Marketing Issue [RE-wrenches]

Thu May 15 07:05:29 PDT 2003

Kurt,
I stopped selling HP years ago because of this. I recently had to (it was
that, or a $10,000 system was going to walk out the door) give a customer a
$400 discount on an OB FX inverter. I took the time to calmly educate the
customer, but he still wanted me to nearly match the HP ad price.

I contacted Christopher Freitas at OB and he assures me that they are on top
of that particular situation and is taking the necessary steps to make sure
that their products are not treated in this fashion.

Legally there is nothing that we can do about it. HP makes their living off
of these solar porno ads. They have made their decision based on a lot of
factors, I know that. I disagree with their conclusions. They do promote
local dealers in their magazines but are hypocrites by allowing these ads.

I deal with some customers who either know of HP, or even subscribe to HP,
but it is a very small percentage of my customer base. I view HP as a hybrid
of a trade magazine for RE dealers / RE enthusiasts magazine. Most of my
customers are not enthusiasts, or hobbyists, they just need good reliable
off grid systems. If I had to lower my prices even 30% of the time to keep a
HP reader happy I would no longer be able to stay in business. Therefore I
do not tell them about HP.

Dave Palumbo

-----Original Message-----
From: sunwise [mailto:sunwise at cheqnet.net]
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 12:55 AM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: Marketing Issue [RE-wrenches]

Greetings all,

We've had this discussion before, but I need to re-visit it or
something.  I also want to mention that

As a solar guy, I highly encourage people to purchase HP Magazine, and
even bought a couple subscriptions for my area libraries (they're half
price for libraries!).  I also used to have a policy of offering a free
one year subscription to anyone who bought a system from me.  I also
sell HP mags retail out of my shop during the summer (retail outlet
closed for winter).

This said, it is difficult for me to have an SP75 hanging on the wall
with a $385 dollar price tag on it, and a stack of HP magazines directly
below with a centerfold ad from Terra Stellar (or some such outfit) with
the same PV listed for little more than my cost.

Do I stop selling HP (please, no), post a list of the ten commandments
(including "if you bought it from them, call them with your
questions/problems), or consider it to be part of the whole solar
process (of going broke?).

I believe we need RE to move into more conventional markets if we expect
it to become more widely accepted, but does this directly translate into
a Walmart and Sam's Club mentality?

I had planned to post this to marketing, but the address is missing from
my newer computer (almost a year old) and apparent no one is using
Marketing any longer.

Kurt Nelson
SOLutions

This issue may be of interest to Wrenchs and MArketeers alike, and as
the

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