JakeFromSF Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 I am trying to find out who to sign up as a dealer for to get better pricing on TVs for my customers. SnapAV and Control4 only offer exterior or waterproof TVs but I am just looking for standard TVs. Any ideas of where i should start? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopedogg88 Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 call your local AV distributor and sign up for an account. margin on TV's isn't very much... poseidonsystems 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTO Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Costco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 3 hours ago, CTO said: Costco I hope not msgreenf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTO Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 hard to beat the prices on their TV's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 So a dealer should go get a TV at Costco and sell it for more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THawes Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 16 minutes ago, Cyknight said: So a dealer should go get a TV at Costco and sell it for more? Sure, what do I have to gain by going to a distributor and buying it versus going to Costco, Best Buy, Amazon and buying it? Especially if it's a better price than whatever the local AV distributor is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTO Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 no lol.. the dealer in my area was telling me all his customers are buying tv's at Costco because he gives them a quote for tvs usually Sony and customers won't buy because they find cheaper prices at Costco so they end up buying those.. Its where I got most of my tvs. I just need picture I could care less if its 4K or not.. as long as its somewhat clear..so its just not worth the money. I got one 75:" Sony from my dealer and have had it replaced 3 times already.. I told him the next one its going in the trash... since that experience I had to get a 75" for another project and decided to go back to Samsung at Costco and its been great.. My friends just got an LG 86 and it was like $2K. and it looks great and works perfect with his C4 system.. that's cheaper than the 75" Sony I got 2 years ago. and its bigger.. lol. Anyways was just trying to say its hard to beat prices from Costco and other box stores... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 48 minutes ago, THawes said: Sure, what do I have to gain by going to a distributor and buying it versus going to Costco, Best Buy, Amazon and buying it? Especially if it's a better price than whatever the local AV distributor is? Arguably nothing, though you may need some better distributors. Client wants the Costco TV, go get a Costco TV. But that doesn't mean I'm going to pick it up Well unless you all would like to pay me the hourly rate to go do it for you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THawes Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 My argument was only hypothetical, but yes I agree you might need better distributors if big box stores are constantly beating your distributor on price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippavisual Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Costco/Sams Club and the like have a deal with the TV manufacturers. They get the bottom of the barrel TV's for all the brands, That's why they are so cheap. At least it was this way a few years back when I had to research something on this subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 6 minutes ago, lippavisual said: Costco/Sams Club and the like have a deal with the TV manufacturers. They get the bottom of the barrel TV's for all the brands, That's why they are so cheap. At least it was this way a few years back when I had to research something on this subject. still is - the Samsung models for example at Costco you can't get anywhere else...and are missing features.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTO Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Atleast for me it has picture and c4 can turn it on and off that’s all I need. I don’t use any features inside the tv so it works for me and a lot of my friends that have c4 as well. I’d rather buy a good receiver and good speakers than spend the $ on all these crazy enhanced tv’s. My 16x16 leaf doesn’t push 4K so no real need for 4K tv. And even the 4K tv I have I had to change Comcast to 1080p so it plays on all TVs. I don’t kind color looks good for our purposes. I can’t really tell that much of a difference between by 1080ps and 4K but it’s all good. C4 is great system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluid15 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 15 minutes ago, lippavisual said: Costco/Sams Club and the like have a deal with the TV manufacturers. They get the bottom of the barrel TV's for all the brands, That's why they are so cheap. At least it was this way a few years back when I had to research something on this subject. When you say ‘bottom of the barrel’ do you mean average in features and screen technology? For me, over the years I’ve changed my outlook on how I buy TVs. Back at n ‘95 I ‘splurged’ $3k on a 30-something-inch tv and expected to keep it many years. Now, I just bought a $2k, 86” TV and am fine replacing it in about five years. With the velocity of technology these days I think it’s more common for people to buy a more average level device and replace it more often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 I have 9 TVs in my house and I would generally buy the biggest and best for my media room and then cascade this down to kitchen, office, bedrooms, etc. That worked well until you get to about 65" TVs as then the TV can become too small for some rooms. My media room has a relatively old 80" Sharp 1080p TV from back in the days when Sharp was still a Japanese company. But it is too big to put in other rooms in my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTO Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 My friend got a 86” tv at costco.. LG and its amazing.. and it was like $2K,.., If i had the wall space for that I’d get it in a heartbeat but I don’t have the space for that big of a tv.. but I’m with you on TV’s... my parents have c4 now and they still have basic cable with 10 year old samsung flat screen that takes about 4 people to pull off the wall since its so heavy.. but it still works.. and 55” tv’s today you can get for about $400 bucks.. I think I saw a 65” for like $800 bucks. And if it goes out trash it and get a new one.. that’s my feeling.. color still looks good and it works. Unless you are in a room with all types of Tv’s you can tell a difference in resolution, but once you bring it home I cant really tell a difference.. and most Time we just watch basic cable anyways or you tube that my daughter wants to watch so i figure biggest tv at cheapest price and i stick with samsung Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdepaola Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Costco even on a good day isn’t selling TV’s for what my distributors are. Is Costco sometimes very competitive when compared to bestbuy etc? yes...Can you get a better deal going to an independent shop, spending some time, and creating a relationship. 100%! I don’t do retail but a buddy of mine does have a showroom and if you walk in, ask questions and have some friendly conversation you will walk out with a considerably cheaper price then you will at almost any big box, unless your getting a demo model. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro msgreenf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 11 hours ago, cdepaola said: Costco even on a good day isn’t selling TV’s for what my distributors are. Is Costco sometimes very competitive when compared to bestbuy etc? yes... Can you get a better deal going to an independent shop, spending some time, and creating a relationship. 100%! I don’t do retail but a buddy of mine does have a showroom and if you walk in, ask questions and have some friendly conversation you will walk out with a considerably cheaper price then you will at almost any big box, unless your getting a demo model. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro That’s crazy. A good friend of mine is a buyer at a large ($1B + revenue in Utah) home goods store that sells TV’s. He said most TV’s are sold at a loss, and then they get a reimbursement from the manufacturer that leaves them with less than a 2% margin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdepaola Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 I’m guessing this includes all of the other expenses a big box retailer has. My margins on a TV aren’t huge but they are more then 2% for sure Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeFromSF Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 This sounds pretty similar to what ive found so far in my research. Even the first customer I submitted a quote to for TVs said he found a better price as Costco and was going to purchase them there and let me integrate it into the C4 system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 that doesn't mean it was actually the same TV you quoted... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeFromSF Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 Just now, msgreenf said: that doesn't mean it was actually the same TV you quoted... It was the same model so he says but from what im hearing above in this thread is maybe the Costco TVs are similar but have missing features? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 1 minute ago, JakeFromSF said: It was the same model so he says but from what im hearing above in this thread is maybe the Costco TVs are similar but have missing features? I would bet a drink that the model # was not the same, it was probably close and 1 - 2 digits off... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeFromSF Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 Just now, msgreenf said: I would bet a drink that the model # was not the same, it was probably close and 1 - 2 digits off... I bet you are right. I didn't give him the model number nor did he give me his. Regardless, the TV I quoted was off Amazon because i couldn't find dealer pricing on them anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdepaola Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 Are you an approved dealer of the TV you were quoting? It should be fairly easy to get a price on any TV your need if your an approved dealer, generally takes me about a 30 second phone call to get my current price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.