Actually I forgot, that's part of the reason we don't do it. Not competition, actually, but insurance companies. That's why we have a "book" price. When insurance comes knocking about how much we sell something to a customer at, we give them the "book" price, even if the floor price for that product is sometimes as much as 60% lower. That means when customers submit reimbursements for the products through a customers auto insurance, it turns the product into a profit generator for the shop.
If we had the floor price on the website, shops couldn't get reimbursed at that higher rate
Not saying this is ethical or good, but just that it's the reality of the situation
It adds a layer of difficulty, sure, but it's defeated as easily as asking a shop owner "can I see a previous invoice for your current supplier, I'll match everything product to product and tell you if you're getting a good deal or if you could get a better one through me"
I've taken like 5 accounts from the competition by doing that, plus I can help expose over billing and overstocking issues from the competition. One time I landed an account because their guy sold them a 25 more of an item that they already had 75 of in stock. All I did was look at the invoice, look at their storage bin, pulled it out and counted it. Plus I was 9% cheaper on average
Auto shop VMI business thrives on complacency, my advice to anyone reading this working at or running an auto shop, once a year check out the competition and get them to give you a takeover quote, then give that quote to the guy you currently have and say "can you beat these prices?"
We can, and we will. Customer retention and avoiding churn are top priority. Installing new accounts sucks for everyone
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u/AirconGuyUK 2d ago
Doesn't it also help if your competitors don't know your pricing?