Can anyone explain to my why the bearing supply industry has such an apparently daft system of discounts? I've been well aware of it for many years, but it was brought home to me particularly yesterday. I need to get a big split ball thrust race, & was half expecting trouble finding one as it's a semi-obsolete style. My usual rep at the local bearing house, who seems to look after me pretty well, is on holiday so I wasn't expecting much joy from them. A couple of calls later I found a company which said yes, it's a stock item, yours for £450+ That's around the figure I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting a high discount as a total stranger so asked if that was his best offer. His response was that that's with a 75% discount, list is £1800, but to let him know if I get a better offer elsewhere, so he must still have a bit of leeway. My local supplier used to suggest I open an account with them, as they could then offer a better discount. That always struck me as crazy, they would then be waiting longer to get less money, but it was company policy. The company has changed hands & that policy has gone now. Does anyone ever pay list price for ball & roller bearings?
Cheers Tim
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