Stories from the Sales Frontlines

jimbres

As I noted earlier, Newegg usually doesn't charge for shipping if the item is on sale. So not paying sales tax is a major advantage for me.

Re not having to pay interest: I'd rather charge the purchase to one of my rewards cards, pay off the full balance when the statement cuts & then pocket the reward. I've never paid credit card interest.

jimbres

That's why states require you to pay the use tax for items purchased on which you didn't pay the state sales tax. It's equal to the sales tax. Ohio has it on the income tax return form.

States have had almost no luck collecting use taxes, except in a few high-profile cases involving luxury goods, like jewelry & fur coats.

NYS, which also prints a use tax line on its income tax return, allows you to declare a money amount that's based on your adjusted gross income, even if the actual amount that you paid is much higher.

In other words, the state is settling for whatever it can get.

cdnpinhead

. . . my Acura sales person just sent me a Christmas card with a hand written note. . .

Good to hear about things like this. My Acura salesperson probably left the store weeks (if not days) after he "serviced" me. I hope so, anyway, given how my purchasing experience went.

Here in the Southwest the time constant for a sales "associate" is probably 10 weeks, maybe 5. The likelihood of dealing with the same person in 5-8 years, when the car is ready to be replaced is, well, zero.

snakeweasel

Re not having to pay interest: I'd rather charge the purchase to one of my rewards cards, pay off the full balance when the statement cuts & then pocket the reward. I've never paid credit card interest.

I like it because I can take that money I would use to pay off the credit card and put it in the bank/invest it and make a little more money.

oldfarmer50

"...the state is settling for whatever it can get..."

They can settle for zero as far as I'm concerned. Considering how many other taxes NY gets me for and what they give in return, I say even that is too much. :mad: (angry face)

graphicguy

cdnpinhead....that's too bad about your Acura dealership. I've bought 3 cars from my sales person at my Acrua dealership....2 new, one used. He's been there for 12 years. Matter of fact, I know their top 3-4 sales people always rank at or near the top of all Acura sales people in the country. So, I feel a little fortunate to be able to hook up with him when I'm in the market for something he has.

He does the skinny deals I prefer, and always stays in touch with me with top notch service before, during and after the sale.

I think the current competition between electronics/appliance/computer stores is as high as I can ever remember seeing.....ever.

I don't mind Newegg for things like memory simms, digi cameras, etc. Big ticket. big consumer electronic items like big scrren TVs? Not so much. They usually charge more to drop it off in the house, let alone unbox it and haul away the box it came in.

If something does go sideways, boxing it back up, and shipping it back is something that's a pretty big hassle, too.

Yeah....for big ticket items, I do shop pretty aggressively. And yes, I'll go to Best Buy, HH Gregg, etc to price check. It usually means saving more than a Benjamin in my pocket by doing so.

crkyolfrt

Yes they do have one. I registered online and got more telemkt immediately after. The only explanation is that the 'secure' site was hacked. I think I remember someone saying they thought that happened in the beginning of the program.
Our do not call has tons of loop holes tho. For example, if you have ever had previous contact with them, then they are allowed to not abide by the rules not to call. What constitutes 'previous business'? Them having called you before [major eye roll]

jayrider

I bought 2 tv's online. Both experiences were flawless so no issues. Bought 2 19 inch Sharp hdtv's from ultimate electronics locally to replace the old ones in the bedrooms. $148 each. One had issues right away. It would frazz out for 30 seconds and come back on. After two days - put it back in the box and took it back. Sales rep said -- no problem-just leave it with him and get a new one. Told me to keep the old receipt and wished me well as I walked out the door. Had I bought that one on line -- major headache with reshipping. It still won't deter me from buying online but it will be a long time before I need to replace a tv anyway.

crkyolfrt

The junk mail bothers me because it leaves less room for my real mail. Have you ever tried to read a monthly magazine that has folds like it's been put in a vice?
I also don't get to town to get my mail on a regular basis. Sometimes 3 weeks. I even pay for a larger box, so I don't want junk mail jamming the space I pay good money for.

tjc78

I also don't get to town to get my mail on a regular basis. Sometimes 3 weeks.

Wow, sometimes you don't realize how spoiled you are to have mail delivered to your home everyday.

crkyolfrt

I do have a paypal acct. Does the eBay have to be the same email? Do you use your real name? You almost have to post your email on eBay in order for people to be able to ask you questions, so I suspect that paypal and Ebay email addys don't have to be the same thing. Any hints on picking an eBay name, or stuff to avoid? I have waited for a number of years to open an eBay because I don't want to find out that - "oh, you shouldn't have done or said that"! Then it's too late. I'd like to know the pitfalls first. I have other things I'd like to sell and I guess u have to build a reputation somewhere. I also have wanted to buy, and haven't been able to without an acct. Do you have to have a phone?

I would definitely pay more for a service record history, providing it's consistent. The things that spoil it are if you start going over the big stack of bills and discover that 10 or 20000 mi or more worth of oil changes are missing at times. "I must have misplaced the bills on those". Well maybe, but by doing so just cost you, is what I say to myself. A few years ago I was about to buy a TDI diesel Golf until I started to see some fairly frequent discrepancies in the records. I walked. Sometimes you get to see that a head-gasket was replaced prematurely or stuff like that. If a head gasket fails and wasn't a manufacture's defect, it is usually after an engine has overheated. Engines are never the same once they've been cooked.
And even if it was a manufacture's defect, how long was it dripping coolant into the oil sump before it was discovered?
So ya... I too am an advocate of service records.

crkyolfrt

You guys that feel badly done by when you have to anti-up 8.2% sales tax, have it a lot better than Cdns. In ON, we are paying 8% PST (prov) PLUS 5% GST (goods and services). The GST used to be 7% for about 10 years. Imagine 15% on every cent you spend. That means that a $25k car had $3750 added just in tax. Actually it would be more than that, as we pay a fuel tax, an A/C tax and a few others, and the sales contract was changed years ago. It is now laid out in a very strategic order, that ensures you pay the 15% tax on all those others taxes. Some of our eastern provinces even pay their GST on the calculated PST! We even pay those taxes on a Big Mac, potatoe chips, cookies and any prepared food like salads or a precooked BBQ chicken at the grocery store.

And you guys think our health care insurance is 'free'..

jayrider

Setting up an account is easy. Just follow the site directions. You use an email and password to sign in. Like paypal. There is no direct connection between you and anyone else. When bidding, your identity is hidden as well. It all goes through ebay or paypal. No one gets your name/email/credit card. There is a thread on edmunds dedicated to selling on ebay. Check it out.

crkyolfrt

Oh! So when you provide your email, it goes THRU eBay and is handled internally? Well that is great if so..

Thanks jayrider, I will try to find the thread here you mentioned. I was just hoping to learn of what not to do ahead of time. Sometimes old users can provide tips that they learned the hard way. I still haven't joined Facebook for the same reasons. I suspect there must be some child-hood sweethearts that must be frustrated they can't look up their old squeeze, lol..

jayrider

Facebook is pretty much a waste --- did find an old h.s. buddy but could have done that other ways.

isellhondas

I had forgotten that we bought our current washer and dryer at Best Buy.

At the time, we took advantage of the 18 months/no interest deal making VERY SURE we were at at least a month ahead. They are hoping like hell, you'll slip up and send a payment in a day late. I know a person who did this and, of course, they were charged full interest (at a very high rate) from the date of the sale.

Not Best Buy's fault since they clearly disclose this when you buy.

I think after a year, we just paid it off.

isellhondas

I sold several cars to one of the main guys who started Classmates.com.

Super nice guy.

Were it not for Classmates, I would have not reconnected with several people who are now very close to me.

tidester

That would be Buying and Selling Vehicles Online (eBay, etc.) here.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

crkyolfrt

Ahh...how'd you know I couldn't find it?

thanx, appreciate it

tidester

Lucky guess!

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

cdn_tch

1) Depending on your ISP, you may have the ability to setup up to 10 different e-mail addresses. I have 1 for family, 1 for web registrations and then I create and delete others as required. Lycos, Hotmail, Gmail etc can also be used.

2) 7-11 has a pay as you go phone. For $50 you get a phone with 20 min on it. Use it to sell whatever. Afterwards pull the battery so it doesn't corrode inside the phone and wait till the next time you need it. Then you just need $25 worth of airtime. The airtime is good for 365 days, and the say if you don't use the phone for 90 days they may reassign your phone number to another phone.

nyccarguy

2010 Nissan Altima 2.5
39 months
$0 Cap Cost Reduction
15K miles per year
$695 bank fee + 1st month's payment due at signing
$159/month + tax

jayrider

Nissan posts most of it's leases for 39 months/ 15k miles.Going 9k miles past warranty defeats the benefit of leasing. Honda does 36 months -- 36k miles. I have issues with leasing beyond the warranty. Audi has 42 month leases but the warranty is 48 months. Putting a set of tires on your A4 just before you turn it in would not be much fun. To each his/her own.

isellhondas

Why would you have issues?

Not much if anything is going to go wrong with a Japanese car during it's warranty period or even afterwards.

Now an Audi is a totally different story!

jayrider

At 45k miles you may need to put on a set of tires on the Nissan just before you turn it in. If I'm going to be responsible for any repairs [however remote] beyond warranty, I'm owning not leasing. The Honda Civic VP for $149 zero down - no first payment- taxes and tags extra goes for 3/36. The Accord is 199 same deal. The Honda's are far more attractive in my mind. If you want to lease a car for 42 months -- why not go the extra 6 months and get a 4 year loan at the super low rates. Just a business decision on my part. Nothing to do with reliability. 36 months is my gold standard on a lease -- may not be other folks bias. It does seem to be consistent with some of the leasing advice I've seen on Edmunds and other sites. At any rate -- probably won't be leasing anymore anyway.

explorerx4

How about if the tires on the Civic are only good for 30K?
There are OEM supplied tires out there like that.

snakeweasel

They are hoping like hell, you'll slip up and send a payment in a day late.

Yeah I know, thats why I set up the payments online through my bank to get there a day or two early. If the bank screws up they pay any fees and additional interest.

kyfdx

You know... I thought the same thing... But, this past April, we were gone on vacation, and I forgot to make the payment (through the bill-pay service at my bank)..

I didn't realize it, until a week after the due date... I'd borrowed $2500, interest-free for 3 years... This was about month 16, so I got a really sick feeling, thinking of $2500 at 24% interest, etc... But, it turns out.. they charged me $39 for the late payment, and that was it...

Naturally, I have it set up on the automatic payment, now.... lesson learned (fortunately, not too expensively...)

oldfarmer50

"...any hints on picking an eBay name?..."

When selling cars on EBay I would suggest that you avoid the following names--Kent Sterwell--Denton Fenders--Ben DeBumper. For some reason people just don't seem to trust them. :P

sterlingdog

I hope that everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. We certainly did. I see many posts regarding Best Buy. I received a "warning" email related to Best Buy a couple of weeks ago. After 14 days, they charge a 25% restocking fee for returned products. On a $400 item, that would be $100. In their defense, I will say that it is mentioned in the written purchase agreement. Personally, I would return an item long before the 14th day. I just don't like to procrastinate.

From personal experience, I prefer Staples because their prices are consistently better. They sell the same name brands. On CyberMonday (today), I purchased a 23 inch monitor at Staples. They beat the prices at the other big box stores.

Richard

sterlingdog

"Facebook is pretty much a waste..."

I agree. It just doesn't interest me that a "friend" just had breakfast and brushed his teeth.

I did find a good friend from college on FB. We had lost track of one another. His parents had died right after our graduation. He had gone into the military and I never knew where he was stationed. As soon as I found him on FB, he called me. We had a wonderful visit on the telephone for over an hour. It took a bit of time to catch up on 45+ years.

Richard

sterlingdog

"...advertising no payments until March..."

That is just prolonging the agony and the interest. I was offered that kind of deal once, but I turned it down. IMHO, it sends the wrong kind of message. It reminds me of those stupid mortgage deals that got the banks in trouble. Besides, some people could pretty well trash a new car in four months. Imagine having to repossess a piece of junk.

Richard

sterlingdog

I agree. You have to watch those outlet stores. They pass on the "seconds" to the outlets. They also pass on last season's remains. The worst store that I have seen for this type of practice is S & K Men's Store. Some of their suits and jackets stay in the warehouse for up to five years. You can tell it from the design features of the garments. Some of the colors are even faded.

Richard

sterlingdog

Actually, doing those things might give you some stress relief. Even if you did none of them, it might give the dealer pause. I was only pointing out possible options. It's up to the individual to decide what would be the best move. I see from the posts that he has not yet responded. It would be interesting to know what finally happened.

Richard

driver100

Not much if anything is going to go wrong with a Japanese car during it's warranty period or even afterwards.
Now an Audi is a totally different story!

I'd still risk the Audi, at least I would get some fun and pleasure from driving it!
(really, but just had to say it - besides Audi reliability has gone way up).

In Canada the banks want to get in on leasing cars. I think it is providing the financing. Are the banks into leasing in the US. The dealers don't want this to happen and they are trying to stop it.

Between buying cars online, and on EBay, fewer dealers, and now banks doing leasing, we might not get to post any sales frontlines stories in the near future.

karhill1

Using a Best Buy no interest deal, you must make a minimum payment each month. Making a double payment one month does not relieve you from making the minimum payment the next month. Many people miss this little requirement and end up on the short end of the Best Buy twenty-plus percentage interest rate.

driver100

Making a double payment one month does not relieve you from making the minimum payment the next month

That's very interesting...I didn't think of that. Once we bought a refridgerator at Sears with 3 years no interest, but if you missed a payment it was 28% interest on everything. At thet time savings were doing well, so we thought it was better to keep the money in investments, and pay off the fridge on time. But, I always wonder what percentage of people end up paying interest on those deals. I wouldn't be surprised if it was 70% or more....they know how people can be led astray so easily.

Once my brother paid his VISA bill and he sent in $1000 but the bill was for $1000.06.
He was charged over $30 interest because he didn't pay the full amount. After a big fight with the bank and threats to take his account somewhere else they gave in. Interest from the beginning is a scam that should be stopped!

sterlingdog

I agree. I have always been amazed at the number of people who make remarks about forgetting to pay a bill on time. There must be plenty who pay the big interest figures, and the credit people count on this. When I worked, I sat down at my desk on pay day and wrote the checks. There were two or three that came in later. I simply wrote those as soon as they arrived. Even in retirement, I maintain the same bill paying ritual.

Also, I have always maintained a written monthly budget. It helps you to track where the dollars are being spent, and how much you can expect to set aside each month for savings. As for tax planning, I maintain an expandable file with compartments for medical, donations, consulting, earned interest, bank statements, savings statements, etc. I file those things each month when I pay the bills. At tax time, it makes it so easy to pull the items and prepare my list for the CPA. My CPA charges me less because I come in with an organized folder, rather than a cardboard box filled with a mixture of things to sort out for the tax return. Call me a neat freak; but it makes my life easier to manage.

Richard

houdini1

Conan had a good line about buying on the internet last night...

"Today is Cyber Monday...followed shortly by Identity Theft Tuesday ".

jayrider

We've done several of the no interest for a year deals. None recently, I'm no sure but they may ding your credit score until they are paid in full. Could be wrong on that. As isell said --- don't let the final due date pass or you will owe a loan shark tank of interest.

jayrider

You could conceivably need new tires on a civic at 30k miles. Not the way I drive presently. When I was 17, they would be burned at 12k. :shades:

isellhondas

Any credit card balance will affect your credit score and that's exactly what that is.

But, unless you have a lot of other outstanding accounts and shaky credit history, it wouldn't be a big deal at all.

isellhondas

One night when I was in high school, we completly wore out the rear tires of a buddy's (dad's) Pontiac GTO.

oldfarmer50

I overheard one of our mechanics today state that he could tell all he needs to know about a car by looking at the tailpipe. I assumed he was talking about the condition of the motor only but it got me thinking, what exactly can you determine by looking at the tailpipe?

Heavy carbon would mean an out of tune engine and oil dripping out would be an obvious tell but what else should you look for?

isellhondas

Well, that's a pretty cocky "mechanic" to think that he can learn "all he needs to know" by looking at the tailpipe.

But, they can certainly tell a couple of things to be sure. If oil is dripping out, it's way beyond help!

crkyolfrt

Quite a bit, at a stand still. Some on startup, but even more enroute, following the car.
Here are a few, but i'm sure there are other mechanics with more history than me can likely add to the list or expand on it.

- oil burning, the wetter the more it burns, but...unless you smell fuel which can wet the oil down - fuel will usually also have carbon content
- fuel , running rich
- coolant leaks , head gasket - on start up white smoke (not always tho) droplets of water that are cloudy and don't always actually drop, but hang around the end - might have a sweet smell to the exhaust also - these same traits can often be found looking at/smelling under side of oil fill cap, and dip stick too
- on aluminum blocks, especially if no iron sleeve in the cyl bore, on cold start up if it smokes, but quits smoking (oil smell) once warmed up, it is a sign of an oil burner that is going to eventually get more serious about it - (very noticeable on Japanese bikes)
- enroute, seeing oil smoke when the car decelerates, can be a sign of worn valve guides - also on cold start up
- there are also sound tips at the pipe, a bit harder to explain on email, but some are if there is a weak cylinder or poor timing it might gallop a bit, and if a cyl is dead (bad plug or wire etc not firing) a trained ear can here the difference. (an untrained ear can tell the dif at the pumps tho) I can usally tell how many cylinders an engine has by listening at the tailpipe. Sometimes I can even tell engine configuration a V vs inline, but that is harder on a 8 or an 8 than a 4. The 4 being extremely rare in autos but pretty common in bikes. Then there is the affect of crankshaft orientation with a V4. On a bike for example, lets says two Hondas, both V4's, but one has the crank inline with the frame (an ST) and the other at 90 degrees (a VFR) the VFR sounds a lot like a small block V8 at certain revs. Same with an inline 3 cylinder (think Geo Metro or Suzuki something, Swift i think...) at certain revs it can sound like a 6 or even a 12 cyl. I'm sure that at certain revs, drivers BMW has a bit of Ferrari V12 sound to it.
Sorry, got sidetracked here..

isellhondas

A lot of old timers would rely on a vacuum guage to tell them a lot.

I wouldn't even know where to attach one on a modern car.

They scoffed at timing lights too and set the timing by ear.

oldfarmer50

"...if oil is dripping out, it's way beyond help!..."

LOL, yeah I guess it would be. :lemon:

I recall old timers making judgments based on the color of the tailpipe, you know, black soot meant one thing, while a brown color meant something else.

driver100

I recall old timers making judgments based on the color of the tailpipe, you know, black soot meant one thing, while a brown color meant something else

Then there are naturopaths who can tell what is wrong with you by looking into your eyes. It probably works about as well.

fezo

Richard -

Your financial habits are making my head hurt.

I am, by sad admission, lousy with money. I'd been worse but slowly improving...

Try as I might I can't manage to keep records like that. of course the fact that I'm constantly half asleep doesn't help.

I'm at least wide awake when driving....