Marketing Issue [RE-wrenches]

[Graham Owen]

I also continue to be perplexed and chagrined by lowball direct sales to 
consumers.  What troubles me the most is not the advertisers in Home 
Power, rather it is our wholesale distributors who sell around us.  
Recently I performed a service call for a homeowner in L.A. who self 
installed 54 150 Watt modules and was having inverter problems.  This 
homeowner purchased the equipment directly from a distributor whose 
advertisements seeking dealers claimed they never sell direct.  The 
wiring was undersized and some modules were facing north and combiner 
boxes are in the attic.  Enough said about this example.

A sales manager at a different so-called wholesale distributor has set 
up one of his best friends with direct sales on the Internet.  For a 
while the on-line prices were lower for a complete grid-tie system than 
contractors were being offered from the distributor.  Once the word got 
out the prices offered by this company have risen.

I think grid-tied solar should be as difficult for homeowners to 
purchase for self-installation as whole house AC systems are. 

With respect to the non-distributor affiliated Solar.com companies and 
their low prices perhaps we just have to deal with it, for now.  The 
Internet has changed everything.  As an avid fly fisherman I have with 
sorrow seen some great storefronts close down due to the trend towards 
direct sales on the Internet.  Once somebody has arranged for fly-tiers 
offshore to work for fifty cents a day and sells products direct via the 
Internet the decades old brick and mortar’s go bust.  What we have to 
offer as Wrenches is our skills, creativity, knowledge of safety and 
compliance issues which results in higher quality professional 
installations that work effectively.  Nobody can drop-ship what we have 
to offer.

The solar thermal manufacturers who have survived since the demise of 
the industry in the 80’s did so by eliminating the distributors markup 
and sell directly to contractors.  These companies typically do not sell 
direct to homeowners and this may the direction the PV industry goes.  
Perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I have wondered for years why Wrenches put links on their websites to 
Home Power?  I never did because I assumed this would direct my 
potential customers towards my competition.  Home Power can market their 
product effectively without my assistance.  With that said, Home Power 
provides an extremely valuable service for the hands on independent 
types who are most likely very appreciative to receive a basic solar 
education and direction towards obtaining products as inexpensively as 
possible. These people are not my target market and I am pleased they 
are being served.

Graham Owen
GO Solar

- - - -
To send a message: RE-wrenches at topica.com

Archive of previous messages: http://www.topica.com/lists/RE-wrenches/

List rules & etiquette: http://www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/etiquete.htm

Check out participant bios: www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/index.html

Hosted by Home Power magazine

Moderator: michael.welch at homepower.com
==^================================================================
This email was sent to: michael_welch at sbcglobal.net

EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bz8Qcs.bz9JC9.bWljaGFl
Or send an email to: RE-wrenches-unsubscribe at topica.com

TOPICA - Start your own email discussion group. FREE!
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/create/index2.html
==^================================================================