Well said Bob.
"Bob Rickard" wrote in message
news
Product pricing and competitiveness is an extremely complex situation, and
it is so because all of the parties involved unintentionally team up to
make
it so. In other words, it is a mess.

Manufacturers eventually allow themselves to be run by beancounters who
operate out of greed and fear, and who then allow the large power
retailers
(Wal-Mart, BPS, Cabelas, etc.) to essentially take over their companies
and
dictate how they, the manufacturers, will operate. Yes, it almost becomes
a
master-slave situation!

Smaller retailers operate out of feelings of fear and persecution because
they cannot always buy at the best, large volume prices that the big
retailers have negotiated with the manufacturers (negotiate, hell! what
actually happens is that the cowardly manufacturers actually fell on their
knees and licked the power retailer's boots). Still, the few small
retailers
that actually make themselves truly valuable, treat their customer's
right,
and work hard intelligently with purpose and confidence will grow and
succeed.

I personally believe that the weak link in the fair pricing process is
with
the manufacturers. We at Secret Weapon are operating differently than most
manufacturers. We think that what we are doing is correct, and we intend
to
stick to our guns and make it work. We also think that our approach will
benefit everyone involved, and that it is good business for everyone from
retailers to consumers.

I have about fifteen years manufacturing experience. I also have over
twenty
years retailing and wholesaling experience, from being the owner of a
small
independent retailer to a manager of a "superstore." During those thirty
five years, I learned an awful lot. Now I have formed Secret Weapon lures,
and was lucky enough to be able to find a genius to run it. Yes, Joe
Haubenreich is exactly that! We have put our strengths and resources
together to plan what has become the most simple and honest marketing
approach ever, one which every other legitimate manufacturer should
consider.

To begin with, we are taking the honest approach that our business is the
sale of a good product that people will want. Without that, we would have
no
business being in business. We then determined what it cost to make our
product and then added a fair profit, always remembering that the lower
the
price, the higher the sales will be. The free market and the quality of
the
product will show our prices to be viable or not.

Finally, we are making our products available to selected dealers at that
price. We have one price list for all dealers, whether they purchase one
lure or a thousand. We do not offer any prepaid freight programs or any
other programs that would benefit any one dealer over the other (therefore
we do not have to include freight costs in the price). We do not give
price
breaks for large quantity orders. We also do not charge extra for small
orders. Hopefully, the end result will be that our customers will end up
being able to buy our products at reasonable prices everywhere.

If enough small dealers demanded this type of fair pricing from their
suppliers, and supported those who offered fair pricing, the others would
eventually fall in line and everyone would win. This looks good on paper,
and we are betting that it will eventually work in the real world.

--
Bob Rickard
(AKA Dr. Spinnerbait)
www.secretweaponlures.com
--------------------------=x O')))


"alwayfishking" wrote in message
...
Well I have read here about supporting your local tackle shop as
oppsoed
to shopping the big chain stores and have to say I did my fair share,
but
the local shop has increased prices so much that I just don't see myself
supporting them as much as I have in the past.

3.49 for a bag of zooms? 2.89 for a pack of 6 gammy hooks?

Don't get me wrong, I'll still buy when need dictates or when I need
certain items where price is not that much of a difference, or when I
can't
wait for shipping... but paying such a difference on certain items just
doesnt make sense. IMO.

I asked them about getting some line in and was quoted a price of 5
bucks
more a spool and I was looking for 4 spools!! I explained that it was
too
much and just got the old shoulder shrug and a thats what it sells for
now.
Maybe just one bad store here..maybe not