gave me the machine for the week to try, one came down for a couple hours with a machine to run and the other emailed a price to me. Guess which one I bought.

 

[Eq Broker]

I'm a dealer and the dealer is always charged for the freight.

 

[capetrees]

and it makes no sense to be charged a freight charge. How else does the manufacturer get the product to the dealer and then to the consumer? It should be part of the MSRP, not added to the cost. The manufacturer always has to ship the product, no different than having to assemble the product but you don't see an assembly fee.

 

[Eq Broker]

I understand your frustration but its never worked that way as I've been in distribution for 35 years. I imagine that if you have a customer who's an hour away from you, you'll charge for travel time and the pay for your men. Companies just can't absorb the freight cost as it costs me over $3,000 for a truck load of chippers coming from MI to GA. When you buy a new car or boat, you'll be charged for freight as well as I just did on my new boat.

 

[lknchoppers]

Freight is expensive, nothing is free. If you don't see it as a line item it's still in there. If you live near the manufacturer you may be able to drive there and pick it up to save the freight cost.

 

[jefflovstrom]

pay a driver to go get it,,or you go get it,,what is the difference in cost?
Jeff

 

[capetrees]

What do you care anyway? You're not paying it, the company is.