Surefire to stop using dealers?

Hi folks, I have heard from another forum that Surefire are to stop using dealers that use only websites to sell their products - the aim being that the only online way of buying a surefire is to go to www.surefire.com.
To qualify to be a dealer, you have to be a 'bricks & mortar' store.
Good or bad?
Comments?

Ross

My first thought is I sure do hope tactical warehouse is a "brick and mortar" store.Great dealers are hard to find, and surefire doesn't fall in that group. Great manufacturing and engineering are surefires claim to fame but their customer service is spotty at best.

Well if that happens Ross, it really stinks for me. I don't know of any stores in my local area that sell more than the E2e and E1e. Also the prices on their website are certainly not cheap.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif

I don't think they'll drop their dealers. I imagine a high percentage of their flashlight inventory is moved through online dealer sales. Reducing that number of dealers to 1 would severly limit their online exposure.

Saaby, thats what I thought but if you read this you will see it's true.

Ross

Boy, does that suck... the Ebay market and used pricing would go insane. Not to mention an 'internet black market' until said site would get shut down.

Where I live in NJ there are NO stores carrying SF, period.

Time to move on to Pila-I have a GL4 and I love it.

Rich

If you have a brick & mortar store AND a website, can you still sell over the internet?

Wow... I have never bought a Surefire in a brick and mortar store to date. This move may be good for Surefire's sales on their website, but I doubt it will be a plus overall for customers.

-Mike

Unless they change their web sales policy to allow overseas purchases, I`ll be *very* pissed off if they shut down all the other web retaillers.

Anyone know if Meridian Tactical have a brick&mortar store too? If not, there goes another of my SF dealers.....

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

Interesting...SF is willing to cut-out, entirely, internet sales, unless the internet seller has a permenant walk in store. Why? Probably to increase demand, which will increase prices.

I'm not sure if SF is having their usual start-of-year retail price increase.

Regardless, there will be a lot of PO'd internet only dealers, and a lot of end users who will likely find alternatives (SL, Pila, Pelican, etc).

--dan

so much for good prices on surefires.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif

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BlindedByTheLite said:
so much for good prices on surefires.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif

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Exactly, Surefire will have a virtual internet monopoly unless many of these sites are also B&M. I know that Brightguy recently moved to larger quarters but I'm not sure if it's just a warehouse or includes a retail store. I know that I'm not the only one who is upset by Surefire's decision.

Brightnorm

Surefire has been losing points on my scale for quite some time now. I broke my self imposed boycott to buy an L4 while there was a good price on them and now this! Geez, you'd think with their popularity they would excercise some nobility towards the people who buy their products and throw us a bone now and again. Isn't there a celebrity saying about never showing contempt for your audience?

A peek into my future conversations with flashlight dealers: "Hello, yes do you carry Streamlight products? You do! GREAT!!......." /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

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tsg68 said:
A peek into my future conversations with flashlight dealers: "Hello, yes do you carry Streamlight products? You do! GREAT!!......." /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

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Or Pila products? I can't help but wonder if this will leave them vulnerable to a takeover on internet sales when another company fills the void left by Surefire. I would bet that other companies are currently planning how to capitalize on this come next year.

-Mike

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Xrunner said:
Or Pila products? I can't help but wonder if this will leave them vulnerable to a takeover on internet sales when another company fills the void left by Surefire. I would bet that other companies are currently planning how to capitalize on this come next year.

-Mike

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Unfortunately, I doubt they are the least bit concerned. A more exclusive market means higher profit margins to them. And they probably have plenty of Govt. and municipal sales to buoy them!

TSG /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I see that I am in good company, being unhappy about this. If the L4 had been at Surefire's MSRP, I would not have been able to get one.

All is not lost in illumination land!! As soon as I read the first post I fired an email off to Dan at TW inquiring as to his status. Whew, he is a Brick and Mortar store.Hey I didn't know.I am guessing that Bulldog Enterprises is a B&M also but as long as TW is I am happy

Does anyone know this is true or are we going by this post only?

Jivat, I think it's a bitn of both. The post from the British Knife site said that he "called" SF and got the scoop. How true is that? Who knows...

--dan

I have a feeling that now might be a good time to stock up on $1.25 SF batteries.

We always say what a tiny sliver of SF's market we are, but 5000 Flashaholics is a big potential customer base, and SF isn't a large company

Brightnorm