Cash & Carry Wholesale – How Do You Negotiate Discounts?

🇬🇧 الإنجليزية (English)

First: What is the Cash-&-Carry system?

• Payment in cash or by card upon collection

• No delivery service (you take the goods yourself)

• Prices are usually net (excluding taxes)

• Reserved for business owners only (requires customer card)

Second: Types of discounts (Rabatte) you can negotiate

• Quantity discount (Mengenrabatt) → Discount for bulk purchases, e.g., 10 cartons or more

• Tiered pricing (Staffelpreis) → Price decreases depending on quantity (sometimes displayed on shelves)

• Customer card discount → Exclusive discounts for business customers with a customer card

• Negotiation discount → Direct negotiation with department manager or sales staff for regular purchases

• Clearance / leftover stock → Discounts on products nearing expiry or with changed packaging

• Contract / framework agreement → Fixed discount with monthly or quarterly agreements with account manager

Third: How to negotiate smartly (even at METRO)

1. Prepare company file: Gewerbe certificate + tax number, short description of your business, list of regular products, expected monthly quantities.

2. Approach customer service or department manager politely.

   • Example: “I am new as a business customer here and would like to regularly purchase larger quantities. Are there special conditions or tiered prices for regular customers?”

   • Or: “If I buy 20 cartons per month, would a fixed discount be possible?”

3. Ask to be registered in “Regular customer special prices” program or have a permanent discount code added to your account.

Fourth: Smart strategies to increase discounts

• Register as a regular customer → Monthly or seasonal discounts

• Combine purchases with another trader → Larger invoice = better discount

• Subscribe to newsletter → Access to exclusive offers

• Prove regular purchases → Claim retrospective discounts

Fifth: Practical examples of actual discounts

• Buying 30 cartons of drinks monthly → Up to 5–8 % discount

• Framework supply contract → Fixed discount + easier payment terms

• End-of-month / temporary offers → Up to 20–30 % on certain goods

Sixth: Important notes

• Prices at METRO and Selgros vary by branch and region

• Some do not negotiate individual prices but give discounts on monthly invoices

• You can always request a free product sample (Warenprobe)