Whats better?

[regal]

Originally Posted by ZionsWrath

You get what you pay for.

It is not absolute, however, it is a very big indicator of performance and support generally speaking.

For example: I bought a cheap sports car, its not going to be on the level on a 911.

If I won the lottery tomorrow I would still prefer my cheap sports car over a 911. Value is in the eye of the beholder. I never believed in the saying you get what you pay for. Look at how many expensive POS Cadillac's were made in the 80's/90's.


"A sucker is born every minute", applies to all price ranges.

[wheelhaus]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

What are you selling?

This is relevant and important. If you're buying something that everyone else is selling and it's self explanatory, and it doesn't really require customer service to answer questions, then I'll probably go with the lowest price. Taking my money and shipping something doesn't require customer service.

However if you're selling something that entails questions, ay sort of customization, frequent supply issues from the factory, specialty products, etc, then customer service is pretty important.

[Tromatic]

http://www.valkyriemotorwerks.com/

I think it's odd that someone with a new business would be asking people too choose between cheep or good customer service. These days, with the damage the internet can do to your business you damn well better offer both.

[dem00n]

Originally Posted by Tromatic

http://www.valkyriemotorwerks.com/

I think it's odd that someone with a new business would be asking people too choose between cheep or good customer service. These days, with the damage the internet can do to your business you damn well better offer both.

Don't attack him so easy, he's just trying to get a feel of the market.

The Euro crowd is different then the JDM crowd, he has good points.

[Ammonia]

Originally Posted by dem00n

Don't attack him so easy, he's just trying to get a feel of the market.

The Euro crowd is different then the JDM crowd, he has good points.

I agree with him though, I don't see why it has to be mutually exclusive. Competitive prices can be had with good service.


I'm from the "euro" crowd (BMW/Audi) and we had many vendors offer good products with excellent customer service at prices lower than equivalent products here.

[gily25]

It depends on what you're buying. Which is why the price matters so much...when you pay less for an item you're less concenred with the company reputation or customer service because the risk vs. value ration is lower. When someone is buying something like a turbo, high end wheels, axles, complete exhaust, etc. they're paying more and the risk increases. The point is to have low prices on everyday items, shift knobs, bare LEDs, lugnuts and mid-way prices on higher value items and promises of returns or tech support for those items, i.e. installer locator widget on your website. You can also win people over when something small is included as a gift with a larger item...you just dropped $3k with our shop here's some free dress-up washers.

You can probably find a case study on Crutchfield.com if you look around online, they follow this model.

[regal]

Crutchfield is so inflated over ebay, I haven't ordered from them in 15 years.


I think if a product is of high quality, customer service is overrated.

[Tromatic]

Originally Posted by regal

Crutchfield is so inflated over ebay, I haven't ordered from them in 15 years.


I think if a product is of high quality, customer service is overrated.

So if you buy some unobtanium JDM part that happens to be the one QC failure you don't care if the seller tells you to FOAD? The WWW is full os busineeses that sell the same things. What makes one stand out over the others?

[DarkSunrise]

Depends what you're selling.

If it's something performance-oriented and expensive (like a header or custom tune), then I'd definitely want good technical info, warranty, and customer service. Not to mention a product that performs well.

But if you're selling something cheap like a knock-off lip or side-markers, I wouldn't expect much technical info or customer service on that.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Depends what you're selling.

I asked "what are you selling" but I should have phrased it like this. DS asks the right question.

"What is being sold?"

The OPs question of cheap vs expensive cannot be answered in it's original form. More input needed.

[regal]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Depends what you're selling.

If it's something performance-oriented and expensive (like a header or custom tune), then I'd definitely want good technical info, warranty, and customer service. Not to mention a product that performs well.

But if you're selling something cheap like a knock-off lip or side-markers, I wouldn't expect much technical info or customer service on that.

I think with a header needing customer service is like needing customer service to buy an alternator. For a header you need good reviews from other customers. If you need support then the problem is the quality of manufacture or design issues.


For a tune yes this is a 32 bit ECU with DI, we will need shops with good customer service for many years on that one. Right now we have a supply/demand issue with tuning. Too few expert tuners are "interested" in the platform. I was heartbroken a bit when Delicious said this platform is relegated to weekends only for them.


I think I posted a year ago that we really need a company to sell a header + tune for a reasonable sum with good support, I was amazed to see Shiv's product hit the market at just the right time. That's a real good thing for these cars.




The amount of after market interest overall for this platform has been amazing, but I'm waiting for things to settle down to where support isn't a big issue, plug or bolt-on and play. Couple years we'll see that.

[Tromatic]

You can buy parts from hundreds of places. Some things I want as cheaply as I can get them, but those are the things that get tossed when they break. For car parts, gun parts, bike parts and the like I'll make the effort to buy local or to buy from the shop that gets stellar reviews for service.

[ValkyrieMotorwerks]

Originally Posted by dem00n

Don't attack him so easy, he's just trying to get a feel of the market.

The Euro crowd is different then the JDM crowd, he has good points.

There are too many guys sitting in moms basement selling parts at 3% profit margins that undercut each other. These are the same guys who once a return is needed, a part fails or any tech help is needed are nowhere to be found.

They are shut down constantly left and right by their suppliers and the manufactures for MAP violations. They sell parts that should bring in 20-35% profit for 3%. What many of you fail to realize is that of a part fails and needs to be sent to the manufacture, they look at price paid and if the part was sold under MAP the manufacture will often not warranty it.

Guys like this are hurting small business and the auto industry. I was debating stocking more JDM/KDM performance stuff, as my OEM stuff does sell well. But there is no point. I have overhead and staff to worry about. Believe it or not you can't have low prices and top level customer service.

I would much rather stick with better margins, happy satisfied customers that we bend over backwards to please, and staff that loves their job and are treated respectfully. This formula has worked for us and I was just curious if it would work in the JDM market the way internet sellers are these days.

I just had an order put in for a $15,000 performance package because the client was so pleased with how helpful we were helping him choose an intake system a few months back on his Porsche and how to wash his car without getting swirls. This is going into his 458.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by ValkyrieMotorwerks

I would much rather stick with better margins, happy satisfied customers that we bend over backwards to please, and staff that loves their job and are treated respectfully. This formula has worked for us and I was just curious if it would work in the JDM market the way internet sellers are these days.

You already answered your own question... why reinvent your own wheel?

A company shouldn't have to present multiple images to different groups of buyers. A company should cater its own specialties to its target audience, not differentiate its own messaging.

Having said that, the "JDM" market is constantly evolving. 15 years ago, we had nothing (for the 240SX crowd). 10 years ago, a ton of domestic vendors are trying to compete against established JDM manufacturers. 5 years ago, a ton of JDM vendors are being pushed out by competitive USDM vendors.

I can go on and on...

-alex