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Post by scooterelements on Mar 16, 2013 9:20:59 GMT -5
Competing on price point is a race to zero. Set your self apart with steady inventory, solid customer service and incentives for repeat customers. yup thats true. I sell genuine parts while he sells imitation parts. People are starting to realize that. As an example. I have Genuine OKO carburetors for sale on my ebay page. Then he puts OKO carbs for sale with intake manifold and throttle cable below my price. I realize that they are fake chinese imitation carbs. I put in my listing the difference between the two and so far i have been selling them and he has not. Had two customers call me to tell me they bought those carbs from him at his store and that the carbs are basically impossible to tune and the carbs failed quick. Thats where i set myself apart from him. Genuine vs imitation |
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Post by imnts2 on Mar 16, 2013 11:00:42 GMT -5
Yes business can be a .
I am going to say some things that is easy to misunderstand. I will be talking about "poor" people. Understand by "poor" people I am not talking about low income people. There is a difference. ( I think there are far to many low income people than there should be and that is a function of our economic and political system) Almost all of the low income people I know and I do know a lot of them, are not "poor". They just have low income.
So before you jump on me, please read this carefully.
Of course there are those who have to buy the cheapest. As it is said "poor folks often have poor ways" --- meaning ineffective, stupid. . So it will always be. Unless you turn to communism - then all consumer goods tend to be pretty bad.
I really suggest you find a ways to ignore. Say only nice things about him - or say nothing. Stand behind your stuff and develop enough work to keep you busy. I have seen you on this and other sites and you are doing fine gradually developing a following and a reputation.. Not all Chinese product is junk. They build a lot of good stuff. But it is hard for the little guy to know high quality from not so good. Select only good suppliers who stand behind their product.. Remember every salesman will exaggerate a little the best parts of his products. It is also very difficult to make a good living with just your own hands. If anybody can do it, it is not going to pay well. Sorry.
Face it you are in a product heavily loaded with a lot of mixed quality goods. And it only takes one small problem to make a good scoot junk.
Frankly, in his own way, he is going you a favor. Most of his customers you really do not want to deal with. I am happier dealing with people who can afford me and willing and capable paying me decently. So cater to those want better quality and service and can and will pay for it.
I know what I say seems to ignore what you are saying, but the truth is you really do not want to deal with "poor" people. I know they need help, but they often cost far more than those who know you never really get more than you pay for.
I am sure there are those who will take me wrong. I really am not taking about low income people. I am talking about those people who believe cheaper is better. True, you do not always get all you pay for but you never get more than you pay for. Many people never learn that
Realize that a many of the 50CC riders are people riding 50CC cause they are cheap and do not cost the headaches of getting a motorcycle endorsement or even tags.
Good luck, Learn a little as often as you can. You will change too as time goes by
Cheers lefty2
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Post by JR on Mar 16, 2013 15:59:51 GMT -5
Well, that was just a little confusing. I think what he was pointing you towards is finding the right market for your products. People that want to buy cheap will always tend to buy cheap until they figure out that a higher quality product is less trouble to deal with.
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Post by triker on Mar 16, 2013 18:54:34 GMT -5
I think Doug is correct. I figured out a long time ago that some stuff I just wont buy cheap. I do a lot of research to find the best quality and will pay more if I have to. If I have to replace a cheap part it most likely will cost me more than if I just paid more for better quality to start with. If you sell better quality parts and offer better customer service the business will eventually come to you. You just have to hang in their. In business word of mouth is the best or worst advertising you can get. It is slower than other forms though. Bad advertising usually travels faster than good. A happy customer will recommend you to people that ask, but a mad customer will tell every one.
Roy
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Post by Abscooters on Mar 27, 2013 8:50:18 GMT -5
I have to agree about people that will only buy the cheapest product. Some are not even friendly to deal with, they think if they argue they can get a better price out of you. I rarely haggle as I have way too much overhead.
I had a gal who is engraved in my memory forever. I sold her a key blank, she found it cheaper somewhere else and wanted her money back. I gave it to her, so I thought, I actually ran her credit card again instead of as a refund. Anyway, my fault, fixed the problem and thought I'd never see her again, she was pretty ornery.
I'm having a busy day, in the process of writing a scooter deal with others waiting. She shows up and wants a battery charger. She was already ignoring my help and wanted my complete personal attention. I pointed to the shelf with the battery charger and said they are $35. My vendor used an old fashioned price sticker gun to put stock or item number on it. Think it's item number was 1145 so it prints 11.45.
Soo, she assumes that is the price and that I am trying to rip her off. Starts yelling at me in front of someone buying a scooter. I tried to explain, I did not put that number on there and that it was a manufacturer number not a price. Starts demanding that I sell it to her at that price. I explain that I can't even buy it at that price, either pay the $35 or go to Walmart where they have similar ones for $25. After what seamed like way too long she finally left.
My customer who was buying the scooter, looked at me and said, that is exactly the customer you don't want to have (he didn't know about the key blank days earlier).
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Post by JR on Mar 27, 2013 20:52:25 GMT -5
Yeah, when people make fools of themselves, everybody else standing around can tell it.
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