What happened to...

[JasonInAugusta]

...manufacturers releasing a product for sale when it's ready to be sold? Just put'm on the market and let folks buy them.

These days it seems nearly everything is announced with a pre-order instead.

I don't mean just vendors here on the forums, either. It's everywhere...even DVDs.

I blame console gaming for the craze.


Thoughts?

[JohnRobHolmes]

I presale my motors for the folks that want them yesterday. It guarantees them part of the run since I do small batches and run out quick.

Dont know where it started from though, but the gaming industry would be where I first got in on preorders.

[JasonInAugusta]

Even Tower does it.

Pre-orders give distribs more buying power, but sheesh.

[JohnRobHolmes]

I think I will start preselling the Revolver Blacks today

[JasonInAugusta]

Dammit, man!

Maybe it's just easier than market research?

For folks that "Want it yesterday" there were a couple of terms that you'd see quite often.

"Limited Availability"

"First come, First served"

[Rockpiledriver]

Exactly as JRH stated. I know we always do the smallest run possible on parts, there is almost always something that needs to be changed or improved on the second batch. This insures that the people who really want something from the first run get them.

That said, We are planning to release a cool new product today or tomorrow that we did not do a pre-sale on. No reason, we just didn't do it.

[JohnRobHolmes]

Originally Posted by JasonInAugusta

Maybe it's just easier than market research?

I could see that. Put the new item up for presale and only produce 2 times the amount that sells. It would prevent overstocking and such. I'm on the other side of the fence. I do my market research and only produce motors that I know will work well and sell in a short period of time. I'm looking into getting ESC's manufactured now, and will probably presell those too

[tombstone]

Hey JIA, can i put Dirk Digler on Pre-Order till i get some more money?

Thanks Tombstone XD

[jason]

A lot of companies do it to relieve themselves of actually taking any risk as a business owner.

In the old days business' had to order a bunch of stuff and hope it sold, to me this is part of the risk of being a business owner.

Now days you can let people preorder, pay upfront, then you pay your supplier, stick your money in your pocket, and ship the items when it arrives. All the while you as a business owner never were actually out any operating capital.

[WRMorrison]

Another reason could be that a supplier wants to be the first to release a certain type of product, but knows that other vendors are working on the same thing. Once they feel they're close enough to release, they "spread the word" hoping to beat out the competition in delivering the latest edge in products.

-WRM

BTW, the only thing I've ever preordered (that I can remember) was a limited edition gaming mouse a few years back.

[JasonInAugusta]

Must be the new business model that's evolved.

I always learned to do market research to determine need then produce and sell.

What's funny is that it has stemmed from the gaming industry...which sells consoles and games like the Class Six sells beer.

[Rockpiledriver]

I personally hate pre-orders. I don't like taking money from customers, until the product is in hand and ready to ship. Sometimes as a vendor you are forced to do a pre-sale if the larger companies offer them for the same product.(Tower Hobbies/Horizon Hobby) In order to offer a pre-sale on a specific item that is manufactured by a third party, vendors have to place an initial pre-order with their supplier, who in turn needs to place an order with the manufacturer. No money is exchanged between the vendor, supplier and the distributor until the product is available, but it isn't good business practice to cancel your pre-order from the supplier/distributor at a later time. Once you have commited to a pre-order from your supplier, you now need to offer the pre-sale to your customers, so when the product arrives, you don't have tons of inventory sitting on the shelves.

Some might say, than just don't pre-order product for pre-sales. Well, that would be logical, but if the product that is coming out has the potential to be great, you don't want to be the vendor that sits back and watches the others , as the product does so well.

I much prefer waiting lists. This way customers can pre-order an item and keep the money in their pocket until it is ready to ship. If they change their mind at a later time, no money is lost. As with many online companies, pre-orders are paid through paypal. If a customer pre-pays via paypal and decides to cancel at a later time, paypal takes a percentage fee on the initial order and then takes another percentage fee when the vendor refunds the pre-sale purchase.

[JohnRobHolmes]

Originally Posted by jason

A lot of companies do it to relieve themselves of actually taking any risk as a business owner.

In the old days business' had to order a bunch of stuff and hope it sold, to me this is part of the risk of being a business owner.

Now days you can let people preorder, pay upfront, then you pay your supplier, stick your money in your pocket, and ship the items when it arrives. All the while you as a business owner never were actually out any operating capital.

This isn't always the case though. I certainly have to pay up front before I can get any motors made. I have my capital tied up for months at a time with no goods to sell.

[jason]

Right, you are doing like my "in the old days" scenerio. You order a bunch of stuff from your supplier paying up front and taking a risk on it selling when it comes in.

[kawika]

I'd rather pay up front if it insures that I'll receive the product. As long as the wait is reasonable. And, I guess we could even debate what should be considered reasonable.

[skellyo]

I certainly don't mind pre-ordering a new product. However, I don't expect to pay for that item until it's ready to be shipped to me. While I realize it's diffucult for small vendors to outlay the capital on products that they have to purchase prior to ordering, at least the vendor has the capability to turn a profit on the products they invested in. If the consumer has to pay and then wait on the product for a while, they get no return on the money spent other than the product itself.

[Rockpiledriver]

Actually, it's a conspiracy... at least that's what I've been told.

[thatguy]

Originally Posted by johnrobholmes

I'm looking into getting ESC's manufactured now,

sorry to hijack, but tell us more.what kind of cool features?

[Rckcrwlr]

I like presales...I sometimes miss the "launch" of something. I would rather just pay for it and know that it is coming when available. Let's me go focus on something else.

Keep the PreSales Coming...

[FrankyRizzo]

Better yet, hype a pre-release cad drawing, create a ton of anticipation, and then have a shoddy to boot.