KC993

So if I called Paul and gotten a price from him, then I CAN NOT post the price here???
I am sorry but it sounded like another sales pitch to me...
People can BUY the wheels from this vendor but are not able to SAY what one's paid for???
If Fikse were strict about their pricing IN PUBLIC maybe one should look to other alternatives...
The 02'996 wheels are lighter and better looking anyway...
Thank you...

96P993

KC while this might be a sales pitch by Radial how many times do you look in a magazine or get online and not see any prices. This happens all the time..Maybe Radial doesnt want the backlash of past Fiske buyers...I am inclined to think this is normal for most high end wheels.

KC993

Chris,
So if you knew the price you would not tell me if I asked you NICELY, HERE???

96P993

If I knew the price and radial asked me not to publicly let people know I would say email me and I would be glad to tell you..I dont necessarly think its right but for a company to hopefully give a "good" group buy discount I would respect their wish...I dont know exactly why they are doing it but like I said it seems the wheel companies do this all the time..But things might be different if you asked REALLY NICELY!! I just bought new wheels (be here today) so I dont even really care, I just love to throw my opinion in there.

KC993

This is a product offer by other dealers nationwide and it IS a GROUP BUY, not a BID...
12 years ago, I had bought a set of BBS RS 3-piece wheels from one of their dealer "Creative Motors" and paid $650 for a set of 16x7, 16x8.
They had WANTED me to tell everybody I knew to go and get a set...
Maybe in the future we should have a GROUP BID for something like this...
Thank you for the REALLY NICE offer on this Baath Party price...but I think I would pass...

96P993

Has anyone called Radial yet??

GratefulJED

Paul was more than fair, and since everyone here wishes for a different thing, he wishes to deal with you individually to get it absolutely right. No problems here!

PogueMoHone

I called and got the answer I expected, they all sell for the same price it seems.

What constitutes price fixing?

Is it when every dealer has the same price?

Is it when every dealer is afraid they will lose the franchise if they lower the price?

Is it when price is made a condition of the franchise?

Can a manufacturer legally control the retail price?

magnetic1

Correct me if I am wrong, they cannot control price, but they can control use of trademarks etc. They could say.. o hey.. well if you want to sell for mega cheap publically, then you can't use our name?

In the world of business, there are close relationships. Perhaps Fikse was upset and Paul just did not want to jeopardize a long standing relationship w/ them by going against their suggestions of posting pricing? or maybe Paul just wants to deal with each person individually because there are so many options here? or maybe he feels he can do better on pricing by not publically posting? Who knows.

What I DO know is that this is no sales pitch by Paul, I assure you. remember, Paul wasn't the one coming on here looking for people to buy wheels. He was a source that is highly respected around here and we contacted him.

George from MD

I posted the price I paid- I wouldn't expect a price much lower than that. Paul's price was a few hundred dollars cheaper than I was quoted by others.

I don't know what his agreement with Fikse says but I am aware that a number of vendor agreements publicly prohibit posting pricing discounts. Manufacturers and vendors want to make as much as possible (don't we all?) and publicly posting discounts would (I think) lead to progessively lower pricing. It would also have the effect of alienating previous customers (how do you think this year's Cayenne buyers are going to feel when Porsche drops the price by $20K next year?)

I have no affiliation with Paul other than being a satisfied customer and don't really care what you guys do but I would be highly surprised if his pricing wasn't among the most competitive out there.

Liteswap is making an effort on everyone's behalf and ought to be recognized for that- not castigated for honoring Paul's request.

And if you think Fikse's (or even decent BBS's) are anywhere near $650 a set... well... I'll just stop there.

ca993twin

Eric,

Thanks for taking the time to try and help your fellow Rennlisters. I've placed a call, and am waiting for Paul to return my call with a price quote. I appreciate your efforts, and don't think you should be held accountable for the "goodness" of the price that Paul is able to quote. Thanks.

KC993

George,

I also bought a set of K5 for $3200 from Wheels Enhancement @1996, and just recently paid $400 for the jack stands...
I am a small business owner for 16 years so I know all about profits and the big companys' BS.

I am not looking at compairing deals with 12 year old pricing, just gave an exemple of how other vendors was practicing their businesses...

You can stop whereever you want but you need to understand other's points before you really stop...

I WILL STOP HERE....

adsc4s

Eric,
Thanks for working on our behalf. I have also left Paul a message and awaiting his return call. Just as a point of reference, a west coast wheel retailer will sell the FM10 18" for $3580 and add $75 a wheel for full polish.

I am hopeful our group buy leverage will get us a significant discount from that.

George from MD

KC- there are reasons why Paul might not want or be able to allow his prices to be publicly posted. They are, in my and others opinions, perfectly understandable. Just because some other company does it differently is no reason to expect him to.

I thought your example, and the inclusion of twelve year old prices which didn't have any bearing on the point of your story, was a bit (I'm being polite) antagonistic.

BTW Paul is a well respected and trusted vendor in this area. And Fikse is hardly a big company but is (as I understand it) one started by two guys who used to work for a big company (Boeing) and were laid off. They have a stellar reputation and are not known for practicing "big company BS".

C'mon, you weren't really looking to buy any new wheels anyway, were you? (OK I'll stop now I'm the one being antagonistic).