CYCLEPUMP INFLATOR
don’t have too. And with that thought, let’s speed up the story. (You can check that razor price on the internet.) I am at my dealer, talking comm units,
and I have a price in my head, as I’ve done a ton of research about the comm systems out there and what they sell for, and now I believe know more than my dealer. For example, I know those b@@@trds
making my current unit will not sell a replacement unit, but only sell me the entire unit. So if you have one and you break it, that means you have to buy the boom mic, speakers, and bracket/base that attaches to the helmet…all of it. However, when it comes to the older model, which I rejected, they will sell a replacement comm unit you just can snap into the unit helmet mount. A little more investigation reveals the older unit does everything I want the latest unit to do. And by golly, it’s a ton cheaper. I mean three digits cheaper. I glee- fully walk into my dealer to buy one. He has one. What could be the problem? It’s a win-win day. (I will buy you a beer if you stop reading
and send me an email wherein you cor- rectly guess the problem. Not fair reading the next bit of verbiage.) So there I am ready to buy. He reaches
into a display case, and out comes the unit. I note the price tag. Houston, we have a problem. The number on the tag is way off from the “internet price,” if you catch my drift. Not slightly different. Dinner for two with drinks at a good restaurant different. I am dealing with the head parts guy. I wait until no other customer is in ear shot, and for the first time in my career as a customer I simply mention that perhaps, unbe- knownst to him, that price tag is not even close to the market price online. We go online. We see some prices. I get an educa- tion about that particular brand and cer- tain tough decisions that shops have to make about the brands they carry. The brand has blindsided my shop. How
you ask? Well, there is something called Minimum Advertised Pricing. Many better brands make the retailers, whether online or brick and mortar, adhere to it. Thou Shall Not Discount/Cheapen My Brand. The brand spends money creating a strong product and a strong brand name and wants stores to be eager to carry it. And the brand will, if it’s smart, control distribution to assure demand at better stores able to move more product. Well now, this comm brand does enforce
MAP pricing but the comm unit I wanted was considered “old” and not “current,” so anyone having it was allowed to “blow it out,” or so it seemed. My store got blindsided. This conversation prompted a rueful
chat about a certain major distributor of many of the brands you see in a Power Sports store. Here’s what you need to know: many major brands carried at a Power Sports store get into that store by first sell- ing units to a distributor who in turns sup- plies your store. In this instance, that major distributor also has an online Super Store selling directly to consumers. You see the potential problem. My parts guy informs me that a bunch of major brands will no longer be carried in his store, and that includes major brand helmets like the one I happen to be wearing. I come away educated and bewildered.
Why would anyone want to set up a brick and mortar store in this new digital busi- ness environment? As I ruminate over my new knowledge, I notice this off-brand hel- met on the shelf which really looks well made. I sure wish I’d seen it before I’d pur- chased the name brand I’m now wearing. But that’s another story. Happy Shopping. Will you be doing that
online, or will I be seeing you down the road?
Fills your tires in minutes.
Reliable. Dependable. Bulletproof. American Made American Strong 5 Year Warranty
ADVENTURE GEAR: tire repair and tire changing kits, BMW power plugs, EZAir tire gauges, right angle valve stems, towing /recovery kits, Ortlieb bags, Joey chairs, battery jumpers, Vision-X bulbs and MORE.
BestRest
Products.com 425.673.1023
October 2015 BMW OWNERS NEWS
91
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140
