Monday, May 31, 2010

Concept 3: Profit Equals Commission

I never really thought of this until I sold cars but... Car salespeople earn their living by inflating the price of the car you are buying. The more they inflate the price, the bigger their commission. This might seem very obvious, but we tend to lose sight of it when the smiling salesperson greets us on the car lot. They make us think they have our best interests in mind. The good salespeople do have our interests in mind. The unscrupulous salespeople are thinking how your purchase increases their commission.

One of the dealerships I worked at had a sliding scale for commissions. The higher the profit, the higher the commission. Naturally, the salespeople tried to hit that point where the commission was bumped to the higher percentage. That might mean moving you into a higher level vehicle. It might mean increasing the profit by financing sleight of hand. In both cases, this smiling salesperson, with the personable air, didn't have your best interests in mind.

I believe in paying a dealer a profit for his car. I also believe in rewarding the salesperson for their expert help. But I don't think this justifies making an unfair profit at my expense.

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