Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Silas Pradetto]

<vent>

I have some vendors that won't let me sell their products in my new online store. These people have to get with the times and realize that the entire world is based online now and if they are going to keep up they have to start allowing this.

Additionally, MAP policy is fine, but disallowing automated responses to price inquiries (aka, requiring a HUMAN person to respond to the request) is complete crap and makes it nearly impossible for the small guy to compete with people like Full Compass. Also, who wants to use their PHONE or wait for an email to get the good price???

WAKE UP PEOPLE. Online is where it's at, and you're making it awfully difficult!

</vent>

[Ivan Beaver]

When you understand that ALL the dealers have to abide by the same rules (with no "special" exceptions that are common place in some manufacturers policies -been burned by that one), you will start to understand why such policies are in place.

The main reason is so that the dealers who are working for the business, will actually be able to make a profit and feed their families.  It is easy for anybody to setup an Internet store and wait for business to come to them.  It is another to "hunt" the business.

Look at fish.  There are the ones that sit on the bottom with their mouths open and swallow anything that comes in-and there are the hunters who go after their prey.  Which ones are the most revered-admired-studied etc?

[Silas Pradetto]

Everything currently in place favors the big dealers. Sweetwater and all those others have huge advertising budgets and they CAN hunt the business--easily. They do it in every magazine and they pay Google to always be at the top. I can't compete no matter how hard I try. So really, these policies are still skewed to the big dealers, not the little guys.

And it doesn't help that some companies (hint hint) require a call center to receive orders because they don't allow INTERNET SALES.

It's no wonder no one knows about their products; there's a huge untapped market out there.

[John Roberts {JR}]

Silas Pradetto wrote on Sun, 28 June 2009 09:59

<vent> I have some vendors that won't let me sell their products in my new online store. These people have to get with the times and realize that the entire world is based online now and if they are going to keep up they have to start allowing this. Additionally, MAP policy is fine, but disallowing automated responses to price inquiries (aka, requiring a HUMAN person to respond to the request) is complete crap and makes it nearly impossible for the small guy to compete with people like Full Compass. Also, who wants to use their PHONE or wait for an email to get the good price??? WAKE UP PEOPLE. Online is where it's at, and you're making it awfully difficult! </vent>

I am awake...

You need to think about the unintended consequences of no pricing policy.

Now you see an attractive target price for you to under cut so you can win some sales from the higher priced merchant, but how long do you think you would be the lowest cost option?

There are already web crawlers that search out the cheapest price for anything. Automated price responses could likewise be harvested. There would surely be some ankle biter willing to take an even thinner margin, or use the product as a loss leader for some other pull through sale.

The result would be good for the consumer in the short term until every retailer but the one willing to limbo the lowest is left, assuming they make enough money to stay in business.

Just about anybody can set up a web store with minuscule capital investment.. Trying to rely on price as the only selling proposition is not a long term recipe for success.

Manufacturers don't make more profit from such pricing policies. They are trying to protect dealers from their own self destructive behavior so they too can make a profit and perhaps stay in business.

JR

[Ivan Beaver]

++++10000000000000000000000000

JR GETS IT!!!!!

Too many people are trying to win the race to THE BOTTOM.  Others are racing to the top.

Their choice.

[Silas Pradetto]

I didn't advocate NO MAP; I advocated allowing automated responses to lower-than-MAP inquiries that will lessen human interaction for pricing requests. Obviously, this benefits the little guy with a small staff, not Full Compass or Sweetwater with 100 sales guys.

And as a Web Developer, it's quite easy to prevent Google from seeing the lower-than-MAP prices.

I absolutely think that a dealer needs to provide service as well as sales--the customer service to back up the purchase are things Sweetwater and Full Compass are good at--but how many new companies do you see that are able to compete with these big companies? Everyone local to me went out of business; there are only a couple big online stores that succeed and everyone else goes broke.


AND--on a side note, how do *these vendors* think they can disallow online sales and stay in business? Or at least grow their business...

[Ivan Beaver]

So is Sweetwater etc selling the products you are talking about?

If not, then you are not competing against them now are you?

[John Roberts {JR}]

Silas Pradetto wrote on Sun, 28 June 2009 10:37

Everything currently in place favors the big dealers. Sweetwater and all those others have huge advertising budgets and they CAN hunt the business--easily. They do it in every magazine and they pay Google to always be at the top. I can't compete no matter how hard I try. So really, these policies are still skewed to the big dealers, not the little guys. And it doesn't help that some companies (hint hint) require a call center to receive orders because they don't allow INTERNET SALES. It's no wonder no one knows about their products; there's a huge untapped market out there.

If the dealer function were reduced to an automated order taker, what possible reason is there for the manufacturer to not just sell direct?  The dealer needs to be adding value to the process to justify existence.

If this was  just bias toward the status quo there wouldn't be any web retail, or GC super stores, or...    Think about it...

JR

[Ivan Beaver]

Silas Pradetto wrote on Sun, 28 June 2009 11:43

AND--on a side note, how do *these vendors* think they can disallow online sales and stay in business? Or at least grow their business...

It is disallowed because people caught selling online will no longer be a dealer.

You may find it interesting that A LOT business is still being done (and growing)-WITHOUT buying everything through the internet.

When everybody plays by the same rules-the game is much more balanced.

Where it gets out of hand is in situations exactly like you are describing.  The small dealer get one price-but the larger guy gets a "better" price.  It is going to be hard for the small guy to compete-especially with the internet.

BUT if everybody is paying the SAME price-it suddenly changes.

[Silas Pradetto]

I guess you could argue that the big guy has more overhead and therefore the smaller guy might be able to beat the price. As long as the small dealer is offering just as much support after the sale, the only thing stopping the small dealer from getting the business is how widespread their advertising is.