That is correct. We canceled all the discounts (other than Military/LEO) for a couple of reasons:
#1: Google & "deal" websites
Everyone and their dog would use a forum discount. This detracts from the "forum discount" mentality.
It didn't benefit forum members the most. It benefited random people searching for it the most.
Regardless how big and bold you make a discount state it only applies to a certain state, people still try to push orders through.
This causes additional headaches, order delays, and eats up labor something fierce.
#2: Military LEO discounts
Personally, I'm ex-military. I can't speak for every Vet, but most don't expect a discount. It nice to receive a discount, however.
We liked giving forum discounts and military discounts, but, IMO, I'd rather give a discount to someone who runs into fires to save people or who deploy overseas than someone who blogs.
Forum members would get the same discount a Vet or LEO/EMS/FF get.
We can't afford to give a 10% discount store-wide for those above, and anything under a 5% discount is not worth advertising, IMO.
The average guy is not going to get excited over a 3% discount unless its on a BIG number.
Long story short: The decision took about 6mo for us to "pull the trigger", but we felt it was the best scenario for our short and long-term business goals.
There are some customers who simply won't purchase an item (regardless of the initial cost) unless they get a discount. However, most customers factor in Availability, Customer Service, AND Price into their buying decisions. In retail, you'll never be the lowest cost supplier 100% of the time. We strive to be competitive, but a race to the bottom causes a business to start sacrificing Availability and Customer Service typically, which can cause more lost customers than a price-point.