Posted on 03/20/2011 9:34:46 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
“Some business does not lend itself to “on-line” sales very well, if at all.”
Name some.
OK, Real estate, firearms, vehicles, or ANYTHING that requires a Gov. Org. permit, background check, or permission before the sale can be completed.
Maybe you would buy real estate on line, maybe a “virtual tour” is enough for you, I hope most people would know better.
“Some have Fed. restrictions that make ‘net selling difficult, or add time/expenses that do not occur in a face to face sales.”
Name some.
OK, firearms for one.
Cannot be sold directly to the buyer, has to go to an FFL middleman to perform the Fed. required background check, who will add his own fees.
Not so convenient as ‘net sales of small appliances.
Same applies to any other Gov. Org. regulated product.
“The ‘net may provide a wider market, but it hardly replaces a thriving LOCAL customer base.”
Depends on how astute the marketer is.
This is where I am supposed to be in awe of your superior intellect? LOL!
Some of us have to labor under restrictive Gov. Org. mandates, “astute” innovation equals time in prison!
“Having a dedicated staff for ‘net sales is no issue for a large corporation, but it’s a major expense for a genuinely SMALL business, one with 1-5 employees.”
LOL. My company is a VERY small business. We have six employees. Probably a third of our business is from our website. We have no problem at all managing things. The other two-thirds of our income arises from consulting and direct sales (not local, mind you, our customer base is too dispersed for that), split about equally.
How nice for you, sounds like you do not sell “durable goods”, or large items.
Try doing that with items weighing 650 lb.
Do you have a single person dedicated to the ‘net portion of business (20% overhead), or are all your employees dedicated to the net?
I never said all companies would find the need for a ‘net sales manager an equal burden.
“The ‘net may provide a venue for a trickle of steady sales, it does NOT fully offset the advantages the chain stores enjoy.”
No, that’s why “agile thinking” is necessary, to find a niche where the chain stores do NOT have an advantage.
Gov. Org. makes “agile thinking” illegal in many business, they set the restrictions on business practices.
“The box stores have a ‘net presence too!”
And yet there are online businesses, selling things, that not only survive, but thrive.
YES, I hear the “Pet Rock” is making a come-back!
The net is great for selling Chinese junk, software of questionable origin, factory “seconds”, knock-off’s, small gadgets, etc.
Not so good for controlled, large, or quality items.
LOL. I can buy guns online with very little trouble. Yes, I've got to jump through a couple of hoops, but I can certainly do so. For an internet sale, they have to ship to a registered dealer in my area, and I have to have the background check done and pick up the weapon there. A bit more trouble, but the savings is still worth the trouble, and the MUCH larger selection available makes it worthwhile.
"Some of us have to labor under restrictive Gov. Org. mandates, “astute” innovation equals time in prison!"
Such as?? Your listing was VERY weak
. "How nice for you, sounds like you do not sell “durable goods”, or large items.Try doing that with items weighing 650 lb.
We sell chemical analysis instrumentation, and components to make same. Those are about as "durable" as it gets. Prices of items can vary from $2 to $20,000. Admittedly, none of the items is quite as heavy as 650 pounds, but they certainly are "durable". We do about $1MM/year sales.
"Do you have a single person dedicated to the ‘net portion of business (20% overhead), or are all your employees dedicated to the net?
NOBODY is "dedicated" to the net. Three or four take care of it as a part-time effort. One handles "mostly" order input, and one handles "mostly" shipping, but we all pitch in to "get it done" when it needs to be. Sounds like your approach is too burdened with a lack of flexibility, and old-style "management think".
"The net is great for selling Chinese junk, software of questionable origin, factory “seconds”, knock-off’s, small gadgets, etc. Not so good for controlled, large, or quality items."
LOL. I have to say "malarkey" again. To give you just one example, a friend's daughter designs and fabricates custom jewelery. She had gone to work for a major jewelry "house" in New York City, but has since "gone independent" on the web and is thriving. Her products certainly are not "low quality". There are MANY examples of this type of thing. I've shopped for machine tools (about as big, durable, and high quality as it gets) on EBay. There are multiple firms doing business that way. They seem to be doing fine.
The internet opens up a much larger potential customer base, indeed, in our case, an international customer base. We have several regular customers in Australia, several more in Great Britain, one or two in Turkey and others in countries equally remote.
“We sell chemical analysis instrumentation, and components to make same. Those are about as “durable” as it gets. Prices of items can vary from $2 to $20,000. Admittedly, none of the items is quite as heavy as 650 pounds, but they certainly are “durable”. We do about $1MM/year sales”
But ITAR registration and export permits are no issue, or do you simply ignore that Gov. mandated inconvenience?
You demanded examples, I supplied them.
You lightly dismiss Gov. regulations, I don’t.
Lucky you that the ‘net works so well for you, and all the dealers in trivia such as jewelry.
It works for me too, but only to a limited extent.
I would prefer the pre-internet.
Business was much better and far more profitable before EVERYONE knew the wholesale price of goods via the web.
They now demand they be able to buy at that price, not to allow even shipping expense to be added for retail.
Somehow several companies are able to “Thrive” in this situation, I really don’t know how, unless they are dealing in stolen, defective, or knock-off products.
I’ve gone to the trouble of asking some of my suppliers how “XYZ Corp.” is able to RETAIL items on-line for below my distributors cost, far below my wholesale, the reply was that they do not know!
The internet has been a boon to criminal enterprise, legitimate manufacturing companies that stand behind their products, not so much.
You are free to sing the praises of the ‘net and the “savings” and “selection” some derive from it.
I will get what little benefit I can from it, while working to overcome the damage it does me as well.
It will all become moot once the remaining legitimate small business are driven under, then watch the “savings” disappear as only the international conglomerates remain.
Sheesh. Of course we follow all the necessary laws and regulations. Sometimes it's a bit of a pain, but it certainly doesn't prevent us doing business and making a nice profit.
"You demanded examples, I supplied them."
Your few and weak examples were laughable.
"You lightly dismiss Gov. regulations, I don’t."
See statement #1 from me above.
"Lucky you that the ‘net works so well for you, and all the dealers in trivia such as jewelry."
Ye Gods. There are examples of successful businesses selling virtually anything and everything online. Your idea of what is out there is so antiquated as to be ludicrous
"It works for me too, but only to a limited extent."
Perhaps you should try figuring out how to make it work better for you instead of pissing and moaning on FR about it.
"I would prefer the pre-internet."
Which is, I think, the biggest part of the problem. You haven't realized that the horse and buggy has been replaced by the automobile.
"It will all become moot once the remaining legitimate small business are driven under, then watch the “savings” disappear as only the international conglomerates remain.
LOL. As hundreds and thousands of new small business are being started and suceeding online in hundreds and thousands of niches that are TOO SMALL for the big companies to mess with, but which, given the global reach available from the internet, allow sufficient volume for a small business to thrive.
But you stick to your antiquated ideas. We'll see which of us succeeds, long-term.
Here's a clue....."downtown retail" is dead. "Global retail" is just getting started.
Tell you what, repeal ALL the feculent Gov. Org. regulations and I will be happy to compete on the damn ‘net.
Until then, I am at a clear disadvantage, I have to get Gov. permission one way or another to sell my products no matter how I do it.
They are heavy, specialty niche items, Gov. export fee’s are ludicrous and would take months to acquire even if the cost were not prohibitive.
If you really think the ‘net is equally beneficial to all, enjoy your delusion.
I’m done with this, I have orders to fill.
Congratulations, you may have convinced me to support states taxing ‘net and export sales.
But note: brick and mortar stores call on local services — police and fire protection, utility infrastructure, etc. — to a much greater degree than online stores. It’s unfair to tax the out-of-state, online-only merchants for services that only benefit their brick and mortar competitors.
Bad management and poor reading skills both. No wonder you have problems competing. I nowhere said that "the net is equally beneficial to all". Quite the opposite, in fact. As usual, those who innovate will thrive, and those who don't will fail.
"I’m done with this, I have orders to fill."
And here I thought you were being driven out of business by internet competition, yet "you have orders to fill".
"Congratulations, you may have convinced me to support states taxing ‘net and export sales."
Loon.
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