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As one of Miller’s most beloved MIG machines, the Millermatic 252 is a beast with the highest output in its class. This workhorse of a welder should be considered an investment in your capabilities, so you’re probably looking to get the best price available.
In this article, we’ll cover how to get the best price and service on the Millermatic 252 and pull back the curtain a little on how Miller’s pricing model works.
Miller Does Not Sell Directly to You
The first thing to understand is that Miller generally doesn’t sell their machines directly to customers. Instead, they mostly sell through retailers like Welding Supplies from IOC that have a trusted relationship with the Miller brand.
This means that who you buy your Miller welder from matters just as much as what machine you pick. At Welding Supplies from IOC, we’re one of Miller’s most trusted online retailers and work closely with their brand to provide you with the absolute best buying experience. In fact, no other online retailer has a better customer service team to help you both before and after your purchase.
This is important because if you go with another online store and run into issues, trying to contact Miller directly might not help. Make sure when purchasing your Millermatic 252, you choose a retailer that has thousands of trusted reviews like Welding Supplies from IOC.
“But Miller sells directly on Amazon,” you might say. It’s common to see the “Visit the Miller Store” (as shown in the image above) on Amazon and assume that you’re buying directly from Miller. However, this isn’t actually the case. Miller and Amazon do this to prevent cheap copycat manufacturers from misleading people with knockoff machines, but Miller still sells their equipment on Amazon through retailers. You can see the actual company you’re purchasing from by looking at the business name listed right below the “Buy Now” button.
Amazon Vs. Online Retailer Vs. Physical Store
So why is it important to know that Miller doesn’t sell directly to consumers if you want to get the best price on the Millermatic 252? Because it can help you understand if you should purchase from Amazon, a trusted welding store like Welding Supplies from IOC or a physical store.
Amazon might be convenient, but you’ll almost always pay a higher price for using their services. This is because Amazon takes its own cut from the price of every machine sold on its platform. In order to justify Amazon taking a piece of the pie, retailers are forced to increase their prices.
Physical stores tend to have higher prices and smaller inventories. This is because they have to worry about a storefront location. To put it simply, an online retailer can use a large warehouse out in the middle of nowhere and sell directly to you on the internet. However, a physical welding store has to pay a premium for a location that’s easily accessible to the public. That can get really expensive, so often physical stores have smaller inventories than online retailers (and higher prices).
Online retailers like Welding Supplies from IOC are the perfect sweet spot. We’re a highly trusted Miller supplier with thousands of reviews and a large inventory, so items rarely ever sell out for long. However, we also have better prices than Amazon or most physical stores.
Don’t Wait Until Price Increases Happen
When trying to get the best price on the Millermatic 252, there’s one last thing to understand. Even though Miller doesn’t sell directly to its customers, it does place a MAP pricing limit on most of its products. What that means is that Miller sets a limit on how low their retailers can sell Miller equipment.
Almost every year towards the beginning of the year, Miller raises the minimum limit on which retailers can price their machines. In other words, if you wait too long before purchasing the Millermatic 252, there’s a chance the price could go up! Especially if you’re reading this article at the beginning or end of the year, you might want to act fast before price increases happen.
In this article, we’ve moved back the curtain a little bit to show you the more complex details of how pricing on the Millermatic 252 works. This should help you have a solid understanding of why a highly trusted online retailer like Welding Supplies from IOC gives you the best price and customer service available. Check out the Millermatic 252 yourself and join our thousands of happy customers.
