Curious email response from Surefire

Malpaso

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 4, 2005
Messages
506
Location
MA
Noticing that there is no mention of the E1L and E2L on the Surefire website, but they are for sale elsewhere, I emailed Surefire about it.

Me: I've noticed the E1L and E2L for sale elsewhere, but no mention of them on your web site.

Them: New Surefire products are not put on the web site for the first 90 days after they become available.

The response surprised me. I wonder why they would have this policy. Do they use this 90 days as a Beta period?
 
Production ramp up periods. You get a real product out into the marketplace as fast as possible to support your brick and morter dealers but keep the fact you are doing this on the down low as far as direct sales. This allows you to get product out and not get so swamped with orders so as allow you to ramp up production.

Chris
 
In the last few years Surefire has strongly protected it's relationships with brick & mortar retailers. This has driven more than a few decisions that were very unpopular with CPF members.

I would GUESS that this is just another of those policies. It would allow their retailers to come up to full stock before they sold on-line potentially undercutting Brick & Mortar sales.
 
Actually, Double A, it's more about their OWN web sales undercutting their OWN dealers, B&M or web. Not only do they never sell their product cheaper than MSRP (well, almost never--there are a few specials now and then), but they let the dealers have first crack at all new products before the new products go on the SF website. It was the same way with the L4.
 
Yup, when I picked up my E1L the guy behind the counter said they were part of an "auto ship program" with Surefire wherein they automatically got a couple of units of any new SF products as soon as they were available.
 
[ QUOTE ]
deranged_coder said:
Yup, when I picked up my E1L the guy behind the counter said they were part of an "auto ship program" with Surefire wherein they automatically got a couple of units of any new SF products as soon as they were available.

[/ QUOTE ]

"Hello Surefire, I'm a flashaholic from CPF. What is this auto-ship program about, how can I get on it, and oh, do you need my credit card number or a direct deposit account?"

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I'd LOVE to have the money to be able to do that! :wishful-thinking-graemlin:
 
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