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Negotiating the price of hearing aids

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Edited

Has anyone ever tried to negotiate to purchase a hearing aid? My audiologist wants $6800 for a set of Oticon More. I called several places and prices vary. I was wondering if I should try to ask my audiologist for a lower price.

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You made the first correct move calling other places to get a price quote. In doing so you will find there can be a much as a $1000 different between what one dealer might charge versus another when buying two aids.

And should you happen to get a few price quotes that are close together, then pick the Audi you feel will give you the best service and then ask for the following.

Request a four year warranty instead of accepting the standard three year.
Request a 20% discount on any aid accessory you might want.
Maybe even a year supply of batteries or (or both).

Remember - everything is negotiable but make sure you put things in writing before you hand over your credit card.

If you do it correctly and politely, anything is negotiable. Even writing a check instead of using a credit card should get you a little discount. If the practice advertises payments without interest, they are probably paying between 6-10% to whomever they sell that contract to. They would much rather give you a discount and not have to go through the finance company. Most people simply don’t ask for a discount and that is why they don’t get it. To get a discount you will probably have to talk to the owner or manager, a simple employee probably does not have that discretionary power. And be nice, not belligerent. You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.

Give ziphearing.com49 a call, ask for Grant. You will be happy. Be flexible, try Phonak etc. and get a Free trial until you find something you like. Here’s the hardest part, finding a good, honest Audi. BTW, zip will recommend several Audi’s in your area.

I have found that I have never been charged for asking for a discount. On the contrary, by asking I sometimes get a lower price.

I use Zip Hearing but got a good price but a mediocre or worse local audi. Try following the advice of mazda4me above and you may get a better experience.

I assume you checked your insurance for coverage and you’re not a veteran. If so, you could
ask your hearing care professional about local grant programs or foundations and ask your local Lions Club if they participate in the Affordable Hearing Aid Project. Some audiologists are starting to “unbundle” their services, which is not great for new hearing aid wearers but something to know. Costco is another lower cost option.

I think it depends on what kind of leverage you have in your negotiation. When I bought my OPN 1s, the audi wanted $6400 for the pair. Fortunately I have insurance with a 5% copay and as long as I go for an in-network provider, the other 95% is covered completely. This audi is not an in-network, so I told her I would only pay the 5%, and she can take it up with the insurance company for the rest, or else I’d just go to an in-network provider. She agreed, I paid her the $320, and she eventually accepted a payment of $3400 from my insurance company. So all in all, she only got $3720 for the pair, instead of the $6400 she originally wanted from me. But she knew she’d get less money from the insurance company and she was OK with it to win my business.

I called Zip hearing and they gave me a really good price but the problem is they recommended a place that the person is not an audiologist but a hearing specialist. I was disappointed as I wanted a qualified audiologist to test and program my hearing aids.

I don’t think you should look down on (Hearing Instrument Specialist). Even though they’re not Audiologist, they’re fully trained and qualified to dispense and test and program your hearing aids just the same as audiologists. Many Costco hearing aids dispensers are HIS although some are audiologist as well. You don’t need the extra knowledge and training an audiologist receives in order to dispense hearing aids properly and effectively.

Audiologists are not guaranteed to do a better job for you than HIS. A good HIS who cares for the patient’s success beats a bad audiologist who doesn’t have the same attitude any given day.

How do I know the is getting the Oticon More hearing aids from Oticon instead of some knock off brand? Oticon only listed Audiologist to try their hearing aids.

Edited

I think you’re making incorrect assumptions here. On the Oticon website, whether it be for the More or the OPN S or OPN, Oticon refers to Hearing Care Professionals (). This encompasses both audiologists and hearing instrument specialists. If you see listing of only audiologists somewhere on the Oticon website, that’s most likely just coincidental and doesn’t imply to exclude as being unqualified or unauthorized to dispense Oticon hearing aids.

The HCP whom I bought the Oticon OPN 1 from is actually not an audiologist, but really an HIS. But she’s fully authorized to dispense Oticon hearing aids just like any audiologist. I remember in my second fitting session for the OPN 1, she enlisted an Oticon sales rep to join and help her in my fitting session. In other sessions, she called up Oticon technical support directly when she needed help. She had turned in my OPN hearing aids on occasions for either repair or replacement. I’m also a person who programs my own hearing aids and the OPN 1s I get from her work just fine with the Oticon Genie 2 software that I download. There’s not a doubt that I get authentic Oticon OPN 1s from her.

It’s not easy to knock off something like a major brand hearing aid then sold through legit authorized HCPs. This is very sophisticated electronics here and if you’re in doubt, maybe you can probably call Oticon support directly to verify that your particular HCP is an authorized dealer for Oticon or not.

Just going to an or CCCA audiologist does not guarantee you a good fitting. A well trained and experienced can do as good and many times better. It all depends on whether they use “Best Practices”. After 44 years in the industry and 8 years consulting through out the US, in both audiology practices and HIS practices, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in both types of practices. Do they follow “best practices”, do they offer a good trial period and do you get a good “gut” feeling when you are talking with them. Do they not try to pressure you into a hurried sale? These are more important than credentials. Many audiologists will disagree, but I have seen it first hand.

All the responses are informative and helpful. I did notice the Oticon website mentioned . I was concerned that an HCP may not do as well as an audiologist. I suppose it depends on who you feel comfortable
with.

@bell23456 said:

I suppose it depends on who you feel comfortable
with.

It’s more than that. Just like any professional trade, there are good ones , bad ones and a bunch in the middle. It’s how you apply yourself that makes the difference. This can be highly educated or not.

If you do your homework it will enable you to make good decisions.
Good luck.

It’s how you apply yourself that makes a difference.

I am not sure what you mean by that but the the person working on the hearing aid must do a good job fitting them.

The first paragraph was pointed at the hearing aid fitter, highly educated or not.

The second paragraph was pointed at you.

Looking at this from the other side of the fence, I’d rather have three ‘negotiated’ sales where the margin takes a bit of a bash than one where someone hangs out the trial period or longer then bounces the product off under a ‘suitability’ argument of consumer law.

As a small business, we can function with changes to margin and incorporate them into the bottom line. Refunds just kill the cash flow though. Especially as you’ve already done all the work.

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