Category: Tricky Sales Tactics Exposed

Ever had a salesperson tell you about a “today only” deal that you just couldn’t pass up? These are always ploys to talk you into a bad decision. We’ll expose the most common sales strategies here.

Chickens, Eggs & Online Reviews

We were recently contacted by the president of a window manufacturer with a concern about the way we were reviewing her products.  We know running a business can be stressful and the thought of less than positive info about your company isn’t thrilling.  We get that, but the point of the site is to provide our thoughts on various products to folks considering a replacement window project.  It’s not our job to be nice.

We’re in touch with manufacturing folks all the time and we typically don’t write a post about each one.  The reason we wanted to write about this one relates to this specific comment she made:

“I’m certain the manufacturers you carry enjoy the benefits of a favorable review on your site, while those of us you compete against mysteriously have less than stellar reviews.”

This misses a really important point and it occurs to us that other reasonable people might come to the same errant conclusion.  For that reason we wanted to make sure we address it.  While it’s a bit of a chicken an egg scenario, the ultimate answer is pretty clear.  I hope.

Do we give favorable reviews to the products we carry as she suggests or do we carry products that compare well with the other offerings in the marketplace?

There is really nothing mysterious about it.  Like most businesses our only goal is to grow the business.  We work hard to earn more customers every day.  In that effort we know we need to offer great products that will hold up over time from a manufacturer that is likely to be around for the long haul.

We don’t want to send our reps into a customer’s home with 25 window samples so we evaluate the options ahead of time and we make recommendations based on what they’re trying to accomplish.

There is a lot of effort that goes into deciding which products to offer.  Much more than most customers probably realize.   That’s ok. We’re supposed to be the window experts and we take our job pretty seriously.  We routinely evaluate new window options to make sure we’re aware of what is going on in the marketplace.

I would bet we spend 50-100 hours per year evaluating window options to decide if we want to offer them through our business.  Even after doing this for years we still routinely compare window options.  We do it all the time; we’re crazy like that.  Our customers are hiring a professional window company and they want our expert advice.  We take that seriously.

At the end of the day we offer a rather expansive range of replacement windows.  We have basic double pane single hung vinyl windows for a rental property, we have fancy triple pane options for the greenest of customers, we offer a complete line of historic wood and aluminum clad windows and we’re about to bring on a new composite window line.  The shortest warranty we offer is 20 years and most everything we offer comes with a complete lifetime warranty.

There are quite a few windows that we don’t carry because we’re not thrilled with some aspect of the product, the company, the warranty, etc.  Sometimes customers specifically ask us to install a model they want.  We will do that when we can, but we often refuse those requests as we know we’re the ones that will be blamed if/when something doesn’t perform as expected.  We stick with quality because we want happy customers.  I would much rather lose an order than have an unhappy customer.  That very scenario played out yesterday at our Alexandria, VA office.

We do carry some of the products that we’ve reviewed on the site and we’ve made note of that.  We’re offering the best products we’re aware of and we’ll continue to do that as long as we’re in charge around here.

So what’s the bottom line?

We carry the best replacement windows that we know of.  If we find better products we’ll carry those.  If we knew of better products and didn’t at least offer them we’d be doing our customers a great disservice.  That’s what you would want from any professional company, isn’t it?

The Large Order Discount and Other Tricks

This one made us chuckle.  It’s a combination of the “you’re getting a special deal” and the “you need to order right now to save”.  That combination is a bit of a work of art in the sales business and can be a pretty deadly combination.  We wouldn’t be surprised if this one was more successful than we know.  Here’s how it works:

You’re getting a free quote to replace the windows in your home.  When the salesperson is presenting the prices and going through all of the discounts and promotions you tell him you want to get a couple of quotes to compare.

Of course he knows that if you get other quotes you’ll see that his “special” deal is not very good at all.  What does he do?  He’ll tell you that another customer of his just placed a very large order.  Maybe it was 200 windows for an apartment building.  It just so happens that they will be placing that order tomorrow and if you act now he can put your windows on that same order which will qualify you for a volume discount.  You’ll get pricing as if you ordered 200+ windows, but you’re really only ordering 10 windows.  That sounds like a pretty fantastic deal right?  Except it’s completely not true.

Years ago I worked in one of the largest replacement window plants on the east coast.  We produced around 4,000 replacement windows per day.  That’s 20,000 windows per week, 80,000 windows per month, you get the idea.  Based on that scale, even if there really was another order from this local company (which there certainly isn’t), the plant doesn’t offer a volume discount.  Even if the plant did offer a volume discount it would be something like $10 per window, or $100 total for your 10 window project.

Once you get an idea of the scale involved in manufacturing this trick seems sillier and sillier, but most folks have no idea.

The thought of getting your windows at a special discount just because you had the good fortune to get a quote on the same day as they were going to enter a large order is just too much for some folks to resist.  Of course the discount offered is likely thousands of dollars which is necessary to get you to make a rash decision.

You can be sure that the salespeople sign up customers using this tactic all the time.  They then meet up with each other a joke about the sales they made that day.  You don’t want to be one of the people they’re joking about.

Find more info on replacement window sales tactics here.

Have fun!

If you’re looking for a window company right now, the best advice we have is to check out our list of the best window companies all over the country.  You can find it right here. 

Replacement Window Trade-In Program

If you’ve been shopping for replacement windows you may have seen this ad running in your town.  “Trade in your old windows and SAVE!”

I may not have told you much about my background, but I did sell cars in college and I think that’s an experience anyone who wants to work in business should have.  You learn more about people in 6 months on a car lot than you will doing about anything else.  This replacement window promo always reminds me of the old days selling cars in Lafayette, IN.

I guess it works because the idea of trading something in sounds a little nicer that throwing it out.  It really does sound nicer.  You wouldn’t throw out your old car, you trade it in for a nicer model.  It’s pretty easy to see what happens to your old car after you traded it in.  Just swing by the dealers lot a week later and you’ll see it looking all shine with balloons ties to it and a SALE sign in the windshield.

What happens to your old windows after you’ve traded them in?  They go to the dump.  It is completely impossible to reuse them for anything other than an art project and it’s pretty darn tough to recycle them (although we have an upcoming post on recycling building products). You can be sure they’ll never be used as windows again.

Why then do companies pay thousands of dollars to run ads referring to a window trade-in program?  Generally it’s because the window business is pretty competitive and they’re looking for a way to attract your attention.  Does that make them bad companies, no.  This one is a little different than some of the other window sales tactics we’ve outlined.

It sure does make their ads silly and it might make them deceptive if they’re telling you that your old windows really are going somewhere other than the trash heap.

Some lucky highschooler might be thrilled to drive your old car, but there is nobody who wants your junky old windows.

Learn more about replacement window sales tricks here and find our in-depth reviews of all major replacement windows right here.

Have fun!

If you’re looking for a window company right now, the best advice we have is to check out our list of the best window companies all over the country.  You can find it right here. 

Buy 2 Get 1 Free Replacement Window Sale!

We see ads like this running all over the country.  Sometimes it’s a buy 2 get 1, sometimes it’s buy 3 get 1 or even buy 5 get 1.  Maybe some discount levels seem more plausible to folks which is why they would vary the amount.  While that would be an interesting psychology experiment, it’s a silly way to shop for replacement windows.

If you remember anything from this site, remember that nothing in the window business changes every day or every week or every month.  If the company charges prices that are high enough to allow them to run a buy 2 get 1 free sale then they were charging people way too much before that sale started.  Do you want to work with a company that charges folks way more than they need to?  I hope not.

Ads like this are designed to instill a sense of urgency.  To reinforce the idea that you’d better buy now or you’ll miss the boat on this great deal.  We know you’ll see ads like this for shoes or pizzas, but replacement windows are a different animal.  Notice the great pizza ad at the top of the page, makes me hungry.

Consider that you’ll buy windows for your home once.  They’ll likely last 30 years or more and the typical contract price will be $7,000 or so.  That makes windows different than a pizza.  The proprietor of the local pizza shop may offer a real sale that will eat into his profits on the order because he knows you’ll be impressed with his work and you’ll come back for more.

If the window company does a great job your windows will be done and you won’t be coming back for any more.  Sure you may tell your friends or you may order something else in the future, but if you do you’ll just tell them about the great sale and they’ll never buy at full price.

Here’s how this really works.  Many window companies will operate on hugely inflated starting prices.  They call these list prices.  For a typical vinyl window they’ll tell you the list price is around $1,200 – $1,500.  Then when they come to give you your quote they’ll say, “sure if you buy 2 at list price you get one free.”

We’ll do the math for you.  That’s 2 windows at $1,200 each so $2,400 and they’ll give you another free.  They’ll be installing 3 windows for $2,400 or $800 per window.  That’s a horrible deal.

All of the sudden your fantastic savings has turned into a pretty bad deal, but they’re not done.  You’ll soon hear about their appointment saver discounts or time management discounts which are designed to push you into signing up on the spot.  Now if you don’t buy today you’ll lose the appointment saver discount and the buy 2 get 1 free sale ends tomorrow.  You wouldn’t want to let those savings get away would you?

C’mon, this is one of the silliest tricks in the book, but companies use it every day.  We know, you’re probably saying. “oh I would never fall for that”.  We know, everyone says that, but these companies do millions of dollars in business every year.  Someone is falling for it every single day.  Don’t let it be you!

You can find more info on replacement window sales scams and our in-depth reviews of replacement windows here.

If you have a copy of an ad showing a discount like this we’d appreciate it if you can send it over.  We’ll be posting them as example for folks.

Have fun!

Time Management Discounts

We have to say this is one of the silliest names for a sales tactic we’ve ever heard.  About a month ago our company participated in a home and garden show in Richmond, VA.  After the shows we typically have around 100 appointments with potential customers looking for quotes to replace their windows or doors.

Interestingly, all of the folks who come to a show to get info on windows end up getting quotes from a few companies who were at the show so we end up competing with the same companies over and over again for about two weeks.

As is typical we found about 90% of the folks we met with ended up working with us, but with these customers we heard a new one.  we repeatedly had folks asking us if we had a time management discount.  We’d never heard that one before, but it turns out it’s another way to phrase the old “appointment saver” discount.

Remember that companies will always be looking for a reasonable sounding way to convince you to sign up on the spot without comparing their options.  Companies that operate this way know full well that they’re not offering a great deal relative to their competitors.  If they said, “please buy from me without exploring your options because I need to pay my bills and if you shop around you’ll figure out this is a bad deal and you won’t give me your money. If you do that I won’t make any money, so please just buy from me right now without thinking it over.”

Of course, that’s not a convincing sales pitch, so they justify in any way they can.  In this case they’re telling folks that if they need to meet with you to give you a quote, then meet with you again later to sign up the paperwork they’ll lose a lot of money by making two visits.  Of course this explains the very practical reason they need to offer a time management discount.  Ha!

The business person in me would quickly respond with all sorts of info about bottle necks and constraints, but the simplest answer is this is just a bunch of junk.  They have plenty of time in the day to meet with you.

If you hear about time management discounts, do your self a favor and cancel the appointment.  If you area  gluten for punishment go ahead with it and post your experiences here.

In the meantime you can find more info on tricky sales tactics here.

Have fun!

If you’re looking for a window company right now, the best advice we have is to check out our list of the best window companies all over the country.  You can find it right here. 

All Window Warranties are NOT Created Equal

It’s easy for folks to hear salesperson after salesperson say their windows have a “lifetime” warranty.  You can get used to hearing it and you might start to think that they’re all the same.

best replacement windows of 2015

On the other hand, companies that offer more limited warranties will try to explain why a shorter warranty is better.  They’ll say that a lifetime warranty is actually only good for a few years (which is not true and they probably know it).  Why would they do this?  Because nobody would buy their products if they couldn’t explain why the warranty was so short.  Renewal by Andersen is a great example of this one.

Renewal by Andersen Limited Warranty
Here you can see the very short warranty offered by Renewal by Andersen. Why would they offer a warranty this short?

This is a 2 year warranty on installation, 10 years on the oh so fancy Fibrex frames.  That is a REALLY short warranty.

Update: Renewal by Andersen has since updated their warranty and it’s now 20 years on the frames.  Perhaps they took our advice!  It’s still shorter than what you’d get from a lot of other companies, but 20 years is a pretty long time.  

We also hear from customers that they don’t want to depend on a warranty so they want to pick a quality product that they think will hold up.  Of course picking a quality product is a great strategy, but in discounting the warranty they’re ignoring a crucial data point indicating the quality and anticipated lifespan of the product.

Here’s the deal.  Brochures and flyers are written by salespeople.  Warranties are written by lawyers and engineers.  There’s a big difference.

The warranty on any window or door product is a direct indication of how long the manufacturer actually expects the product to hold up.  If they offer a long and comprehensive warranty they’re telling you they are confident that the windows will last.  If they offer a shorter or more limited warranty they are directly saying that they think the product may fail after that point.

Think about it this way:  a shorter warranty will absolutely result in fewer sales.  The manufacturer knows that some percentage of their potential customers will thoroughly read the warranty and if it isn’t as good as their competitor the customer will buy elsewhere.  Why then would one company offer a warranty that is more limited than their competitor?  Remember, they know doing this will result in lower sales.  They do it because they have to.  They do it because they know that some percentage of their products will fail after those limitations run out and they don’t want to be on the hook for the repairs.

So what are the differences between different window warranties?

You’ve probably seen that most decent replacement windows offer some type of “lifetime” warranty.  That’s absolutely true, but as with most things, the difference is in the details.  When it comes to warranties the differences can be huge.

Here are 5 common differences:

Labor coverage – You’ll see a lot of “lifetime” warranties, but when you actually read them the labor is only covered for a limited period.

There are also 2 types of labor to consider.  There is the labor of the installer who did the initial work, and then there’s the labor of the service technician who comes out to replace a defective part.  Are they both covered?  Is one limited to 1 year or even completely excluded?  They may be.  If the service labor is limited who is going to repair a broken window or replace a damaged balance?  How much will it cost?

Remember the Renewal by Andersen example above.  2 years of warranty on installation.  Many companies cover these items for as long as you own the home.  That’s a BIG difference.

Glass breakage coverage – Do you know how much it can cost to replace an insulated glass unit?  Remember, these aren’t the old single pane windows you might have had growing up.  A new sealed glass unit can easily run $100 – $200 for a typical replacement window and the labor can double the total cost.  We recently got a quote to repair a broken window from a local competitor to make sure we knew what the competition was charging.  It was over $400 for one piece of glass in a typical double pane window.  That’s real money.

Here is a clip from the Simonton Prism window warranty.  You can see the insulated glass warranty is prorated overtime, but the glass breakage warranty is solid for 25 years.

Simonton Prism Window Warranty
This is the warranty for the Simonton Prism line. Their other lines have different warranties so be sure you know what you’re getting.

Some companies offer a glass breakage warranty to everyone they do business with.  Some offer it at an additional cost and others don’t offer it at all.  When you’re considering a window project it’s important to know what you’re getting.

When you hear that baseball go through the window you’ll be glad you know what you picked!

Hardware & moving parts – As you get a few quotes and look at window samples you’ll quickly see that there are hundreds of choices and they all use slightly different bits and pieces.  That’s not a problem, except when you need a new lock 10 years down the road.  How will you get one that matches the rest of the windows in your home?

Some companies cover the hardware, balances and all moving parts for as long as you own the home and some limit that coverage to just a few years.  This is an important distinction.

Screen coverage – We frequently see warranties that exclude screens.  Screens aren’t expensive, but the frames tend to be proprietary so you may have trouble getting a replacement down the road.

Screens are really easy to fix or replace so any company interested in taking care of their customers after the sale will have no problem covering screens.  A company that excludes screens is telling you that they don’t want to hear from you once your check clears.

Coastal coverage – This one can be important.  We recently read a window warranty from Ideal Windows that defined coastal as being within 1 mile of any tidal body of water.  Right now I’m easily a 2 hour drive from the beach, but I’m less than a mile from a tidal river.  I grew up in Chicago, less than a mile from Lake Michigan, which has tides.  Both of these locations would be considered coastal under that definition and as a result the warranty would be extremely limited.

Ideal Windows Warranty
This is a clip from the Ideal Windows warranty. Is your home “coastal” under this definition? It might be.

I can guarantee you my family in Chicago doesn’t consider their home to be near the coast.  Someone in that position might skip right over a section on coastal coverage and they would be out of luck if they have a problem down the road.  Maybe I like reading these because I have several lawyers in my family, but the devil is in the details.

As you can see from these basic examples (we could go on all day) there are HUGE differences in the warranties of replacement windows.  We know it is REALLY dull to read the fine print of a window warranty.  It only takes a few minutes and we can guarantee you it will be time well spent.

If you remember any one thing remember that a more limited warranty results in lower sales.  Why would a company offer a warranty that results in lower sales?  Because they have to.  Because they know their products won’t stand the test of time.

This is a HUGE data point and you’ll be remiss to overlook it.

Have a question about a specific window warranty?  Post it here and we’ll dig into the details.  We really do love this stuff.

The Appointment Saver Discount & Other Remodeling Scams

You signed up for a free in-home quote for a remodeling project and as things are wrapping up the salesperson hits you with a “special” discount if you would just sign on the dotted line right now.

You remember very clearly that they told you the prices would be guaranteed for a year, but all of the sudden the high price is good for a year and the lower price is going to expire when she walks out the door.  What’s the deal with that?

best replacement windows of 2015

If you remember noting else, remember that this type of pricing scheme is a sure sign that you’re getting a bad deal.

Think about it this way: this salesperson does this for a living and she knows much more about the pricing than you do.  If she was sure that what she was offering was such a great deal then she would be confident that you could think it over and you would certainly call her back to get this great deal.  Why would she come up with a strategy to get you to sign up without considering your options?  Because she knows it’s not a good deal.

Of course she can’t tell you it’s not a good deal because she gets paid commission and that would be a bad strategy.  So what does she do?  She comes up with a way to justify this short term discount.

The appointment saver discount is nothing more than a justification for manipulative pricing.  She will tell you that if you buy now while she’s already there it will save her the trip back to sign paperwork later.  She’ll tell you all of her customers call her back because she’s got the best deal in town and she ends up visiting everyone twice.

She might tell you that her accountant told her that if she could only visit each customer one time it would allow her to meet with twice as many people which would double the size of her business.  It would be worth offering a substantial discount to double the size of her business right?  Wrong.

This is a complete bunch of junk, but believe us when we tell you there are companies out there telling this story to unsuspecting homeowners all across the country tonight.

Remember when you’re hearing all of this that they explain these stories for a living.  She does this every day so she’s probably pretty good at it.  She’ll have an answer for everything and she’ll sound reasonable.  That’s her job.

If you tell her you’ll fax the paperwork after you think it over she’ll say she needs the originals.

If you tell her you’ll mail the originals in a week or two when you’re ready she’ll say the rebate ends today.

If you tell her you’ll drop the forms off at her office she’ll tell you they need your order today to meet their quota.  Next week will be too late.  Of course she may not have an office, but that’s a story for another day.

As you’re hearing all of this remember that nothing in the window business changes on a daily basis.  The ONLY reason they create pricing schemes like this is to separate you from your money.

Do you really think that if you call her up next month and tell her you want to go ahead with the project she will tell you tough luck?  Of course she won’t.  She’ll probably be pretty surprised as nobody ever calls her back, but you won’t either after you get a few more quotes.

We know getting quotes for remodeling projects can be a hassle and you may just want to be done with the process.  We have seen folks pay $5,000 – $10,000 more for a project than they needed to because the salesperson told them they needed to sign up right now to get a great deal.

Everyone says, “oh, I’d never fall for that”, but these companies do millions of dollars per year in business.  Someone does fall for it each and every day.

If you hear about an appointment saver discount, or a manufactures rebate, or a quota, or a managers special, just thank them for their time and call the next company on your list.

If you’re looking for a window company right now, the best advice we have is to check out our list of the best window companies all over the country.  You can find it right here. 

Does a magnetic seal on a window make any difference?

Here’s a question we’ve been asked quite a bit lately:  are magnatic seal windows any better than other windows?

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: No, but you don’t have to take our word for it.  Anytime you’re trying to evaluate any feature that relates to energy efficiency you don’t need to take anyone’s word for it.

Everything related to the efficiency of a window is measured.  You can compare the differences between models to see if any specific features makes any worthwhile difference.  If the rating is better the window is more efficient.  If it’s not better then it’s not more efficient.  That’s all there is too it.  Even if a feature seems like it “should” be better, if the rating is not better than the window is not more efficient.

If you find a rating does get better when you add a specific feature, the next step is to determine if it’s enough of a difference to make a decision in your purchase.

For example, the Okna 800 windows have a magnetic seal and the Okna 500 windows do not.  If this feature made a difference you’d be able to see it in the air infiltration rating.  What’s the difference in air infiltration between the two?  0.01 cfm/sqft.  That’s not very much, especially when you consider 0.30 or better is the top tier according to AAMA.

magnetic seal windows
Magnetic seals on windows typically don’t make any difference in terms of the efficiency of the window. They’re included as sales pitch and we encourage you to avoid these windows.

Is that difference entirely caused by the magnetic seal?  No, there are other differences between the two models.

Is that difference enough to warrant the extra cost?  Only you can decide, but I sure don’t think so.

Why then do some windows now come with magnetic seals?  Because it sounds attractive.  The salesperson can tell you that your fridge has a magnetic seal and that sure seals well.  Of course your fridge isn’t subjected to any winds, but he leaves that part out.

We ALWAYS recommend avoiding any product with features that are only included to be part of a sales pitch.  It should make you wonder how much of the rest of the story the salesperson told you is worthless.

For more information on various window options take a look through the best replacement windows reviews on the internet and find more info on window sales scams.  We hope this info helps as you’re thinking about new windows!

If you’re looking for a window company right now, the best advice we have is to check out our list of the best window companies all over the country.  You can find it right here. 

The Model Home Windows Program & Other Window Scams

The model home windows program is one of our favorite window sales scams. If you’ve ever seen the movie Tin Men with Danny DeVito and Richard Dryfus you know this one.  The fact that this trick is still frequently used has always surprised me.  As is the case with all of these window maneuvers they wouldn’t still exist if people didn’t buy them so watch out!

best replacement windows of 2015

The basics of this maneuver come back to the idea that if a company wants to sell you something at a price above the market price they need a way to entice you to make an irrational decision.  The irrational decision in this case is to pay more for something than you need to.

Now remember, paying more than you need to doesn’t refer to a comparison with the absolute cheapest company in town.  When you buy a remodeling project you’re buying the quality of the products, the quality of the service the strength of the warranty, etc.  All of these things have value and they’re all worth something.  When we say these companies are trying to entice you to pay more than you need to we mean after factoring all of these components into it, they’re still charging more than their competitors.

How can I be sure these companies are trying to charge you more than their competitors would?

Because it’s not my first day in this business…and also because they’re lying to you.

Remember we started this post talking about the model home discount.  This is when a company offers to sell you their products and services for an incredibly low price so they can use your house as an example of the great work they do.  They’re expecting all of your neighbors to see how great your house looks and they’re expecting to sell your neighbors windows too.

This sounds like a real win-win situation.  You get great new windows.  You know they’re going to do a great job because they want to show off their work at your home.  They’re only offering this deal to one house in the neighborhood so you’d better sign up now to take advantage right?  NO.  This is never a good deal.

In reality they’re telling you this because it’s a good story.  They need to get past the universal human tendency to be cautious.  You see we evolved over millions of years to be leery of risky situations.  This is how we as humans survived all these years.  Now they want you to sign a contract and fork over thousands of your hard earned dollars without so much as a google search?  Forget about it.  You’ll never do it….unless it’s a really fantastic deal.

You see these companies know that another universal human tendency is to LOVE a great deal and to HATE missing a great deal.  You love telling your friends about that great shirt you found at TJ Maxx or the steal of a deal you found on the clearance rack, right?  How did I know that?  Because everyone loves that.  It’s human nature.  In this case the remodeling company is attempting to use one tendency to overcome the other.

“I wouldn’t fall for that” you’re probably saying.  I know, of course you wouldn’t.  Nobody in their right mind would over pay for some sales scam.  Surprisingly these companies do millions of dollars in business each and every year.  People are going for it every day.  Nobody every buys something because they think it’s a bad deal.  These companies do a great job explaining it and you ‘re left thinking you got the deal of the century.  My what a great consumer you are!

Just remember, a model home discount is NEVER a good deal.  The price offered today will still be good tomorrow or the next day or the week after that.  If you compare your options and decide that you liked that first company then go for it, but don’t let them talk you into signing up on the spot.  You should also remember that if they take the deal next week (as I guarantee they will) then they’re telling you that all that talk about model homes was a lie.  Do you really want to work with a company that started out by lying to you?

I wouldn’t recommend it.

In extreme cases we’ve even heard these companies telling you to keep the prices secret so your neighbors don’t know what a great deal you got.  You know the real reason they want you to keep the price a secret?  Because your neighbor got the same price as you or maybe even better.

The big takeaway?  As soon as you hear a company tell you that you’re getting a great price because they want to use your home as a model for the neighborhood just picture Danny Vevito and Richard Dryfus in your front yard yelling about putting your home in Better Homes and Gardens as the “before” house.  Don’t be that sucker.

Other posts you might find helpful:

1 Year, 30 Day and TODAY ONLY Window Prices

If you’ve received a free quote from some of the larger window companies around you may have seen today only window prices like this.  They probably had some very high price say $13,000 that was good for a year.  This might be called the retail price or the MSRP.  It was probably also offered at the end of a pretty long sales pitch.

You probably didn’t expect to spend anywhere near that much so you told the salesperson that you were going to think it over and he let you know about a rebate or special promotion that was ending soon.  It was good for 30 more days and it would lower the price to $8,000.

That sounded better, but he wasn’t done yet.  After you told him you were going to think it over he called the manager.  The manager gave him a special price because he really wanted to earn your business tonight.  Maybe he needed one more sale to reach his goal.  He certainly had a decent way to explain it.  That special TODAY only price could easily have been as low as $3,000.

Remember, we started at $13,000 which was the 1-year price.  Then we were at $8,000 for the 30-day price.  That’s a pretty big discount already.  Then out of nowhere we’re at $3,000 if you buy TODAY.  This sounds too good to be true, I mean you’re getting $13,000 worth of windows for the incredible price of $3,000 right?!?

NO, these today only window prices are never a good deal.

Ask yourself one simple question and you’ll start to see through all of this.  If the company can sell these windows for $3,000 why would they have tried to charge you or anyone else $13,000.  We know a company needs to make a profit and we’re proud that our company makes a healthy profit each year, but selling a $3,000 project for $13,000 seems a little cold hearted to me.

What if this is really a once in a lifetime type deal?

If you really believe that I’ve got a bridge to sell you.  There is nothing that changes in the window business on a daily or weekly basis.  Prices do change over time just like they do in any business.  For example in the last 2 years our wholesale cost of goods has gone up 4-6%.  That’s about an $8-10 dollar per window increase…in 2 years.

If you were getting a quote for 10 windows and they said the TODAY only price was $3,000 and the 1-year price was $3,100 that would be reasonable.  $13,000 is just lying.

At the end of the day every remodeling company wants to have more customers.  Every remodeling company also only undertakes projects that they make money on.  If they’re making money on your order at $3,000 today then they’ll still take that deal tomorrow or next week.  Anytime you hear about today only window prices you can be 100% sure it’s a bad deal.

Why do they push so hard to get you to sign up NOW?

Because they know more about this business than you do.  They know how their offer compares to their competitors.  They know full well that there are other companies in town who would be glad to complete your project for $2500 with no runaround.  They know that if they give you time to think it over you’ll probably find one of these companies and they’ll lose your business.

That’s why they push so hard.  It’s the only way they can make that extra profit.

If you get that type of hard sell as you’re looking for the best replacement windows for your home just remember that there is no need to rush.  No matter what they say, if you think it over and decide that you do want to work with them they will gladly take your business.

I’ll bet you lunch that you’ll never call the hard sell type company back.  Nobody ever does.

Remember, for more great window company info you can find our suggestions for the best local companies in your area right here.