Amazon versus Lee Valley

[TeamCasa]

I have trouble returning a (insert long story) product from Amazon. It took weeks to fix. I do however, still do business with them when it makes sense. I too am a great believer in competition, we all benefit in some way. However, companies like Lee Valley could not exist if their product line was not suited for a small market. How long do you think they would last if the BORG sold everything Lee Valley did and at lower prices? People in general will put up with bad customer service to save a buck.

Dave

PS: Keep up the good work Robin!

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[Robin Lee]

Hi Dave -

The BORG can't have our line...they'd have to buy our patents first... :) - and about 25% of our sales are things we actually make...

In business, there are few absolutes though... price isn't everything, but it's certainly important where there's no value added by the seller. The quest for low prices has driven many businesses offshore, and has consolidated a lot of product under large roofs....entire manufacturers have dissappeared as companies are acquired by comglomerates to service box store business...

Really - it's all the fault of the internet.... economics is a much more exact "science" today than it ever has been - consumers are much closer to having "perfect knowledge" than before.... all that ECON 101 theory has a lot more real world direct relevance than it did a decade ago....

I'm sure there's a good paper in all this somewhere......

Cheers -

Rob

(and thanks for the kind words)

[Roy Smith]

The Internet is just the latest in a long series of improvements. When Grog the cave man needed a new pointed stick, and his neighbor Ug in the next cave was selling pointed sticks for 3 rocks, Grog paid up the three rocks or made his own pointed stick. Little did he know that on the other side of the hill, the going rate for pointed sticks was just 2 rocks, and if you bought 6 of them at once, they threw in an antelope jaw for free.

Then along came the Sears catalog, and you could order pointed sticks at 3 for 2 rocks and 99 pebbles (and no sales tax!) from some town far, far away, made by people who you've never met.

[Robin Lee]

...great... now Ug's unemployed too....

:)

[Jerry S.]

Dammit. I ordered my 6 pointed sticks after the antelope jaw offer expired. :-(

[Will]

The way we spend money at LV _you_ don't need to worry about that for a while. LOL

Rob> ...great... now Ug's unemployed too....

[John Thomas]

"Robin Lee" wrote in news:X_mVd.33251$Vf6.993784 @news20.bellglobal.com:

Rob,

No, I think he's now the pointy stick expert at the BORG.

I also hear HF is going to have deal now on Chiwanese Pointy Sticks; I think, though, that the point's going to be on the other end ...

Regards, JT

[JLarsson]

I've already got an antelope jaw, but I'm waiting for the upgraded version. In the meantime, I'm saving my rocks and pebbles.

Of course, if you don't need the features of the new antelope jaw, I suspect they'll be blowing out the old ones just before the new ones are released.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Do you think the internet has been a help to the consumer at the expense of the seller? Or do you think it just made us more knowledgeable?

I agree that there probably is a good paper in there. It certainly has changed how I do business. I buy things I never knew existed before, from sources I never knew existed before. My source for simple things like tea (also from Canada) to more complex tools like Veritas are 100% internet related. I never heard of Lee Valley or Veritas before the internet and that was from a source about cooking, not woodwork.

Appliances, brand name tools can be found in many stores, but I narrow my search through the internet. I buy from where I perceive to be the best value. Price is a factor, but much more makes something a good value. Service and a known quality come into play. The big box stores have also forced the little guys to form buying co-ops to give the local consumer a much better value. Competitive prices with usually superior service.

[Robin Lee]

It's economic Darwinism... not good... not bad.... just depends on how/who adapts!

Speaking as a consumer - the Internet has been a boon... (just as it has on the business side)...

I personally still buy just as much from local business I trust and value though - where they add value to my purchase.

There are only three things I'm wary about... the agglutinated businesses (i.e. Am***n), the profit per transaction based businesses (boxes, W**mart), and the people selling out of their garages...I'm not conviced they're a net "benefit" to the retail world....or to individual manufacturers.

Cheers -

Rob

[Michael Daly]

My take - not that you asked - is that my behavior hasn't changed much but the information I need is _much_ easier to access. I can make informed decisions quicker.

Mike

[Edwin Pawlowski]

It may take years to play out, but I think it is going to be a serious net loss to the economy as we know it. Especially the second example. As we go from a manufacturing based economy to a casino gambling based economy we sit back and admire the goods we bought at such low prices until . . . . . . . .

Then the Pogo theory comes in to play. We have met the enemy and it is us.

[Never Enough Money]

Just received my Jorgenson clamps from Lee Valley today. These are my first Cabinet Master clamsp and I must say, I like them better than Bessey K-Body's -- at least the fit and finish. I can't see much difference in things like parallelism and clamping force.

I'm now a Cabinet Master man!

[Ken]

I used to be, until last week I had one of my 40" clamps break in half next to the screw. Going back to Bessey

Ken

[Robin Lee]

... no sweat for either brand...

Both manufacturer's stand behind their products - and if they don't (and you bought 'em from us) we will..!

Cheers -

Rob