quote:
Originally posted by Benz Dr.
Mike? So, what's the problem with placing an order for oil? If it was snake oil I'd say keep looking but this is a very reputable operation with high quality products. I've been using it for over 25 years and I've never had an oil related problem. I know that this product is high quiality and no, I'm not a dealer.
You order stuff from other places don't you? Just because it's the guy down the street doesn't mean the product will be bad. I'd be happy to have a dealer that close to me so I wouldn't have to drive an hour just to get some...
Dan Caron's
SL Barn
benzbarn@ebtech.net
slbarn.mbz.org
1 877 661 6061
Dan,
It's called "value added". Amsoil sells the stuff
directly on their website. Aside from some bs'ing and fun with my neighbor and friend down the street, and allowing him a modicum of profit, why would I order from him? What purpose is being served by allowing a guy in a suburb subdivision (yes that's where I live!)to simply take orders for something? What value is he adding to the distribution process? He's just a middleman--he doesn't stock much, he has no investment in the operation, he isn't a lubricant engineer (he's a commercial airline pilot) he just takes orders and does this for fun--initially to simply get product for himself. Note that many of these distribution models--think Amway, Fuller Brush, Avon, etc. the majority of end users are the distributors...It's finally being discovered in the USA at least, that we can't base an economy--our economy--on people who simple push paper and product. You have to have value added--plain and simple. His value added might be a wealth of inventory. That's not the case.
The digital age and the internet have changed the nature of the logistics and distribution methods of many companies who choose to embrace it.
Case in point. I had a massive failure of a check valve in my car wash last week. The distributor/retailer (though they don't operate out of a garage)are what amounts to
order takers who have no clue what the issue was. On the phone to the
manufacturer, I understand the issue--such a smart company, even the mature woman receptionist who answered the phone was the one who knew my problem and how to solve it. They offer a rebuild kit with different material parts that will prevent the problem from happening in the future. Great I said, send me 10 kits. "No can do". "We don't sell to end users, you have to go through the distributor". Great. I call back the distributor and since it isn't a standard part, they have NO CLUE what I'm talking about. They took the information, and promised to get back to me. Since this isn't a standard issue assignment, it goes on the back burner, and several days later I had not heard from them. Finally after a prompting call, they call me back, give me a price ($5.00 each kit) but say it is a special order and will take 7-10 days. Fine, I said, just take the order and let's get moving. So they do. 10 days go by, no goods. I call them again, they promise to call back after investigation. Finally a few days later--
drop shipped from the manufacturer--my parts show up. My goodness. Do you think EVERYONE would have been better served if the manufacturer simply put the parts in the box and sent them to me? That's what happened anyway! It just took the interference of a middleman distributor to gum things up, delay the order. They did nothing of value. They didn't stock the part; they had no clue what my issue was, and didn't deal with it in a timely or proper fashion. The manufacturer, who does not even have a website (good products but behind the times) is clinging to an old distribution model. I needed some peculiar parts for my kitchen faucet last year, and Moen's tech support listened; told me what the issue was, sent me the required parts for free directly. They did not make me go to a distributor. I would have had the same issue I just told you about. A distributor would not have had the parts; would have had to special order them, and would have not performed any value added. Moen knows how to handle these things.
I wish I could say this is the exception but it is often times the rule. I do SO MUCH BETTER on ordering and buying things when I am dealing directly with the manufacturer, almost without exception. They know the product; are more likely to stock it; can deal with special circumstances and can usually deal with shipping easier too.
I bought hundreds of parts to restore my car. Annually I buy many to keep my car wash machinery running. It operates from over 100 degree F to well below zero; it does this with water being blasted every which way at 38 GPM and 1,200 psi, and lots of moving parts. It's done over 40,000 washes in 5 years. Needless to say there's a LOT of maintenance, and I spend a lot of time buying parts. I'm not a novice at the procurement process, nor in understanding distribution models and what works best.
That's why, when someone posts here about looking for something and I reply, I often have a name/address/phone/website or email contact.
Someone inquired about fasteners recently. There's a Canadian chain called Brafasco that has an office here in Michigan. If they have what I need, great--I usually buy it (but they recently instituted a USD $25 minimum for other the counter sales). But if they don't, "ordering in" something is just too troublesome. The internet vendors are just simply easier to deal with. MB dropped most of their fasteners recently--not worth keeping inventory on!
So in the case of Amsoil, pretend the guy down the street was not my friend. What possible reason would I have to order from him versus Amsoil's own website? I'd feel safer ordering on a secure website with a charge card from a reputable company, than meeting a guy in the garage who only takes cash--even if they are selling the same product. It's about distribution models and value added.
Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America
