Just had a guy quote me $800 for a replacement part to fix a broken faucet. He went on about how other people are charging $3,000 for the same type of parts, but he's not like that of course.
$800, he insists, is his cost; he makes money on the install oniy. He offered this info before I even got a chance to push back.
Do you think he's lying?
If so, it's ok/legal?
My first thought is, that's a helluva pricey faucet...
My second thought is, how do you even find out what "his cost" is short of hacking his bank accounts or something? I've seen wide ranges of prices even from one wholesaler to the next; some may give better discounts based on history, volume, etc.
Is it illegal? I highly doubt it's illegal anywhere, especially as he's under no obligation to tell you his price in the first place.
My first thought is, that's a helluva pricey faucet.
Mine too, and my second and third too.
He did a good number on me, explaining about the difficulty in obtaining replacement parts for some of the obscure brands that my house was apparently built with.
He proceeded to tell me that many of the parts don't even have part#'s, on purpose, to protect dealers.
Yes, it would be hard to find out his cost. On the other hand, making false claims about your product/service is illegal. And I didn't even ask him his cost.
But regardless, I doubt anybody would care to take the matter up. After all, there is a carpeting store about a mile away that claimed 50% off everything on the day it opened! Though for the last several years it's been going out of business....
Sometimes, if parts to repair something that's rare, obscure, obsolete, or esoteric, get too expensive ... it's better to just replace the whole thing with something more common. Maybe a "I'll just go get another faucet at Home Depot for $200" would affect his pricing ;)
I offered him a straight trade of a unlabeled Dahua 4ch 720p Kit, my "cost" $800 ;)
If it really matters to you, ask him to show you his receipt for the item.
Related to our industry, I have heard of a few integrators over the years who would do 'open kimono' pricing where they would show their customers what they paid and agree to a fixed markup percentage over that.
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