Re: (ET) Group Buy Logistics

["David Roden" <etpost drmm net>]

On 16 Nov 2005 at 12:58, Elie, Larry (L.D.) wrote:

> This is EXACTLY what killed Bill's business; shipping cost.

I wouldn't doubt that it had something to do with it.  However, I think 
that 
the main thing that hurt Bill Gunn was his antiquated business practices.  

I used to be one of Bill's defenders here.  Not that I liked the way he 
traded, but rather that I thought we should support him because he was 
about 
the best of the very few parts and support sources we had.  Now that he's 
no 
longer trading, I'm more comfortable saying that I partly agree with those 
who were put off by his refusal to join the late 20th century.

He had no web site, iffy availability hours, and didn't accept credit 
cards. 
 One had to call him, wait for a return call, and get a quotation.  Then 
one 
had to go to the bank or post office to obtain a money order (personal 
checks meant waiting for clearance), write a letter, mail the order, and 
wait for delivery.  Often it took weeks to get the parts.  The grass gets 
kind of long when you're waiting like that.

Compare this with ordering over the internet: click the mouse a few times, 
type in your credit card number, and a week or less later, the stuff you 
need is on your doorstep.  

I don't get the impression that it's all that hard to open an Internet 
store.  Today one needn't be a web development expert; even the smallest 
merchant can contract for online ordering from various vendors.  Of course 
it requires some effort to set up, and I suspect that Bill just wasn't 
sufficiently committed to the business to put forth the necessary effort 
to 
set up such a system.  

Or it wasn't profitable enough.  Might it have been sufficiently 
profitable 
if he'd made that investment in it?  Hard to say.  Maybe not.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm grateful to Bill for all the years he supported 
the 
ETs, and for the orders he sent me.  And I don't necessarily blame him for 
his level of commitment.  Who knows, I might do the same if I were in 
those 
circumstances.  But doggone it, ordering from him was a pain in the bum, 
and 
I can see why some folks might have called him for help and then, after 
finding out what they had to do to get their parts, decided not to bother. 

Ironic, isn't it?  Those calls - soliciting advice but not buying any 
parts -
 are reportedly one of the big reasons Bill decided to call it quits.


David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 
Note: mail sent to the "from" address above may not reach me.  To 
send me a private message, please use "evdl at drmm period net."
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Americans are satisfied with things because they are large; and
if not large, they must have cost a great deal of money.
 
                            -- Lepel Henry Griffin, ca. 1885

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =