Newsletter | April 2009

Welcome to SaveYourChurchMoney.com

I’m often asked why SYCM lists so few prices on our website. This month we share the reasons for this practice. While there are several, the bottom line is it helps us “save your church money.” I think you’ll find the article very informative. We’re also featuring some April special savings for your church. As always, thanks, and enjoy.

Why Don’t You List Pricing on Your Website?

Last month I received a phone call from a pastor in Idaho who had received a copy of our newsletter. He was interested in a coffee brewing system from Bunn-o-Matic for their new church building. He knew the exact model he wanted, he just needed to know his cost. I quoted him $976. As we talked further I learned that his best price to date on the same unit was almost $1300 and he had received quotes for as much as $1600. Then he said to me, “You know, I almost didn’t call you because you don’t list prices on your site! I really doubted you would save us money since you weren’t listing your prices. Obviously I’m glad I called.” I was pleased he had called as well and I went on to share with him the following two primary reasons we don’t list pricing on our site.

The first reason is simply that it costs money to list pricing and then keep all that pricing up to date. SYCM now accesses over 50,000 individual products for churches. To enter that pricing into databases and then keep it current is a major expenditure. We have decided that we cannot follow that practice and still have the lowest prices in the country! Yes, it may stop some churches from connecting with us because they think our company name is somehow a sales tactic. But if we incur the operational expenses our competitors are willing to incur, then we’ll not be able to be true to our mission, to save your church money. So we choose to stay focused on our mission.

A second reason we don’t list pricing is because of the increasing prevalence of “MAP” in our web-driven day. For years there were only two price lists that dealers worked off. They were the “Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price” and the “Dealer Net Price”. A dealer could advertise and sell products at any point between those two levels. In recent times though, an increasing number of manufacturers have a third price list “MAP”, which stands for “Minimum Advertised Price”. Dealers are instructed what the lowest price they can advertise a product for is. They’re allowed to sell below that price point, but cannot advertise below that price point. The idea is to keep dealers motivated to carry a manufacturer’s products by providing a healthy profit margin. However, this practice can cause customers to believe they’re getting a great deal (because that seems to be the going price) when they’re really not. At SYCM, we love to quote churches pricing below “MAP”, so we don’t advertise that level of pricing.

There are some other less important reasons we don’t advertise pricing, but I’ll stop with these two major ones. I hope this kind of candid information is helpful. I also trust you’ll not hesitate to contact us for a quote on any furnishing needs for your church. We really do desire to save your church money!

Seating from Comfortek Seating!

Comfortek Seating is committed to providing customers large or small with trouble free seating solutions. That’s why Comfortek was one of the first manufacturers we developed a relationship with when we started SYCM. Over the years we have provided hundreds of churches across the country seating from Comfortek, and we have never had a customer not be pleased with their purchase. The combination of quality and price point consistently makes their products a best value for churches. This month we’re able to offer our lowest prices of the year on their full line of seating. Please contact us for more information.

FireKing Security Group!

SaveYourChurchMoney.com is pleased to announce we are now an authorized distributor of products from FireKing Security Group. An unforeseen disaster can do serious damage to a church. While you can build a new building, you won’t be able to reconstruct damaged or vital records. FireKing fireproof file cabinets and data safes provide the very highest level of protection from fires, impact damage, and theft. And our pricing on these products is well below what you’ll find across the country. Please contact us for more information.

Southern Aluminum Tables and Stages!

Southern Aluminum has led the industry with unmatched durable tables and stages. Their all-aluminum banquet tables, training tables, and portable stages and risers set the standard of quality in the industry. Each order is custom-made to your specifications, color choice and leg options. Southern Aluminum is the only table company we know of with a true “Lifetime Guarantee”. With a special April discount, we’re pleased to feature Southern Aluminum as a SYCM “Value of the Month”. Please contact us for more information