Would you pay more for TEST Products in SC

[NaffNaffBobFace]

So you're saying your buddy over paid by £10's?

Yep. I understand companies have a profit margin, but seems that particular company margin was 100% with your 50% discount and at RRP was 300% profit margin.

Nice racket if you can get it but don't count on you having customers for long.

The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low prices is forgotten - Doubly so if you overpaid even at the discount price.

 

[Bruttle]

Yep. I understand companies have a profit margin, but seems that particular company margin was 100% with your 50% discount and at RRP was 300% profit margin.

Nice racket if you can get it but don't count on you having customers for long.

The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low prices is forgotten - Doubly so if you overpaid even at the discount price.

The last time I looked into it, a typical and successful brick and mortar store varied between 10-50% markup. 50% was the highest and typically was found in clothing stores. Most of the rest floated between 10-25%. It was a flat rate increase and was enough to pay the bills and employees. That was a long time ago though.

Now, I walk into a store and I see 200-300% of the cheapest price I can find. I'm not even talking about a wholesale price. I'm talking about an item that I can find on amazon for $50, marked up to $100 to $150. When I ask them about it, they tell me "we can't compete with big box store prices". This, of course, leaves me walking out the door with no intention of returning or buying a single thing.

The best part is, when you look into the inventory of different stores. I wanted to buy a commercial grade electronic keypad with a relay for a project. I found the item that I wanted and it was sold by Schlage, a lock company. So I checked with a local locksmith that I know. They had one in stock for ~$800. I found it online for $291.

When I asked them about the difference, they told me their supplier was selling it to them for around $725. With a 10% markup, it was basically $800. He then started asking me about which website I visited. So it's not always the owner of the store that is ripping people off. Sometimes, that store owner was the one that got ripped off and they're just passing on the price. They are no smarter or wiser than any of us. They can get ripped off just like a normal person.

That said, It still pisses me off when I see 300% of what I can buy off Amazon. They're not even trying.

 

[LookingGlass]

I'd be willing to discount to TEST members, but then the question becomes, does TEST have to be their primary Org or do affiliates count? What's to say we wouldn't have a 50% increase in affiliate membership just for the discounts?

 

[Thalstan]

One thing I have found is that many times a company will issue two grades of a product. One is a "big box store" grade, and the other is a "high end retailer/wholesaler" that sells to the public and professionals.

Sometimes that quality is very close, other times it is no where near the same product, even though they look the same. For a faucet, the valves are plastic instead of brass. The body is plated plastic instead of metal. Instead of copper tubing to transport the water, it's PVC, the list goes on. Additionally, quality of assembly is also lacking. Companies contract out their cheaper lines to mass factories overseas where the quality is just "good enough" and they expect it to last a few years, then get replaced by the new shiny. The better pieces are assembled in places like Germany, US, Canada, etc., and the quality/durability is much higher...high enough to last a lifetime in some cases. So while you may walk into a plumbing supply house and see $500 bucks for a faucet, gasp, and exclaim "I can get one that looks the same at big box store for half that"...you're right. It may look the same, but I guarantee you it won't last the same or perform the same over time.

Another story. I used to go through watches like crazy. $100 watch never lasted more than 9-12 months before it became banged up and unreadable, or just plain broken. I bought a TAG one year after hearing someone brag about how sturdy theirs was. I've never had to purchase a new watch since, and it only needed to be repaired once when a bezel spring broke. I bought that watch over over 20 years ago and I've saved a lot more than I paid for it. Yes, sometimes a bad deal is just a bad deal, but other times, it pays to invest in quality products that you don't need to re-buy every 1-5 years.

 

[Vavrik]

A lot of the conversation here has turned to real world transactions and buying decisions with real world business. I don't think that's the model we're gong to be working with here. I think it's going to be simply the idea of helping other org mates get by. It doesn't even matter to me if the guy I'm helping is an affiliate, and not a "full member" whatever that is. It's a personal decision I think, shouldn't be a policy. I just think it's a kind of a good approach to this game, where allies are going to be really valuable at times.

Even pirates can contribute. They'll become pretty dang good escort wings, pretty fast. They might even know a trick or two to help get a capital ship out of a sticky situation. Maybe the guy they help, ends up helping them get a base near a juicy trade route, or sends them intel on especially ripe targets. I dunno, whatever you're good at. Whatever you feel like. When you can.