Thai people hate us when we don't pay for their services

[Arcadian]

Faux watches Johan? More like Faux Francais. You have an arrogance above and beyond any Frenchman I know, and there are a lot where I live.

[kendo]

Johan,
please consider that you pool table scenario,
It's a free economic market, if the price does not suit you then go else where, he was not breaking you arm to buy it, a pool table is a luxuary item, he most certainly works seven days a week and supports his parents grand parents, schooling health care etc.
If i was the retailer i would have sent it back to the supplier.

Maybe with respect, you have a little growing up to do before you will grasp this very different culture, i have read your other threads and have allways thought very wet behind the ears.

Kendo.

[Johan]

I asked him a discount after found the real price, i think it's fair game. I'm not going to pay 50 000 bahts more for nothing. It's advertised at 100 000 bahts at the shop and you can order one for 50 000 bahts at the factory. And if you order 30 of them then you will just pay 35 000 bahts. It's a huge marge, too huge for me to accept it.

[E-Dork]

I agree with you that something that has been given a 50 % markup is a bit outragous, but what you did, which IMO is asking for trouble, is rubbed the fact that you got a cheaper deal in the guy's face. That will not go down well with anyone here.

[pharvey]

Nope, rubbing the guy's face in it probably isn't the best course of action, and quite expectedly the guy was somewhat aggrieved...... with the table actually being sent to his premises as well, must have been a real kick in the teeth. If one of my suppliers had done the same to me, the business relationship would be ended fairly quickly.....I do like the guy's 3K for setting the table up though!

I actually don't think that mark-up is that outrageous on the table itself. Quite frankly rightly or wrongly Johan (IMHO) has been given a trade price from the supplier.

What's the mark-up on beer from trade to the wholesaler to pub prices? What's the mark-up on clothing (made-in-China etc) and sold worldwide?

[E-Dork]

To be completely honest I don't really know what kind of percentages are expected on mark ups. 50 % just sounds bad but maybe it's the norm.

[pharvey]

To be completely honest I don't really know what kind of percentages are expected on mark ups. 50 % just sounds bad but maybe it's the norm.

Yeah, maybe I should rephrase that.... not an unexpected mark-up!! Of course looking at it it probably does seem outrageous, unfortunately though, not unusual when looking from producer/supplier to outlet.

[Johan]

I told him i had contacts at the factory, he didn't believe me. In fact, i wanted to open a bar with lots of pool tables, so i contacted the factory about the prices. But i didn't had enough money to do it, so i wanted just a pool table for my home first. At first the factory didn't want to sell a table only, but the supplier didn't had any in stock at a fair price. Worse, the supplier was trying to sell a table from another brand and the guy at the factory told me to order one from him when he knew that.

Then, who has made a mistake ?

[Acadian450]

I recently bought some jewlery (real) in Hua Hin and the price seemed high to me but after some friendly bartering I was able to reach a compromise that left the both the jewler and I happy. Did i still pay too much, probably, but it was a small store and like a number of people have said it is the price one is willing to pay that is the bottom line. Believe me I did not go back to other stores to show off my purchases! I am from eastern Canada, a real tourist area and some of the prices we charge for accomodation and attractions is criminal, yet tourists still come every year. Finally I found Thai business people more willing to barter than Canadians!

[fleksnes]

90% ? I've meet thousands of thais, only few of them are angry people. But again, they are trying to milk us. And the builder of the project wasn't thai but farang.

I know there is different quality, i'm talking about the same quality, that watch he was trying to sell 2500 bahts that i bought for 600 bahts he can have it for 150 bahts. The same.

Same as in Hua Hin with that playstation 3, they are selling them 5000 bahts more than in Bangkok when the shipment fees are only 120 bahts for 24 hours express.

In Thailand the vendor makes his price, is up to him. You can find the same product priced double or more. Then when you come back to that shop to show them how they are trying to rip you off they are angry.

Why do you go back and "brag" that you found it cheaper another place???????? Same with the pool table??? It looks to me that you are actually trying to get in troubble with the store(s). I find it quite normal that he didn't think that you could buy one from the factory. I wouldn't either.
You need to do some growing up.

I have lived in this beautiful country for many years and surely i have probably been "ripped off" of a few bath's. It will probably happend again because i'm not leaving until i'm in a casket in a plane returning to my home country to be buried.

My last word: If I can sell an item more expensive than other stores. So what, it is up to the customer to buy or not (as other have mentioned earlier)
So again, grow up if you want a happy life here in beautiful Thailand.

[Siani]

Hi,

It's funny to see how people can be good with you when you pay and then when you think their service is too expensive and decide by yourself to go another way they look you like shit.

And by too expensive i mean really too expensive, not just a little. So expensive that you come back to them and show them numbers to ask them where their price is coming from.

It was the same story 1 year ago when i bought my pool table, i asked a quote at many different shops, then i checked the price at the factory and i contacted the sales manager to order one from them. It was half of the price with shipment. The guy at the shop wasn't that happy. I asked him for a better price before make the order but he refused. Then i came back to pick up my pool because the factory sent it to him as he passed a order for 10 tables. He was shocked that i got a pool table from the factory and really upset, he also has to install everything in my home, if he had accepted my offer he could make 30 000 bahts that day instead of 3 000 for the installation.

Everyone is trying to rip me off when i look at the numbers. I asked a quote for a swimming pool, then i found out who was the real builder of the shop pools because it was like "super expensive" and he's asking HALF of the price for the same job without the logo of the brand. So the shop is making half of that money for a very little service.

I don't even want to mention some real estate projets that are being build somewhere, the quality of the materials are like shit, he's paying something like 30% of the resale price and the customers are happy to pay a huge amount of money for that shit.

Well, i have so many examples so i will stop here. You guys, how are you dealing with stuff like this ? Are you trying to pay the real price of the things you want/need or you just pay what they are asking for without any research ? I can understand people who pay more for a better service, a better quality or anything like this, but it's exactly the same products i'm talking about. Should i open my shop to rip off people too ? Is that the only way to make money in Thailand ?

Well I am amazed at what I am reading! I am so glad that you never ever crossed my threshold when I had a shop! I would have been horrified if someone had come into my shop, wasted my time, then bought from a wholesaler. What you must realise is that a shop keeper has every right to charge more than a wholesaler. They have overheads, small businesses more so than most, they do not sell in bulk. You have put the shopkeeper into an embarrassing position. He did not sell to you, but he had to come to deliver it, and then assemble it, if not he would have in turn upset the wholesaler. What I cannot fathom out is why you did not enquire about the price first? I thought you were "au fait" with the internet? Why do you not use it more? Once you told me you worked in this industry.
You wrongfully say that Thai people rip you off, where have you been all your life? In France, go have a coffee under the Eiffel Tower, well that is expensive, but you get what you pay for, a view of the Eiffel Tower. Go to Italy, Morocco in fact anywhere in the world, you will find people looking to make a fast buck! Years ago (1966) my husband bought a diving watch in Spain in a market, went in for a swim, came out with all the hands floating around in the face! It rusted within an hour, what did he expect? Thailand is famous for its fakes, nobody is forced to buy them.
Last word, if I were assembling your pool table I would be tempted not to tighten up the screws too well!

[Big Boy]

Years ago (1966) my husband bought a diving watch in Spain in a market, went in for a swim, came out with all the hands floating around in the face! It rusted within an hour, what did he expect?

Fantastic!!

Sorry Siani, I know that I've extracted from a serious post, but that statement really made me laugh out loud. It painted quite a vivid picture in my mind - thank you.

[Siani]

Years ago (1966) my husband bought a diving watch in Spain in a market, went in for a swim, came out with all the hands floating around in the face! It rusted within an hour, what did he expect?

Fantastic!!

Sorry Siani, I know that I've extracted from a serious post, but that statement really made me laugh out loud. It painted quite a vivid picture in my mind - thank you.

Also do not buy the fake Lacoste socks, all the crocodiles swim away after the first wash lol!

[charlesh]

Starting to remind me of a comedy skit in which the customer comes in to a shop (lets say pool table shop) and asks if they
1.have a pool table (yes)
2. pool table with 6 legs (y)
3. pool table with 6 legs and 6 pockets (y)
4. pool table with 6 legs, 6 pockets and green cloth (y)
5. pool table with 6 legs, 6 pockets, green Strahans cloth and empire rails (y)
6. pool table with 6 legs, 6 pockets, green Strahans cloth and empire rails
6.pool table with 6 legs, 6 pockets, green Strahans cloth, empire rails and lacquered wood finish (y)
7. pool table with 6 legs, 6 pockets, green Strahans cloth, lacquered wood finish to match my furniture (y)
8. pool table with 6 legs, 6 pockets, green Strahans cloth, lacquered wood finish to match my Chinese Rosewood furniture
Sorry we don't have rosewood from China however we do from Thailand
Customer - Nah I wanted Chinese Rosewood!

[ImThai]

The answer is simple Johan - just stop buying stuff. Give the Thais who are simply trying to make a living a break.
Mark ups are all part of any trade. It's called making a profit. Thailand traders are no different to anywhere else and yes - if you make a public display of going to suppliers at source and throw that back in the retailers face of course they won't like it. Would you? Lesson number one - Thai people don't like to lose face. I would have thought the thousands of Thai people you have met would have made that clear.

I'm with you