Some bar associations provide a discount for a variety of products. They enter into agreements with vendors, get discounts, and pass those discounts along to you. I don’t know anything about the financial arrangements between the vendors and the associations.

I’m a member of one bar association that provides discounts on a number of products to the members. We’re offered a 20 percent discount on Lenovo computers. Seems like a good deal.

Just How Good a Deal Is It?

Last week, we needed to buy a new laptop when one of our old computers died. We did a bit of research and found that Lenovo is typically ranked in the top tier of laptop makers. We picked out one that met our needs.

Then we went through the bar association link to get a price and see what our 20 percent discount would save us. The laptop retails for more than a thousand dollars. I figured 20 percent would nearly justify the dues for the bar association, so I was feeling pretty good about my savings.

While we researched the price in one window, we opened another window to compare prices on Amazon. We searched Amazon and found the identical make, model, and specifications for the laptop.

This is where it got weird. In one window, we have the bar association deal. In the other window, we have the Amazon deal. One definitely had a better price than the other. Which one?

The Results of Our Experiment

The Amazon price was better than the discounted bar association price. It was cheaper to buy the laptop from Amazon. I was stunned.

But wait, there’s more.

The laptop would also be delivered faster from Amazon than through the bar association deal. We can easily get the machine from Amazon overnight.

So it’s cheaper and faster for the  exact same product through Amazon than through the bar association. Unbelievable. I really couldn’t believe my eyes.

That got me wondering, so I checked some other “deals” offered by my bar association. It’s tough to do an apples-to-apples comparison on many of its offerings. The computer was the easiest offering to evaluate. My quick evaluation revealed that most of the deals weren’t very appealing.

Hopefully, your bar association offers you better discounts than mine. Don’t assume, however, that it has the best deal. Don’t be like me and automatically trust that the association is looking out for you. Use caution before you buy, and don’t assume that your association is negotiating a good deal on your behalf. You need to keep looking out for you.