(ET) Bill

["Dean A. Stuckmann" <dstuck lakefield net>]

Hi,
Here is my 2 cents on what is going on with Bill...

I've been reading all the emails and have come to some conclusions of my
own. 



I feel that there are 2 groups out there. One that wants OEM because of 
what
an ET was, and they WANT to keep it that way, and group two, people that
like to use an ET because its a better way to do yard work. These people
don't really care what it looks like or how it works, as long as it works.
Some of the group two people may use OEM parts if its the cheapest way to
go. I'm a group two and don't think that there are too many group one
people, but I could be wrong. I've used an ET for over 20 years and have
been fortunate that it has been quite reliable. I also lucky that I do have
some spares to utilize if I need something but that has not happened to
often:)

I agree with David Roden that a surprise "bribe" to stay in business will
not work. While it sounds like Bill has been very helpful in the past, he
certainly is not helping the community by shutting down without telling
anyone. The only reason I can think that he would do that, is to keep the
inventory high to make it sweeter for a large, one time deal.  Who would
want buy the "business" if all the "good" stuff was bought out during a 
fire
sale and just the odd stuff left behind.

I also doubt that it could be a profitable business for the group. The
market is small and there IS a company out there that does make an ET.
Members of this group are the best ambassadors out there for an ET. Yet how
have we helped the Electric Tractor Corp be more profitable so it could
expand its line up? (I sure loved that joystick controlled, zero turn 
radius
prototype they made!)

I'm curious, what have people needed to keep these machines going? How many
of us bought parts from Bill in the last 2 years? What was bought and what
was the value of the sales? For me, over the last 24 years I've gone 
through
a rusted deck, mower motor bearings, 2 mower motors, a timer, and a 
traction
motor. Again, with the exception of the motor bearings, I had these parts 
in
"stock".

Since I'm a group 2 guy, I think that we should look towards building a
better mouse trap when we can. As stated by others in the past, there are
are better options to keep these things going.  By the way, how large of a
stamping press would be required to stamp out deck? FYI, I like that fan
motor idea.

Has anyone asked Bill if he would sell the technical and production rights
independently from the physical inventory? If so, that $20000 would be
better spent on buying the rights and prints. Bill has balked at every
suggestion posted to reduce his work load and increase his sales, so I'm 
not
comfortable with just handing him some cash as an incentive to sell parts
for a short time. However, I would invest if we got something concrete 
back.

Finally, I applaud Clay for his actions even though I don't agree with it.
I think that we have a little time (a week?) to look at some of the other
options to discuss with Bill.

Dean Stuckmann