Is Minelab going to direct sales???

[Coin Operated]

What about your trade-ins ?

 

[Liminga]

If brick and mortar is better, deal in a brand that prefers brick and mortar.

It isn't better for me. I prefer ecommerce 90% of the time on nearly everything. Hanging out with friends, local entertainment, or some other local activity being the exception. And most of my groceries still.

I tried for years and years to support sporting goods and archery pro shops. But, they don't offer much. If I don't plan ahead and have what I need when something breaks, then maybe I don't hunt or fish for a few days. Not the end of the world. Some are good pro shops and can tune a bow, some suck. I tune my own now. If I was a rookie I'd have to ship it though. When I try a store, there's no way they can have exactly what I want they'd have to stock too much, so I usually either feel like I have to waste a little money on a substitute, or I go order online anyway and wasted my time.

If a dealer has to close shop and get a different job, not a big deal. I found a job, they can too. I do wish there was a model that worked for everyone, a way dealers also could thrive, but maybe there isn't.
.

 

[robby4570]

If brick and mortar is better, deal in a brand that prefers brick and mortar.

And who would that be?

It isn't better for me. I prefer ecommerce 90% of the time on nearly everything. Hanging out with friends, local entertainment, or some other local activity being the exception. And most of my groceries still.

I tried for years and years to support sporting goods and archery pro shops.

OK, but are we talking Mom and Pop shops or the Big Box stores like ass Pro, or Academy or REI...?

But, they don't offer much. If I don't plan ahead and have what I need when something breaks, then maybe I don't hunt or fish for a few days. Not the end of the world. Some are good pro shops and can tune a bow, some suck. I tune my own now. If I was a rookie

I'd have to ship it though.

Just as with eCommerce

When I try a store, there's no way they can have exactly what I want they'd have to stock too much, so I usually either feel like I have to waste a little money on a substitute, or I go order online anyway and wasted my time.

If a dealer has to close shop and get a different job, not a big deal. I found a job, they can too.

You've obviously never been a Small Business Owner... you don't just say "I Quit", lock the door and go work at Dairy Queen the rest of your life. Dealers had to make a SIZEABLE investment in detectors and accessories to become a dealers.

I do wish there was a model that worked for everyone, a way dealers also could thrive, but maybe there isn't.

But... MY POINT is that Minelab is cutting the throats of every dealer that jumped through Minelab's hoops to become a Minelab Dealer. That's like you being a produce farmer, you go out to guys with trucks/produce stands and get them to buy your produce at a reduced rate and they have to turn around and resell it at a higher price to turn a profit and then you start selling your produce for the same price as them. AND you will deliver it to the end customer so they don't have to drive to the produce stand, so the produce stand guys have a bunch of produce they have bought from you and can't sell... not a great business model for the produce vendors.

I hope this blows up in Minelab's face and they have to TRY to get their dealer network back up... and I hope people remember this. Minelab has lost me as a customer for life or until things get corrected in Management.

 

[SS_Wonder]

With Minelab’s recent 1/3 off Manticore sale and now looking to offer direct to consumer sales, is this a clue that Minelab’s sales have been down a while and they are looking to quickly deploy these tactics to right the ship?

Of course once dealers start dropping vendors due to vendors going direct, it’s an avalanche effect.

 

[Carl-NC]

The whole purpose of having a dealer or distributor network is so the manufacturer can focus on R&D and Marketing support and continually bring new and innovative products to market.

Not really. In the 70s & 80s there was no internet, almost no computers, and Sears was the prominent big-box store. You had print advertising, and a distributor/dealer model for getting products out to where customers could access them. Except for reviews in treasure magazines, there was little guidance in choosing a detector so the best thing was to visit a dealer and get some guidance. Even then, you had a handful of dealers who would take an order over the phone and ship you a detector, although the manufacturers frowned on this.

Times have a-changed immensely. The internet gives us a fire hose of information for guidance and a simple click-and-ship option for ordering. "Your detector will arrive in 48 hours." Whether the manufacturer has to ship their detectors to a bunch of distributors or dealers in 6-pack cartons or directly to the end buyer in a single carton is no big deal, everything is computerized and none of this takes away from R&D unless you are a 1-man band.

Detectors usually have a wholesale price of around 50% MSRP and a MAP price of, say, 85% MSRP. That means a $500 detector wholesales for $250 and the dealer (assuming no middle-man distributor) can sell it for $425 which gives a white space of $175. In other words, the manufacturer is essentially paying the dealer $175 to sell that detector. Manufacturers can sell at the same MAP price as dealers and pocket that $175. Not a hard decision when no effort is involved.

Personally, I miss the good ol' days of detector shops. As a kid I used to often visit the Treasure Hut (Northwood Mall, for Tallahasseans) and look at the cool Bounty Hunter models lined up on the wall. In NC, I used to visit Jerry Barbee's shop, talk detectors, and buy stuff from him. I also loved camera shops, none of them left except in the really big cities. Things are different, society has changed. No one is comfortable going to some guy's house and buying a detector out of his garage shop, which is how many dealers used to operate. But they are comfortable reading some on-line reviews and clicking buy-it-now. And for the same price, whether they buy from a dealer or the manufacturer makes no difference. I don't like it, but I also don't like what Walmart and Dollar General have done to local businesses, or what China has done to the American economy in general. But I expect it to continue.

 

[CountyWorker]

I use large volume drop shippers almost exclusively for firearms, because the price difference far outweighs the delayed shipping times.

Drop shippers use the business model of low overhead and significantly reduced prices. The significantly reduced prices create high sales volume. To overcome MAP, they advertise with “Email for price” and then they reply quickly. Once you pay for your firearm, they order it through their distributors. And since they are high volume sellers, as a result of their low prices, they get good treatment from distributors.

When you contact small detector dealers, in an effort to circumvent MAP, the price reductions(below MAP) you are quoted aren’t significant enough to entice you to buy another detector that you probably don’t need.

Everyone likes to get a deal. As a result of that, drop shippers are killing it in the firearm hobby.

Also, the Turks are making some decent firearms these days. And their increasing competitiveness in quality and lower cost, combined with drop shippers’ low prices, is increasing their market share. Ring any bells?