No wonder DX engineering'S prices are higher than all the others. LoL
This reply is an objection to the statement, not the person (you = “you” as anyone thinking same). The business at hand isn’t the point, either. We could be saying this about general aviation aircraft tool & supply.
Did you include shipping cost? Buyer incentives for large purchases? In-stock versus waiting? Product range and catalog depth?
I bought from
Summit Racing practically from the time they started. Being able receive everything ordered at one time was sometimes ideal for a project.
Filling out orders from different vendors and sending multiple money orders out didn’t always save a dime. Those “savings” didn’t always translate to more product bought. A defective part number delivered and failure to rectify costs far more, in my experience.
The business model has to be considered.
My point being:
the price on the page isn’t everything
Service is King
And why isn’t it admirable the man’s pursuit of the hobby led to the creation of “the best” online retailer?
The car parts company was wildly successful. DXE not needed as an entity to have built that antenna array.
Am I going to pay $32 for an Amphenol adaptor I can get elsewhere for $19? Probably not, especially if I want (6) of them. But most of the time I don’t find the discrepancy that large.
You’d
never request their paper catalog or use the one online, would you? Seeing as how they charge too much.
I’d bet you use it
all the time.
Do us the example of swearing an oath publicly: henceforth, money spent by DXE to showcase Amateur Radio products is not free to my use unless reciprocated by purchases made by me.
Why should DXE underwrite your efforts? Catalogs are hugely expensive.
Look to the long-term: Service matters most. Logically, best customers also receive best service.
When one uses the larger company, this is what tips the balance in one’s favor. They can do what smaller companies cannot.
DXE is big enough other retailers rely on your comparison shopping using DXE tools and cut their prices to stay below the higher-overhead competitor.
So why aren’t they edging DXE out?
Its when the choice becomes no choice at all the problems occur: Home Depot versus Lowe’s isn’t competition, it’s collusion. (Good luck buying a handful of screws).
In the meantime, some products don’t get off the ground without wide exposure. The DXE catalog is that.
What’s possible re-arranges your mind. Tools. Not their price, but THAT they exist (opens doors). If there’s an important idea in this post, this is it.
Stop, and consider it well.
We would all prefer a local vendor. Bill Tompkins, Tompkins Radio (since 1947!). Grandson of the founder with whom we went to school. Who has family as do we.
Who patiently listens and suggests.
Who will
always be more expensive than the distant volume discounter. Who will
always save us money in ill-considered purchases.
And who’s on hand for the DIY notes comparison with other local enthusiasts.
“Oh, but price
matters!” = WalMart.
Consider the service already offered and that you already use it.
If money is a principle, so is information.
The Guiding Hand.
(What does it mean, “To Fly?”)
What is Radio?
.