I noticed that there were HUGE price variations for what apparantly were the same products. For example, on Aztek's (Testor) home page they advertise their A470 deluxe kit for something like $169.00. From what I can tell, I purchased the same exact thing from WASCO for $95.00. Am I missing something? I can't help but feel that I'm missing the boat somehow and I'll end having to purchase some secret decoder ring or something. I'm now seeing the same scenario with compressors. I'm admittedly not too experienced at shopping online. If anyone has any input on this I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
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It's true prices vary from place to place. You are getting the same thing from WASCO that testor has. I know go figure. But if you also look in each of the catologs that you send for they all have a different price for the same thing, not always but they will vary.
But always make sure it's the same.
What Testor is advertising is the "Manufacturer's Suggested Price." They would be in big trouble if they were to discount the the price on direct sales, undercutting their distributers and retail sellers.
This suggested price has enough profit built-in for the small retailers, like the small-town hardware store or hobby shop, who only sell a couple of brushes a year. The larger sellers, whether they be WASCO or one of the large hobby discounters, have far less overhead and incur lower costs due to the efficiency of the size of their operation and the quantity of units sold. They can discount their prices and still make an acceptable profit.
Frank and Andy provided excellent explanations. It's like buying a car. Not too many people go into a dealership and pay the sticker price unless they have so much money they don't care. You should always comparison shop, and watch out for hidden costs!. A low price for a particular item does't necessarily mean you'll end up paying the least amount of money for it, especially when it's going to be shipped to you. Things to look for and add to your total cost, are handling charges, charges for using a credit card, express delivery charges, and minimum order charges, to name just a few! If you don't have our current catalog #119, and would like a copy, visit our web site (guest book) at www.hidebeak.com, e-mail, or call us at 1-800-777-7916. Do some comparison shopping!
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