Why People Overpay on Steel Buildings
Laziness
Let’s be frank, retail outlets are perfect magnets for those who aren’t good stewards of their money. You can find just about anything sold in a retail outlet for much less elsewhere – without compromising on quality – if you are willing to take the time to do so. With just about everyone having a smartphone to access information, there are no excuses for paying retail unless you just have additional money to blow!
Do your homework!
Not Utilizing Intuition
One of the main reasons consumers overspend is that they don’t utilize their intuitive nature. Though there may not be a consensus on what is considered good common sense, most would agree it relates to sound judgment in practical matters. In most cases of overpaying,
most consumers can recall a point in the buying transaction where something seemed out of place, or they felt uneasy with the situation. Instead of honoring these thoughts or feelings, they dismissed them as erroneous and proceeded to purchase. In hindsight, they realized they were adequately informed by their nervous system to pause or curtail the process. In other words, they did not utilize their intuition; therefore, they overpaid.
Many commission salesmen embellish things as well as attempt to motivate consumers to buy unneeded additional items. Though we all rely on salesmen from time to time, we don’t have to blindly accept all of their recommendations.
Take the time to get still and ponder all of the diverse information presented and collected. You will eventually become aware of a sound judgment regarding what direction to take. Wait for this intuitive guidance of understanding, then proceed.
Not Reviewing Enough Bids
We are living in an era where reviewing 2 or 3 bids may not be a sufficient number to fully evaluate fair market rates. Moreover, some companies are purposely overcharging to catch lazy customers who haven’t done their homework. These companies use very creative sales gimmicks. For example, they may say, “We just had someone cancel a building order of this size building (always a size close to the size building you are looking for). If you can pay the balance off now, we will sell it to you for only…” Any customer purchasing from one of these firms will end up paying full retail rates.
A wise customer collects four or more bids unless they have been referred to a company that has a proven track record of offering fair prices right off the bat. Needless to say, there are not many of these types of firms. To clarify, the more bids and objective data collected, the higher the probability of determining what a fair steel building price is. In summary, don’t rely on just any salesman’s statements, no matter how enticing!
If a company doesn’t post any prices on its website, I would be a little suspicious.
Not Thoroughly Reviewing Items Included on Contracts
The most common deception used by salesmen is getting customers to buy a building without any framed openings included for roll-up or sectional doors. These primary openings should be designed into the building plans. Nevertheless, management commonly trains salesmen to convince the customer its best to let a project coordinator assist them after the sale with these items. Naive customers fall for this gimmick and proceed to place deposits on the building without seeing the roll-up or sectional door opening included in the contract. Once the deposit is paid, the project coordinator can now charge $1,000 to $2,000 per opening. If the customer refuses to pay, then they get a building without the needed openings.
I have spoken to countless customers who realized after the fact that some or all the accessories they expected to get were not included. This can occur when a company lists the items, yet the box next to the items must be checked for the item to be included. Needless to say, these customers were forced to pay retail rates for these items after the initial order.
You would be amazed how many people don’t thoroughly read their contacts. Remember, it is not what a salesman says that counts, it is what he puts in writing. A Purchase Order will not only have pertinent information on the building but also the terms of the purchase. I must admit, all terms seem to favor the seller; however, some terms have information that is not easily understood or is unjustified.
Not Creating a Budget
This occurrence is often brought about when overspending on a steel building because a buyer has not taken the time to formulate a budget. Without this compass, so to speak, a consumer has no way of clearly knowing how financially off-track they are as the project proceeds. There can and will be unforeseen costs. It is not uncommon for those who haven’t formed a budget to have to halt a project because they have exhausted their resources and now need to secure an additional loan to complete the project. It’s amazing how things tend to stay within our financial budgets when we create a budget from the start.
