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Author Topic: What makes for a good online purchase?  (Read 3293 times)

bamaster

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What makes for a good online purchase?
« on: March 21, 2005, 10:54:22 AM »
Ok, I have a question.  What does it take to have a good online purchase experience?

I ask because the Online Proshops forum here is dominated by kudos for Buddies. They run a great operation, without a doubt, but I hardly think it's justified glorification.  Here is why...

When you buy something online, you are SUPPOSED to receive it.  If you live in the same state as where it's being shipped from, you are SUPPOSED to receive within a day or so.  I mean, when you buy a Big Mac meal at the McDonalds drive through, do you call your friends and tell them that you received it within minutes of ordering and that they are the best fast food joint?

Haha!  I know I sound like a bitter e-tailer, but I'm not, honest injin.  But from my perspective, it seems that I'm working too hard.  

Or am I the only one that feels this way?

Tony
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bamaster

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #16 on: March 22, 2005, 02:32:15 PM »
Buddies quoted $904 after shipping or before?

If that is shipped and your proshop matched it... then threw in ~$65 of tax, I have a hard time believing your guy made more than $10 on the sale.  

No disrespect, but you robbed him.

Tony
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JPRLane1

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #17 on: March 22, 2005, 02:38:11 PM »
Yes it was 904 shipped.  Well I have more than made up for robbing him i am sure of that and we are very good friends.  Robbing him or not he matched it and he did what he had to get the business.  Are you saying you wouldn't have done the same if one of your local customers proposed this to you?  I know of one thing and that is his distributor doesn't charge shipping for large orders so he may have at least made the $60 or so buddies had me down for shipping if he ordered other balls besides my 8.
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JPRLane1

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #18 on: March 22, 2005, 02:47:11 PM »
I guess we have a pretty decent post here sorry If i hijacked your topic Tony this kinda relates.  

My bottom line is $900 is not a huge amount of money to me in general but is more than I usually spend on bowling in one lump my prior high was probably around $500 or so.  For this large purchase I expect the lowest price possible and a special deal from anyone if I spend this much on bowling in one shot.  If I walked in my proshop right now and said can i have this towel or can I have this grip sack he would say sure.  Thats all I was looking for I wasn't asking buddies to cut their hand off and hand it to me.  I don't think its too much to ask.  I don't know how much balls cost and I don't know their profit margins or my locals guys but there are always exceptions to the rule that I feel should be made to loyal customers.
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shelley

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #19 on: March 22, 2005, 02:54:19 PM »
quote:

One of the biggest obstacles for an online store is to instill confidence in consumers. Buddies has show themselves to be reliable, without a doubt. The question I have is... is that all it takes to have you buy again?


Why not?  What else would you like?  As I see it, there is little to differentiate online shops from one another except price and service.  Buddies has, for the most part, the best prices and their shipping is very reasonable.  The two balls I've ordered from them were closeouts and I feel like I've gotten good deals on both.  I couldn't get deals like that from the other big online shops like Bowling.com or Bowlersparadise.com since they don't really list much (or anything) in the way of closeouts or specials.  So I continue to buy from Buddies.

My next purchase will probably be local as one of my teammates keeps saying that I should give his long-time driller a shot.  He raves about him and says that he's very price-competitive with online shops (plus he doesn't charge an arm and a leg to drill an Internet ball).  So I'm gonna give him a shot.

But really, why should I go try ordering from BP.com or Bowling.com or one of the other online shops when Buddies has done right by me in the past?  If they offer something really competitive and hard to pass up, I may do that, but if they are merely matching or approaching what Buddies offers, why should I change?  

Note that this applies not just to Buddies but to any shop of any kind.  Why try something different (when the end product, the ball, is going to be the same regardless) when you have something that works and the "different" doesn't have any compelling reasons to switch?  That's not the same as saying "Why not try Brunswick, even though Track is working for you?", since the end-products are not the same.

SH
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bamaster

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #20 on: March 22, 2005, 02:54:46 PM »
quote:
Yes it was 904 shipped.  Well I have more than made up for robbing him i am sure of that and we are very good friends.  Robbing him or not he matched it and he did what he had to get the business.  Are you saying you wouldn't have done the same if one of your local customers proposed this to you?


It makes sense that he hooked you up if you two are very good friends.  That's called a favor... not standard business practice.

I'm not willing to break even for any customer, other than family perhaps. I would hope folks that respected me and my efforts wouldn't try to nickel and dime me.  I have had many freinds order from me, and not a single one of them asked for a break of any kind.  *knocks on wood*

I congratulate you on your excellent purchase, but I hope you don't think less of Buddies for not giving away free products.

Tony
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JPRLane1

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #21 on: March 22, 2005, 03:01:39 PM »
Well for one thing buddies didn't reduce their price my local guy did.  So i didnt ask them to drop their profits I asked them to throw in sometihng to make it worth my while.  My local guy is the only one who sacrificed any money if he did.  Did I miss something or is it still not in a business owners best interest to please the customer.  

I understand your saying you couldn't match their low prices and throw in something free, but put yourself in their shoes.  If you were buddies and I was willing to purchase at your regualr adverstised price, would you not offer me sometihng free to sweeten the deal.  You would not be losing any profits on each ball if your buddies becuase you are meeeting your advertised prices.

Also I didn't call my local guy expecting him to match prices I was amazed he did so.  I simply told him what I needed and what I could get it for online.  I had all intentions of still buying from buddies as I assumed it would still be my best bet freebies or not.  Leon (my local guy)is my good friend but even I know he is too cheap to break even so I know he is making enough for it to be worth his while.  

The bottom line here and I guess my ultimate point is he is a better business man than buddies in my opinion.  Thats what it boils down to in a nutshell who will do more for their customer.  
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Edited on 3/22/2005 4:01 PM
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bamaster

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #22 on: March 22, 2005, 03:02:27 PM »
triggerman, your markup assumptions are WAY off. I use the same distributors as Buddies and I know what the prices are.  Internet pricing is almost always lower than it is for pro shops. JPR's guy doesn't get the same pricing as Buddies.  They pay more for their balls and he ate the tax. .

Tony
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JPRLane1

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #23 on: March 22, 2005, 03:12:00 PM »
If it were me amd I owned buddies or I was the guy who I talked with on the phone.  When the guy called and said can I have a free towel if I order 8 balls from you, I would have grabbed a towel taken 5 dollars out of my wallet to pay for it said where do I ship your balls Sir and how would you like to pay for them and have a nice day thanks very much for your business we appreciate it.
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JPRLane1

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #24 on: March 22, 2005, 03:14:18 PM »
quote:
triggerman, your markup assumptions are WAY off. I use the same distributors as Buddies and I know what the prices are.  Internet pricing is almost always lower than it is for pro shops. JPR's guy doesn't get the same pricing as Buddies.  They pay more for their balls and he ate the tax. .

Tony


But the real question is do you buy as many balls as buddies and do you know what their prices are????  To that I say probably not.
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JPRLane1

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #25 on: March 22, 2005, 03:15:52 PM »
Tony I hope you take this for what it is, I am not whining about buddies and I am not trying to advertise for my guy and I am not trying to bash you, I just feel we have a fairly good topic here and my fingers felt like typing.
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bamaster

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #26 on: March 22, 2005, 03:18:40 PM »
I was kind of hoping some of the other pro shop owners would chime in here.  Maybe they will.

JPR, if you were a long time customer and asked for a little something for a large order... without asking for reduced pricing... then yes I probably would do something.  Basically, it would be selling one ball at cost to you... one out of eight ain't bad.  Towels are cheap for me.... I have over 100 with Dyno-thane on them!  Haha!

Tony
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DanH78

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #27 on: March 22, 2005, 03:20:58 PM »
And eventually then a guy orders 6 balls, and wants something free, then 4 ball guy wants something for free, etc.  And the merchant gets nickel and dimed to death.  A five dollar towel still costs the business owner five dollars.  eventually all that adds up.  No matter how much money you spend, to expect something for free is unreasonable (in my opinion).  Obviously Buddies is doing something right seeing as they are one of the largest interent pro shops around.
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bamaster

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #28 on: March 22, 2005, 03:27:35 PM »
quote:
Really Tony, why would an internet shop selling the same as a land locked site get a better deal?  I am not in the business but find that hard to believe, since NO ball company sells directly to a shop unless they are willing to stock a gazillion balls, you are all ordering from a distributor correct?


All distributors have some sort of tiered pricing.  That's no secret, all distributors do this.  Typically, Internet retailers get different terms because of the volume they do.  Very few pro shops move more product than a decent online store. Simple, really.

Tony
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bamaster

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #29 on: March 22, 2005, 03:29:29 PM »
quote:

But the real question is do you buy as many balls as buddies and do you know what their prices are????  To that I say probably not.


You know what they say when you "assume".



Tony
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Rick Wunder

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Re: What makes for a good online purchase?
« Reply #30 on: March 23, 2005, 09:11:52 AM »
quote:
. . . Did I miss something or is it still not in a business owners best interest to please the customer.  

. . .

The bottom line here and I guess my ultimate point is he is a better business man than buddies in my opinion.  Thats what it boils down to in a nutshell who will do more for their customer.


A business owner is in business for one thing - to put food on the table and a roof overhead.  If the business owner is losing money to please the customer, then it is probably not in his best interest.  THAT's what it boils down to in a nutshell.
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