fair offer for floor demo guitar

[ItsaBass]

Hi,

How much would you guys say is a fair amount for a shop to take off for a floor model that has been sitting in the shop for a few years? It is already marked at 30 percent off the normal retail price, and that seems like a good deal to me, but if I can get it cheaper without being an arsehole, I of course would like that. There is no telling what damage it has received, as it is a mild relic. Normally I hate the idea of relics, but this happens to be a very sweet guitar in a rare custom-ordered color. The only floor model items I've bought have been amps, and I think I paid $600 for a Mesa that was normally $1,000. So I am thinking of offering an amount that is 40 percent off of retail, but I don't want to push it and be an ass. Based on your experience buying demo model instruments, what do you think would be fair and polite?

I don't only mean this question as it applies to my case, but in general.

Thanks.

P.S. I am talking about a guitar that normally retails for $2,150, and it includes a case. But I would have to pay sales tax of almost 10 percent.

[ErikH]

Go 45 percent off out the door, including tax.

[ratherdashing]

Steal it while they're not looking.

[TheProphet]

Get a hot girl to pull a Mila Kunis.

[Funkfingers]

Offer hard cash.

[ItsaBass]

Yup, cold hard cash, of course. I wouldn't be so ridiculously rude as to haggle for a guitar and then ask for layaway. Just wondering what going discounts for such things are, in other people's experiences. IME, it was 40 percent off for an amp, but not sure if that sounds normal for a nice guitar.

[Jessie's ghost]

Hi,

P.S. I am talking about a guitar that normally retails for $2,150, and it includes a case. But I would have to pay sales tax of almost 10 percent.

Rent a house in Nevada and have it shipped there. You'll save a boatload.

[verbotenco]

Rent a house in Nevada and have it shipped there. You'll save a boatload.

Or stay in Oregon for a while and purchase from Musician's Friend instead. The last time I was there we had no sales tax

[Reload in 5]

if $2150 is the normal price they sell for (at GC or AMS or wherever) then I would offer $1300 for it, have the cash in my pocket, and expect to either get it for that or $1400 at the most.
The fact that it is a rare custom color means it is even less likely to ever sell. Was it special ordered? if so I bet they took a deposit they did not refund, so really they might even have a little of it paid already. 2 years seems like a long time for something to sit, and it cost them more every day it sits there.

[blueman335]

Go 45 percent off out the door, including tax.

+1. Make a low offer; all they can do is say no, and make a counter offer. Nothing to lose. If you give them a number and they jump on it, you know they'd have taken less. You want them to have to think about it, and then say 'yes'. If need be, tell them cash is tight and you were hoping for a lower number, and will have to go home and sleep on it. They don't want you leaving the store, because the odds of them making that sales drop dramatically when a customer does that. The art of negotiation, baby. Use it my friend.