Candle Power Forum Buying Group...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mr Ted Bear:
Yes, this deal has already been put together, the quesitons is, are there enough of us flashholics to make it work

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Well posted Mr Ted Bear.

I think that this is what CPF is, or should be, all about.
Administratively, it might be difficult, unless the dealer did all that kind of work.
Ideally, the dealer would take orders for the whole range of all the different lights mentioned, even if they were 'wait for the delivery' special orders.

Oh, and no problem shipping to the UK, [and outside the States generally] would be important for me, and a few others.

What do ya mean by this deal has already been put together ?

Fraternally,
Lite-Lover

Yes shipping internationally, no problem.

Special orders also OK, and actually they have many of our favoite brands besides besides Surefire. Pelikan, Steamlight, Underwater Kientics, all in stock, ready to ship.


As far as this deal being put together..
Well I have been working with them for the last few weeks, and they are ready for our business, that is, if there is a sufficient amount to give to them. They aren't going to be able to much for us if we can give them but a few orders for E2's. But on the other hand, it would be worth while for them if give them something like an couple M6s, 1 or 2 m4's, m2's, maybe some extra batteries etc. each month. Lets face it, there's very little profit in a $100 sale, but in $2000, there is a lot more profit - profit that equals greater discounts for us

How about adding "I want to buy/I want to sell" phrase to the dealers corner. Then any one who wants an E-2 can post what ever they want there..."willing to pay $50 for E-2" or "I would like a E-2, please post your best price this week".

If a dealer see`s several request for something and he is interested in making a offer/deal he can post a price for members. "Hi, this is Ken with Boatrack. If I can get ten orders for E-2`s by July 12 each one will cost $48. Please contact me if you are intrested in this price".

Anyone who felt comfortable with Boatrack company and liked their deal could contact them.

The down side would be if there are not enough orders to proceed after you have waited a month.

To be fair to the dealer we should delete or edit post often. And not post A request unless we really are in the market for X.

Anyway, just an idea.

Anything that can help bring prices down is a good idea.
Looking at it from this side of the water, a dealer has to be trustworthy, and in my situation knowledgeable - I need a lot of info on the confusing SF's for instance.

I think whoever it is has to be a Flashaholic's dealer - someone who can cope with the kind of detailed questions that we all ask.
And then maybe cheaper would be OK, but however it works, just saving a few dollars isn't everything - service is a valuable point too.

I am also surprised that there aren't more private sales on the board - does that point to anything, in terms of what Flashaholics want ?

Jahn

Ken

I think that this forum already affords any dealer the opportunity to solicit our business buy offering special sales or promotional offers. Like you said, it would be up to each individual to opt in or out, and for each individual to do their do diligence as to whether they are dealing with a reputable dealer or not.

What I am hoping to achieve is a simple buying cooperative, where as members of the forum give as much business to one dealer (can be Tim Flannigan, Bright Guy, Arizona Gun Runner), who would in turn give us the best deal possible. The "best deal" is not just price, but also service and delivery etc.

By the way, this need not be limited to once a month as I mentioned in my first post…. Why not day in, day out. I have already found a dealer that will do just that. But what the heck, let the dealers come to us, rather we to them. We have lots to offer…our money!

Every few days, i can't help but notice that
someone inquires about the "best" price on Surefire Flashlights.

Every few days, I can't help but notice that someone has just bought a Surefire Flashlight.


Now consider the following:

What if we were to "pool" our buyiing power, say on a monthly basis, and give our business to a selected dealer.

That dealer would in turn give "as good as" OR in most cases, better prices that anyone else on the internet. This dealer has done their homework, and knows their competetors pricing, and we would not have to spend a lot of time doing compairson shopping or have to ask them to match their competitos... they have already taken care of this for our special buying group!!!

This dealer does not charge extra for credit cards sales, and only charges "actual costs" for shipping, not some flat rate of $5, $7.5 etc


This dealer is a STOCKING dealer, not some mailorder house that might ship sometime in the next week. My experience has been that they will ship the same day if the order is received by 3 pm PST


Dunn and Bradstreet AAA rating, and a clean record with Better Business Bureau. Most important is that they have excellent customer service.


What is in it for them? The haven't spend a dime on advertising. Know one knows what the numbers might be, but I would not be surprised if we could give them upwards of $2,000/month or more in extra sales.


Yes, this deal has already been put together, the quesitons is, are there enough of use flashholics to make it work

I think this would be especially effective on new products that everyone is waiting for. That is when the higher number necessary for a decent discount can be reached. A dealer can say, the price will be x if I get y pre-orders and will only go through if that number is reached.

DavidW are you reading this? I think we should choose a company and try to all use them, at least try it out and see if it works for us and the dealer also. I think Tim Flanagan sort of does this but doesn't do it full time and probably doesn't have the extra time it takes to deal with all of us. Peter Gransee (Arc light) is a good example of what I would like to see a dealer doing, letting us know what is up and staying on top of customer service. If we could get a bigger company like Brightguy or whoever it would be great!

Well Mr Bear, what company are you talking to about this idea?

How about AGR? I know that its a small operation (could be just one guy for that matter), but I've ordered from them 3 times and the service was fairly prompt. The price is good already, and their site is always boostering about volume discounts. I'm in for it. I get the deliveries from them like in 2 days after they ship (UPS Ground), I guess that's because I'm in Los Angeles and they are relatively close.

Tim Flanagan, is you out there somewhere ?

Jahn

Hello Ken and others,

I am reluctant to identify the distributor at this time (saw your post last night) because I received an anonymous e-mail (anonymous in that I have no idea who this person is, or where this person is from). The e-mail suggested that in some way, I am personally connected to this dealer, and that I will make all kinds for money off this deal etc. My thinking is, I don't need this nonsense….. let every one fend for themselves. Pretty chicken s--t don't you think? Hey, if you got what you wanted (price, delivery & service)at the price you wanted to pay and were very very happy, AND the dealer was making enough profit to stay in business then everything else does't matter. Too bad... by buying collectively we can save money.

The other thing is, based on the limited responces so far, I think I was overly optimisit in what I discussed with the dealer. From what I have seen so far, just not enough interest.

I hope that AGR or BrightGuy will rise to the occasion. After all, with all the stock I own in both companies, I would have personal gains LOL!!!

Well Ted, right now I`m in the market for a Lightwave 4000...normaly about $63 including shipping. If I can get one for about $55 or less (including shipping) I might find an extra buck somewhere in my empty wallet. If their are others in here that are in the market for one light or another...maybe you should speak up now so it can be gaged whether this is worth pursuing.

Exactly.. Number 1 on my list also based on others comments
or
Willcontact them tommorrow. They have told me that they are willing to work with our group. so I am anxious to find out if it was just talk, OR how many do you need, where do we ship to, and when do you need these by

Yes, I need a M4 and UK LC 100 (Lantern). Please let me know the shipping to Hong Kong.

Alan

2 more 18 watt lamps Part #: 44807 for UK D4R.

Alan

well, I have 2 Lightwave 4000s on order from the website that was posted here, somewhere, I forgot if it was Lightwave or someone else..? (-edit; it was nielsenlabs.com ) Also waiting for the lux meter from Circuit specialists (already enroute) (got it!) and an Eternalite xray...
Who will co-ordinate all this, and repack and reship everything? What about returns, and repairs, etc., do we then each deal individually, after the sale, with the seller then?
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My first choice is Brightguy. I've had good luck with him. And he seems easy to work with. My next choice is NDSProducts. I've also had good service from them. But I've made only two orders from there. Glowbug also. But they're only LED's and other non-filament lights.

If any of you have any suggestions on a dealer to approach with this idea, now is the time to speak up.

My online time has been cut severly since starting this forum. But I'll force myself to contact Greg Atwell on Monday.

I had good dealings with Tim Flanagan.

I heard that Brightguy is not too overseas-friendly. They charge extra in additions to actual shipping for overseas customers.

Alan