>Another complaint I've heard is from the likes of Rosemont. They get
>really upset with MMD (Squadron) and their pricing. Since Rosemont
>isn't as big as Squadron, there is no way he can put Pegasus kits on
>sale, and make any kind of profit. Squadron can do this because
>they're much larger, and with the bulk they sell, will make up for it
>in the long run. However, one "bright spot" is the fact that
>Squadron is losing a lot of distribution rights. They used to be
>exclusive Eduard for North America (now Eduard has a distribution
>center in Canada). They also used to be exclusive for Pegasus - from
>what I've heard is Squadron owes money to Pegasus, so they're
>actively looking for another. In the long run, Squadron's pricing
>"schemes" hurt the smaller shop. I too would rather wait to buy an
>Eduard Sopwith Baby/Schneider for $4.99 (the current Squadron "sale
>price") then the original $19.99. However, the local shop that still
>has a couple at $19.99 would only lose a lot of money if they dropped
>it to $4.99. I will probably still buy from Squadron, just becuase I
>don't necessarily "believe" in the current manufacturer's pricing
>schemes.
Similar things are infecting most commercial sales organisation. I
sell backup software which is a very value added sale, but we still
lose sales to box shifters after doing all the work. I saw an edition
of a talk show which was suggested people visit shops to see what they
want (ie the shops that have to buy stock to display, plus pay
exorbitant rents for their show rooms, and pay for their staff), get
the model numbers for what they want and then telephone order from the
bargin catalogs. They also suggested you should waste money on the books they
were pushing telling you what i just wrote.
i buy from model shops at full price because i enjoy talking to the
owners (and the other customers!), and find them an invaluable
resource. This is the added value and why i don't want them to starve.
BTW I've just got back from leave and read 200 or so emails from this
list? so excuse me if the above is incoherent!
brian
-- _______________________________________________________ Harrier Storage Solutions Ltd Ivanhoe Road (44) 1734 328 282 Finchampstead Fax 731 130 Berkshire http://www.harrier.com RG40 4QQ brian.bushe@harrier.com United Kingdom _______________________________________________________