Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/07/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Dear Herr Cohn, I have devised a program for increasing sales of R8s and making a profit at the same time. Leica Solms would sell the R8s directly to the end user and receive payment on the Internet. The buyer would them be required to pick up his R8 at a local dealer. In the event that the buyer lives more than 100km from his local dealer, the dealer could them ship the R8 to the buyer. The R8s would sell for $995 (USD) including VAT. The export price (outside the EU) would be $850. The advantages to a program like this are numerous. 1) Get customers in to their local dealers. 2) Immediate increase in cash flow. 3) Increases sales of a slow moving inventory item. 4) In many cases the local dealer will sell one or more lenses and other Leica accessories to the Internet customer. 5) In addition to accepting credit cards for sales, you can also make financing available. 6) Provide a full "unconditional" 5 year warranty. Warranty service must be through a local dealer (the customer can't mail it directly to a Leica distributor unless they are more then 100km from a dealer). 7) It will significantly increase sales of R8s and R lenses to dealers. 8) The beauty of this program is that (A) it will bring customers into their local dealers at least -TWICE-, once to look at the item and the second time to pick it up, and (B) you get to sell the camera -TWICE-, once to the dealer and the second time to the Internet customer. (Then you make money on the "float" while you refund the dealer's original purchase price.) The purpose of this program is to (A) Get customers into their local dealers, and (B) move out the inventory of R8s. In addition, you could also make this offer available at Photokina, where the visitors to Photokina can purchase the R8 and take delivery at their local dealer. How to SCREW-UP the above promotional program. If you want to screw-up the above program and make it into a gigantic failure, all you have to do is put in some type of a "mandatory tie-in"...like the customer "must buy a lens" from his local dealer. Don't even think about such an idea. Just put the R8s into the market place on the Internet and you will not be able to keep up with the sales of R8s and R lenses. Regards, Bill Erfurth m6rf@yahoo.com tel: 303-674-0510 fax: 303-670-3015 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/