Boy is this a true story. In the early 60's I polled dozens of people about
their interest in a dual Weber set up with really good maniolds and fititng
linkagea etc. Everyone was truly interested and said "YEAH< YEAH". So I did
the flow testing made the tooling had the manifold cast invested in the
linkage set up, and bought a full page ad in "Competition Press" the racing
newspaper oif the time ( now autoweek). I inventoried two CASES of 45mm
webers, man I was ready to give service. After three months I had sold ONE
set. I hear you Justin....
----- Original Message -----
From: jmwagner <jmwagner@greenheart.com>
To: <fot@autox.team.net>
Cc: Bob Lang <LANG@isis.mit.edu>; Jack Wheeler <jwheeler@seidata.com>; Paul
Richardson <Paul-Richardson@cyberware.co.uk>
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2000 10:57 AM
Subject: Hubs and the such...
>
> FOT....
>
> When it comes to price for after market parts for our Triumphs, keep in
mind that
> the producers of these products would have been far better off to have put
the same
> investment in parts for any series of cars that are in greater numbers.
>
> If Racetorians made that hub for a Chevy, a Miata, etc, they'd be selling
them
> 10-fold... and could thereby probably be able to sell them for that "$1k",
and his
> company would probably profit 10-fold! In making a part for such a small
market,
> it is a labor of love... It MUST be. It HAS to be. There is no other
sound
> business reason.
>
> I know the price discussion was all in fun... but in reality, "Hey, I'm
cheap. I
> race Triumphs." is actually a factor in considering whether to go forward
with a
> product or not.
>
> I remember a few years ago, when I announced to my local club that I had a
new
> product. There was so much energy. So much excitement. It was very
motivating.
> Later I brought the product to a meeting. It was the highlight of the
meeting.
> And everyone was impressed. The question and answer period when on and
on! And
> examples went around the room. I had noticed there were several TR's in
the
> parking lot and, undoubtedly, a dozen more at their homes. I brought a
dozen with
> me ready to sell, yet I seem to recall only the club president was buying
that
> night. In fact, in my local club, more people are running freebies that
I have
> provided for club events and vintage racers, then were ever purchased. It
took 1
> 1/2 years to get out of the red. (Re-tooling in 1999 put me back in the
red!)
>
> The excitement behind a new product seems to quickly fade away when it
comes time
> to write a check. I was always amazed, at the meetings, when members that
hadn't
> even bought my product, would talk at length about what other products I
should
> develop and then would repeatedly badger me at future meetings for
results! (Kudos
> to the exceptions, that invested in my product through a purchase or in
spreading
> the word to a friend or two that needed one!)
>
> I guess you can see the price issue sort of hits me close to the heart. I
can
> relate to the desire to make products for the cars that I love, clearly
this is the
> case for Racetorians. Fortunately, they appear to be thriving, with a
great line
> of products, and hopefully they will continue to survive the dwindling
> marketplace. (TriumphTune's future?) I, for one, certainly plan to press
onward.
>
> Price is always an issue... but do consider such things, as mentioned,
like "cost
> to replace/rebuild your car", and the such. Consider the time it took to
develop
> the product. Consider the cost to warranty that product. Consider how
much longer
> this new product might last. Consider what the cost of one failure, of
the old
> stock type of part, would cost. And so on... if the the price starts to
look
> good from that perspective... (it probably will, because the guy who
created it had
> to consider all these factors also!) Then... if it's a great product and
you can
> muster the funds... go for it. When we buy products like these, sometimes
priced
> higher than our Chevy and Ford friends, I believe we are saying "THANK
YOU", for
> taking the time to invest in our mutual hobby.
>
> I absolutely did NOT intend to make this sound like a lecture, though I
know it
> does, and it's not directed toward any individual. And I can see how it
could be
> viewed as self-serving, but this also was not my intent. AND I'm sure
it's just
> common sense knowledge for most of you. The thread just struck home with
me and I
> wanted to share what became a revelation to me over the last few years...
as my
> attitude towards the small businessman have evolved
dramatically...especially those
> involved in our hobby.
>
> --Justin
>
> PS So as to not sound hypocritical in the future, I must say none of the
above
> excuses poor business practices by anyone.... another thread some day.
>
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