Today I want to help save you some money when you plan to purchase lighting gear. Whether you are looking at cables, lighting gear, or lights you may have noticed you can find just about anything online!
So how do you get the best price?
In this post, I’ll help break down some “behind the scenes” pricing and things to keep in mind before you purchase lighting gear.
#1: Talk to a Dealer
My number one piece of advice to save money when buying lighting gear is to talk to a dealer.
Now, why is that?
A dealer has access to buy equipment and lights at dealer cost.
The dealer then sells the piece of equipment and/or lights at the purchase price. The gap in-between the dealer’s cost and the purchase price is what the dealer makes to pay the bills and their employees.
What is MAP?
The price you see online is mostly likely MAP which stands for Minimum Advertised Price. This means that there is a minimum price that online dealers can sell the product for.
But for some lighting gear there is no minimum advertised price. How does this help you?
You Might Be Missing Out
Let’s say you want to purchase four new lights. You found the best price online and you’re going to purchase them from this online retailer, which is great and they will gladly accept your order! There’s no quantity discount, you are buying those lights at that cost.
There’s a downfall to purchasing online unless you’re just buying one light. I would recommend at least checking with a dealer first.
Dealers can help you save money if you are purchasing more than one piece of lighting gear. They may actually surprise you. Always be sure to ask what their best price is.
Dealing with a Faulty Product
Have you ever had to take on a warranty claim with a manufacturer? It’s not an easy task! So much time is invested before you even get a new product sent to you.
But if you order your lighting gear from a local dealer and have an issue with the product the dealer can handle it for you. You can just bring in the faulty product and the dealer can exchange it for a new one. This leaves you out of the warranty process.
When comparing to purchasing online versus ordering from a local dealer you not only want to consider the cost, you also want to consider the service. Is saving $30 really worth hours of headaches in dealing with issues?
