Requesting a Price Quote

Here's some tips to use when requesting a price quote be it from my store or anyone else for that matter. These speed the process along and realize that while you are asking for just one quote, as a dealer I have twenty a day to do, so helping ME save time will mean I get to your email or PM quicker:

* Use the model number, not the name. All price books are coded to the model number, so when you say 'Can I Get a Price for the Austin Chair in GR2?' Well - there are eleven different ways to make an Austin chair, each with a different price and no dealer can read your mind as to which one you are referring to. However, If you say "Price on a 2038NB in GR2", then I know exactly what you are looking for.

* You can't get a complete quote without shipping/delivery figured in. To do that please supply CITY/STATE/ZIP. Don't just supply a Zip Code, because no dealer has them all memorized and we have to go to the internet to look up the city and state. That takes time.

* What are you buying? Freight/Delivery is based on total weight. For a dealer to quote it, we have to know specifically the models you are interested in. Typically one must get the weights on each unit and compute the entire order so if you want accuracy in the quote then be specific as to which pieces and quantity the order will encompass.

* Be reasonable in your price requests. Most all requests have to be figured up one at a time, and computed on a calculator. To ask for prices on twenty items in five grades of leather means ONE HUNDRED calculations. Even working quickly that's about 20 minutes to do that. Do you really need all those prices?

* Realize that short answers are the norm. There is a very large volume of requests and to be able to respond to all of them in a day requires brevity in the reply.

Thanks!

Hi Duane. Your forum is beyond fantastic. I have learned more on the forum than with any sales person anywhere. Also, I want to compliment you on your business ethics, just incredible in furniture retail.

Duane, I've done a lot of price quotes with you before and I think you are great. and I actually assumed it must be an easy job. Seems that I was wrong. I thought HM must provide every dealer a price quoting system, which should be just an very easy database. when you need a quote, you can just enter model number and leather grade, and a price comes up, and the system should allow you do multi entry at one time (say, one model, multiple grades, or multiple models and multi-grades), and a list of price will just show up. something like those online mortgage calculator.

Seems you don't have that system, and you have to look up a real book for price, and calculate by a calculator. that's too outdated! I could imagine how inefficient that would be since you probably receive a lot of requests every day.

You know what, if HM doesn't give you a system like that, you should be able to build one by yourself in Excel, using the formula function. Access will be able to build a more user friendly and convenient database, but it's a little more difficult.

Thanks!

Yes, each quote I had to look up in a Wholesale book by item number (not name), then leather or fabric grade, then take that number and put on a factor multiplier for margin via a desk calculator, and then type in a reply. It takes about 1 minute per lookup and to type it. So, when I get someone that lists 10 sofas and wants grade 1 through 5, that 50 minutes of work and that's from someone who I might never hear from again - I have to decline to do that from a time management perspective and I know that a lot of folks don't understand that. I have to compute freight the same way. And that's if they have everything in order (Item numbers, leather grades, address for shipping) Multiply that and by 10 per day and suddenly you've spend half your workday doing that. I still have a brick and mortar store to run as well and do all the bookkeeping and store arrangements plus truck loading /unloading so the hours run out in a day before the work does. (my # 1 pet peeve is people emailing me for quotes and then call me on the phone because I haven't replied immediately - that makes me crazy!)

I have asked repeatedly for a spreadsheet in EXCEL from all my suppliers, They don't have one, just the price book they mail us. With 1,500 items, and 5 leather grades and 13 fabric ones plus COL and COM that 28,000 data entries that I can't do! No time, and no money to hire it done. And that's just Hancock and Moore....a I have other suppliers as well.

One day it will progress beyond this, but its an old school industry that is not flush with cash and where the Fax machine is still the most used piece of equipment between dealer and supplier. How 90's is that? LOl

Oh, my. this is kind of funny. I bet they must have that excel or other any sort of electronic database (which can mostly be switched to excel) if they can print it out as a book. They just don't want to do business in that way, I guess, just like one of my colleague's parents, refusing any credit cards and even ATM card, but insist to pay their grocery in a writing check.

Do we PM you for a price quote, or just post a thread?

You can do it in the forum or PM, either way. I no longer do H&M price quotes in writing (but will do so via phone) - so any Hancock & Moore piece will be quoted at MSRP.

Hi Duane- I'm new to the forum but I'm thankful someone recommended you! We are looking for a quality sectional and found the Taylor King Brentwood sectional. Based on the details I have, we would need several pieces: 8910-21 LAF, two of item 8910-10, 8910-20, 8910-22 RAF. We were considering two fabrics, level 18 and level 22. We would also like the 1/2" old gold nails on the sectional. We live in a small town north of Houston, Tx. Please let me know if there are any additional details needed for an estimate. Thank you!

PM Sent

It has been awhile and I apologize for not posting a million thanks for your assistance and follow up back in 2011. I ordered H&M 9840 and 9839 City Sofa and Loveseat in a gorgeous Aspen Saddle leather. You had it delivered to the Northwoods, Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin and it has made our lake house a home. We are impressed with the quality and the leather still looks like new. At the time I lived in Maryland and had the good fortune to be able to go to your store. We were transferred to the Los Angeles area and miss you and your store. I seem to recall reading your post awhile ago regarding the changing regulations on internet sales. I'm guessing the H&M price quotes no longer in writing are the result. I don't know if it is advantageous to order through you when having to ship to California. I would like to purchase a 9840 City Sofa and 9839 City Loveseat in a fabric grad G for the California residence. When is a good time to call for pricing?
Thank you
Grace

Glad to see you came back to visit us and that you are pleased enough with your H&M purchase to get another grouping. Yes, there was an official new internet policy on sales that came out in August 2013, but the other dealers pretty much have ignored it so rather than being the only one following the rules, I'd doing what they are doing. The problem only really becomes an issue when consumer print off a quote and then walk it into a dealer that is higher-priced asking for a price match - that causes a lot of turmoil and I think folks are starting to see it only hurts them in the end and are avoiding doing that now. I'll PM you a price quote - .......thanks Grace!

Duane, Thank you for the update. Well you are to be credited for educating the consumer and I would hope they reciprocate by NOT printing price quotes. Thank you

When ordering H&M through you to be shipped to California will I pay a sales tax from your stores state or California or any at all?

I only collect sales taxes for Virginia, when the purchase is made in the State of Virginia. I don't collect sales tax for any other state. This doesn't mean you are not liable for the sales taxes in your state, but its between you and your state collection authority, I don't get involved! If you are ever planning on running for political office, or want a job in the Justice Department, its a good idea to pay them........otherwise......

I am looking for a couple of H&M executive leather chairs

1) 2807ST Director's Swivel-Tilt Chair

2) 3818ST Senator's Swivel-Tilt Chair

We are in Northern Virginia. Do you have any executive chairs by H&M in your showroom?

I don't stock the H&M Executive Swivel Chairs, I tried to keep them on the floor in years past, but they were in inventory a very long time so I no longer floor them. They are available to special order, however. I do have appx (40) pieces of H&M on my sales floor and all the leather swatches, etc.

Can you PM me the quote for the two chairs?

All price quotes require a cover or at least a Leather grade to quote, and location is helpful if delivering or shipping as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by drcollie

All price quotes require a cover or at least a Leather grade to quote, and location is helpful if delivering or shipping as well.

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I don't know a whole lot about leather grade. I like the product being presented in the photo below. If I can have the matching leather to the products below, that would be fine.

1) http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...productid=1427
2807ST Director's Swivel-Tilt Chair

I think that's "Pippa Tangerine, Class 2 Unprotected", or "Kipling Whiskey, Class 2 Unprotected"?

2) http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...productid=1453
3818ST Senator's Swivel-Tilt Chair

I think it's a "Caress Cranberry, Class 2 Protected"

Again if I could just get the product as shown on the website, that would be fine.

Location is in Northern Virginia. If you need to know a specific address or zip code, let me know and I can send you a PM.

Since you live close to my store, you may just want to make a visit to see the hides in person. I will PM you prices.

Hi,
Just started looking for a high quality couch and found a wealth of information through this forum.
I am looking for a quote on the taylor king made line

Plush
45 Round Box Border Back
P31 Left Arm Sofa
P42 Right Arm Chaise
P9 Sockarm with SQ Cushion
With Optional Dakota(Square) Base
Fabric SKY SILVER LINING
Lawton/OK/73505

Thanks

Price quotes on many brands (of which Taylor King is one) are not done on the public forum at the request of the manufacturers. Please re-submit here in this section where it is only visible to you.

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/foru...tes-and-Orders

Mr. Collie, I'm not sure if I should post this here, or fill out a quote form. Please let me know if I need to submit this differently. First, though, let me extend a heartfelt thank you for this forum! It has answered so many of my questions about buying quality furniture since starting my search several months ago. I am very grateful to have found this site! I live in a very rural area (the Upper Peninsula of MI) and there are no local stores that carry HM or BY furniture around here. The one single dealer in the Upper Peninsula that BY's website listed, is no longer in business. I looked around online and found another dealer 2.5 hours away in Neenah, WI, that carries both lines of furniture, and I paid them a visit. The sales lady at the store seemed very knowledgeable about their products and was pleasant to work with, but, because I don't have any other places to comparison shop, I was hoping that you might be able to give me a price on the pieces that I looked at in the store. I'd just like to know if the store's prices are fair, or if I should look elsewhere. Because of where I live, I think shipping costs might be prohibitive if ordering from you--but I could certainly be wrong. The pieces I looked at were the 916-35 Newman recliner in leather 9049-91, and the 866-95 Richardson sofa in 9078-81F leather. I would not want any nail heads on the Richardson sofa. I am not completely clear on the grades of leather yet, but the furniture we're replacing is the most used in the house. We will be eating, drinking, and sitting on it frequently, and we have 2 border collies that, while not allowed on the furniture, still manage to get a fair share of dirt on it, especially the sides of the recliners and the front of the sofa. We need a leather that can take being cleaned up regularly. Hopefully, I have given you enough info so that you can provide me with some prices for this furniture, and for shipping. We live in Wilson, Michigan, zip 49896. Thank you so much, I really do appreciate your help. ~Ronnie

Apologies, both pieces of furniture were from Bradington Young. Thanks again. ~R

Hi Ronnie,

Welcome to the forum, I will be glad to quote, but prefer to not do it publically. Other dealers can and do complain about the pricing and that just causes issues, so if you will repost your request in the QUOTES subsection I will be more than happy to do so. You can link to it here:

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/foru...tes-and-Orders

Hi! Thanks for sharing some tips to use when requesting a price quote! They are quite essential!

I am receiving a lot of requests for price quotes however they include "We don't know what fabric we want". Try to pick something as a cover as I cannot quote all the possible combinations. Here's a case in point on an email to a customer inquiry today, as you can see the range on this Taylor King quote is huge. By helping to narrow down your choices, you can get a more accurate picture on costs. This is fairly typical for a reply, as you can see there is a wide spread on fabric costs and this doesn't even include leather. From Entry Level to High End can easily double the cost.

*****

" I really can't give you accurate pricing without a cover selection, just a range. Samples (up to a dozen) are available free of charge)

# 4816-03N Henry will run from $ 2,581 in GR 14 to $ 5,249 in GR 106

Taylor Made 96" will range from $ 2,058 in Portfolio I to $ 4,843 in GR 106

Delivery fees to your California zip code for one sofa average $ 650, no sales tax collected.

Above are cash/check discounted, credit cards add 3%"

Hello Duane, Thank you so much for your forum. I had found you some time ago and then reached out to Jeff Frank, and he said that I should talk to the expert. He speaks very highly of you...for whatever that's worth. :-) I'm new here and not sure I am in the right place to pose this question.
Looking for help on the mystery of pricing and advertised sales. Reviewing the H&M retail price list, would those be considered an "original" price? How do I determine whether an advertised sale is real? In other words, is the merchant inflating the price and then offering a huge discount? The pricing I was given is about $5000 higher than the H&M retail price list shows, and then they offered a 50% discount. I know, I know...if it sounds to good to be true.
I am looking at the Your way Y23 and Y32 in Grade 1. Help, please! Thank you in advance.

Jeff is good people

I like to say that generally - very generally - about 50% off MSRP is a pretty good price for most price lists in the industry and you won't find much out there less than that.

For example, let's look at the items you are checking out. I don't normally publish prices because H&M frowns greatly on it, but we will this time as an educational lesson. Please don't print this out and go wave it in front of the dealer you are getting a price from however, that's just going to cause problems!

Y23/Y32 in GR 1 leather, MSRP is $ $ 17,190. If we use 50% off discount mentioned above as a general price, then it becomes $ 8,595 and you should be able to get that at a lot of different stores or close to it.

My price would be, day in and day out, $ 8,309 check/cash, or $ 8,558 credit card and you will have shipping/delivery costs on top of that depending on your location. No sales tax currently (this is going to change in the future, count on it).

The kicker though, is that there is a qualified dealer promotion on Your Way that requires a dealer buy-in to have access to. Now if we take these GR 1 / GR 2 promo leathers which are Gunner, Hutton, Juno, Kip, Kismet, Lyric, Nirvana, Spirit, Tilton then that price comes down to $ 8,045 cash/check from my store + delivery fees. Not all dealers can offer this and only the higher volume ones are likely to offer it. However some the hides here such as Tilton are much nicer than the standard GR 1's so this is where you want to buy if you can find a color and hand of hide that you like.

Again, these are not "sale" prices, they are everyday ones. I don't run "Fake Sales" in my store because I have more respect for my clients than that. If H&M ever does run a deeper discount, its 5 % off as factory participation, rarely more than that.

Hi Duane, since I’m a newbie I think I just typed a long response and didn’t get to send it. Here we go again.
If I was given a price of $22K+, I was definitely being led down the garden path.
How much is shipping to Somonauk, IL 60552?

Does the retail price list apply nationally, or are there variances depending upon location?

While I will not use your post for my discussion with the merchant, am I able to use the H&M retail price list?

I am at my wits end. I think I made a very expensive mistake. Do you have any thoughts on how I may resolve?

Another piece is a Century cornerstone/leatherstone build your own...7600-3C. Grade L2 leather.

I am typically a loyal customer. I thought I was dealing with a reputable retailer. My brother put a little bug in my head, and then I found you on the Internet. Please help. Desperate and would like some mutual respect.

I know your time is valuable. Would a phone call be helpful? I’m kind of at the 11th hour, with delivery set up for Saturday.

Honestly, if it were me I would find out how much I would loose by canceling the order and determine by that if it was worth it or not. You don't say how much money you have already given them, or what the number includes. Does the 22000 also include other pieces like the Century piece? You need to go back to the contract you signed and really READ it. It sounds like you got taken pretty good, but buyers remorse won't get you out of a contract. So read your contract, find out where you stand and decide if you want to do what it takes to get out of it. Personally, it you decide it is worth it, I would just tell them your circumstances have changed and you can no longer take delivery. You are going to loose money. I would try not start a fight with them personally, because you did have a contract of some kind and finding out you didn't get a good deal doesn't change that. The sooner you get out the better, and once you take delivery there is really nothing you can do. I doubt they have much incentive to give you a bigger discount now. Once they realize you are willing to take a financial loss to get out of it, they might just to get rid of the pieces, but be ready that they will probably try to make you take delivery.

...discussed on the phone.....

Every store has to set their own prices, if you already made a contract and the pieces have arrived, you just live and learn, and move on. We've all been there at one time or another. You can do some reviews on your dealer if you feel you were taken advantage of, those reviews stay around a very long time. At the end of the day, you still have some very nice Hancock and Moore to enjoy.

Hi Duane, I tried to PM you today for a price quote on an H&M dining chair, but the system gave me an error, "drcollie has chosen not to receive private messages or may not be allowed to receive private messages. Therefore you may not send your message to him/her."**

It's a bit odd because I was able to PM you before, but today I had to re-register myself as it said my email address didn't exist in the system, and I chose to use the same username and email address as before.

My PM's are turned off as they were overwhelming and people were not using the forum to ask questions. . You can call the store at 703-360-6399 or put in for a quote here. Or email to keepingrooom@gmail.com.

Thanks
Duane

Got it. I haven't been to the forum for a few years and didn't know the change until now.