1964-1974 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
...I had a part interest in a high end auto interior shoppe. I therefor needed to purchase loads of those 'blue washers'. I also was never going to pay too much. That would have killed my bottom line. We were a succesful shoppe and that is the way we kept it until we sold the business. When a supplier tried to raise prices, we found a new supplier, even for rare specialty parts, even if we liked the original supplier.
If Chip cannot negotiate lower wholesale prices then you guys are correct, and he cannot compete. Given the Internet, the European sources, and the plentiful junkyards here in the USA, he should be able to do a better job at purchasing.
I do not think that his purchasing power is the thing here. From my automotive experience, when someone charges $125 for a $40 part it is because he thinks he has a captive audience. He feels that no one will look farther than his shoppe. There is a guy in NYC called Nunzio who owns a pure Pontiac only shoppe. He charges 1 grand for totally blown (as in blow by) Pontiac big blocks. For a rebuild his minimum is 10 grand. I know what he is doing to the blocks, and I can get the same service from any rebuild center for 3 grand. Still, his followers look up to him as a guru, as he does know loads about Pontiacs. Now a new company has stepped in and is making Aluminum Pontiac big blocks, and poor Nunzio is beginning to get what he deserves. People wisenned up.
Even if Chip cannot negotiate better wholesale for say the part I needed, charging 125 for a 40 part means he did not realize thet he might buy from a fleabay retailer and sell the adapter for 60. Personally, I do not think Chip is that stupid or that bad a wholesale negotiator. He has a captive audience.
I am not advocating not using Chip for anything. I am not advocating chosing Walmart over the mom and pop shoppe. I am saying that I will not overpay by 300% for a part that I know is made by the same manufacturer. In the future I shall buy from stuff from Chip that he prices reasonably, and I will not buy things from Chip that I feel are over priced. I shall still refer people to him for hard to find parts, and I will tell them that an educated person always researches prices.
You guys really need to lighten up.
Best,
C
, Tue, 28 Nov 2006 20:16:33, Wed, 29 Nov 2006 04:46:08
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