Working Undercover(s) was Re: Marking up Merchandise

[Alan Barnard]

To Roger:

I have sold and installed a buncha DC systems and am a true believer. But I
wish to address your comment on undercovers. 

Frankly, I think they are way overpriced for a piece of cloth, some Velcro,
and thumb tacks that I think many of us never use. The undercovers clearly
help many pianos, but installing them (and maintaining the system with one
installed) is definitely a sandpaper suppository. I have charged for labor
only when installing them, as I personally can't justify selling them at a
higher retail than you are charging for the wholesale. I used to take my
regular markup plus labor, until a valued customer saw the opened box, got
a pained expression on her face, and asked, "Is that all it is?" Man, that
was awkward.

Hope you're working on a better installation system. 

If someone packaged cloth, Velcro, and thumbtacks and sold that to techs or
piano owners, marketing it as a tie-in to your humidity control system,
that would be walking on very thin ice, indeed.And certainly don't favor
stomping on anyone's patent, but I do wonder how the courts would respond
to a patent on cloth stapled to wood.  

I'm not a troublemaker; I'll play by the rules. But those are my thoughts.

Alan Barnard
Salem, Missouri


> [Original Message]
> From: Roger Wheelock <roger@dampp-chaser.com>
> To: <deanmay@pianorebuilders.com>; Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Date: 11/16/2005 3:20:20 PM
> Subject: Re: Marking up Merchandise
>
> Hi Dean,
>
> Thank you and Joe both for the support you have shown for our product
over 
> the years.  We really appreciate it here at Dampp-Chaser.  However, I
would 
> like to gently point out that Dampp-Chaser has a patent on the undercover 
> and back side cover.  We kindly ask technicians to honor this.
>
> Roger
>
> Roger Wheelock, VP
> Dampp-Chaser Corp.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dean May" <deanmay@pianorebuilders.com>
> To: "'Pianotech'" <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 10:19 PM
> Subject: RE: Marking up Merchandise
>
>
> > Another factor you are not considering, Joe, is the time it takes to
> > sell the system. It is not uncommon for me to recommend a Dampchaser
> > multiple times to a customer, each time spending several minutes giving
> > the pitch, passing out the brochure, sometimes fielding phone calls from
> > church deacons. Plus the added overhead of keeping a couple units in
> > stock. I feel like I need more than a 50% margin for such a sales
> > intensive system, more like 75%.
> >
> > One place to improve the margin on these systems is to buy your speaker
> > grill cloth at Joann Fabrics by the roll and Velcro tabs in bulk.
> > Material cost for a bottom cover install goes from $35 down to $12. This
> > lets me do an undercover upgrade for $60 and that is an easy sale.
> >
> > I've trained my teenage sons on how to install the Dampchasers and
> > undercovers. They make $30/hr and I still make a good margin.
> >
> > Dean
> > Dean May             cell 812.239.3359
> > PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272
> > Terre Haute IN  47802
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
> > Behalf Of Joseph Garrett
> > Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 10:26 AM
> > To: pianotech
> > Subject: Re: Marking up Merchandise
> >
> > I mark up all items double the wholesale price, then add the shipping.
> > Installation is another issue, IMO.  A few exceptions, (and I don't have
> > a clue why I do it this way.<G>), is Damp Chaser products and
> > Dollies/Trucks: Double the wholesale + Shipping/Handling; installation
> > is included in that price.
> > The one factor that most do not consider, is the time it takes to find
> > the item, order it, etc. "Time is Money".<G>
> > Regards,
> >
> > Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon)
> > Captain, Tool Police
> > Squares R I
> >
> >
> > 
>
>
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