goldstar
Senior Member
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
I'm not arguing with you on this point. Yes, if I were a manufacturer I'd want the most $$ from sales of my merchandise. But in this case it's more than just mere merchandise I'm pushing out the door. I'm providing a product that requires installation by highly qualified people and can be dangerous if improperly installed. There's a lot more liability at stake here by comparison to a 3-M roll of tape. At least in the case of EG Direct the people you speak to on the phone are knowledeable about the product and will steer you in the right direction when making the purchase. Could you really classify clerks at HD or Lowe's as being qualified to make the correct sale of this type of equipment ?Again put yourself on the manufacturer/distribution side of things. Would you rather sell 100 units and fill a truck going to one destination with them or send 100 individual units to 100 different destinations? I bet shipping cost is less for the single load going to one destination. If you become a dealer and buy in the volume the big box store does, chances are you get pricing more in line with what they pay. This wouldn't be the only product line out there that sells in this way either. This is basically the concept of the big box store with most product lines they carry, purchase large volume to get better pricing, have it shipped it to a central warehouse of yours, and you can then distribute that volume to several of your branches as necessary, along with other products from your warehouse that are purchased in similar manner.
As far as a dealer goes, the only protection he's getting from Generac and companies like them is on the technical or service end of the sale. He's getting no price protection up front so, on top of being a highly qualified technician he now has to become a highly qualified salesman in order to convince people thay should buy at a higher price from him rather than go to EG Direct, HD or Lowe's.