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No no no, supply and demand dictate how things work. If things are too expensive, people don't buy. If people don't buy, corporations have to lower prices. They could have stayed right here in the US and lowered prices. But no moving overseas was much more lucrative. CEOs get to make much more with all that overseas labor saving. They not only screw American workers in the process, but the taxpayers get screwed as well.
And, how would they lower prices? Is the Wal-Mart smiley face going to pop out of no where and start "slashing" and "rollin' back" prices magically? I guess we can forget the cost of resources, labor, taxes, etc. in that calculation if that's the case. However, in the real world, these outside forces dictate how much a company can cut its price.
And, how would they lower prices? Is the Wal-Mart smiley face going to pop out of no where and start "slashing" and "rollin' back" prices magically? I guess we can forget the cost of resources, labor, taxes, etc. in that calculation if that's the case. However, in the real world, these outside forces dictate how much a company can cut its price.
Yes, these days the customer says I want to pay X, and if you can't sell at that price and make money then you go out of business, and they buy from someone with the cheaper price. I've been there already. So when people go to Wal-Mart, or wherever, they force the producers to keep the price low so they do what they have to in order to meet the price.
Yes, these days the customer says I want to pay X, and if you can't sell at that price and make money then you go out of business, and they buy from someone with the cheaper price. I've been there already. So when people go to Wal-Mart, or wherever, they force the producers to keep the price low so they do what they have to in order to meet the price.
This is what is killing my enterprise. Everyone can be so touchy.
A small business owner may have to look for raw material if he is in the mfg line. A retail owner generally will have salesmen stopping by every so often to sell a line of their wares. That is why large places like w-Mart etc have buyers. The buyers do NOT say I will pay only (x) amount for the product...oh contrare, the sales rep is wanting to sell as much of his mfg product as he can. A product is offered by the gross/case/specific number price. If the buyer agrees to buy over a certain amount then he gets a lower price however it is offered inittially. Quantity determines price. Example, I buy an item that costs me say $12.95 a unit and I retail it for $24.95. Now the sales rep says that buying a 100 lot the price will be $8.00 a unit and I can drop the price to $22.95 and undersell the competition. Still making a good mark up profit and doing a volume business. Profit is made on a larger volume basis more so then selling a few at a higher price. Could go into more deeper info as I was in the Retail/service business 35 yrs so have seen it all. Is it better to sell one item at a high price or 10 at a slightly reduced price? Do the math. Steve
A small business owner may have to look for raw material if he is in the mfg line. A retail owner generally will have salesmen stopping by every so often to sell a line of their wares. That is why large places like w-Mart etc have buyers. The buyers do NOT say I will pay only (x) amount for the product...oh contrare, the sales rep is wanting to sell as much of his mfg product as he can. A product is offered by the gross/case/specific number price. If the buyer agrees to buy over a certain amount then he gets a lower price however it is offered inittially. Quantity determines price. Example, I buy an item that costs me say $12.95 a unit and I retail it for $24.95. Now the sales rep says that buying a 100 lot the price will be $8.00 a unit and I can drop the price to $22.95 and undersell the competition. Still making a good mark up profit and doing a volume business. Profit is made on a larger volume basis more so then selling a few at a higher price. Could go into more deeper info as I was in the Retail/service business 35 yrs so have seen it all. Is it better to sell one item at a high price or 10 at a slightly reduced price? Do the math. Steve
Good points.... In addition to higher volume purchasing and purchasing of cheaper foreign-made product, Wal-mart has redefined the way these products are brought to market. They have managed their regional distribution channels/warehousing so that middlemen/wholesalers are eliminated. This just-in-time approach also allows them to get products on shelves more efficiently (quicker w/less transportation cost) allowing for lower consumer prices and higher profit.
"Labor costs have gone up 70 to 100 percent in the last three or four years. But these guys have not been able to raise their prices because Toys "R" Us, Home Depot and Wal-Mart are saying no price increase. How is that possible?"
I've worked for manufacturers mainly with US manufacturing, but the customer almost always says they want a better price. Most of the time business is lost is due to the price. Sometimes the pricing involves competing with bidding against other companies trying to sell the product to the same customer. And sometimes manufacturers sell at a loss just to get the revenue. There will, most of the time, be someone that can offer at a lower price since Chinese and cheaper manufacturers are available.
The point the previous post made was that a US company could lower their prices, but if they cannot compete against the prices from other companies with China made product, then lowering their price only makes them lose money. I've been there, the US manufacturer I worked at went bankrupt because the competition could make cheaper products in China and the customer said to meet their prices, but it wasn't possible with US made products.
Higher volume leads to lower price, but it doesn't mean the selling company will make much money. The buyer can say, hey I'm buying more, give me a lower price. Some companies, like Wal-Mart, have that kind of clout. I know companies like Guitar Center are known for grinding people down to get the lowest price from the manufacturer, because they have the clout of paying the manufacturer on time.
The previous post said:
"They could have stayed right here in the US and lowered prices."
And that was what I was pointing out didn't make sense.
well you are right ---all that talk of helping the little guy. we should be grateful for what we get.
lets see if the bully bashes me 3 times in the face and then takes my lunch money -monday thru friday.
maybe i should not resist, it could get much worse no?
Good points.... In addition to higher volume purchasing and purchasing of cheaper foreign-made product, Wal-mart has redefined the way these products are brought to market. They have managed their regional distribution channels/warehousing so that middlemen/wholesalers are eliminated. This just-in-time approach also allows them to get products on shelves more efficiently (quicker w/less transportation cost) allowing for lower consumer prices and higher profit.
True, but at the same time it drove away US manufacturing. So we got lower priced goods, but less manufacturing jobs. At some point that's a problem because manufacturing jobs are what drive the economy in the positive direction.
Once she has identified the crooks, she should get away from the crooks, and just stay away from the crooks. No need to study them.
We'll have to agree to disagree about the market. It's not the Ponzi scheme that you make it out to be, but you're entitled to that belief if you choose.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philip T
Back towards Community Investing. Maybe she should or could "invest" towards a small percentage of a local deli or cafe. She can go there for Saturday brunch and she can enjoy the fruits as well as some profit from investment while watching it grow.
Maybe a small florist shop. Maybe a roller skating place where her kids or grandkids can play. Maybe a small hardware or sewing center. You get the idea, where she can know the people and see what is going on, as well as getting benefit from it for herself and her community. Split it among several places and if one goes down, the others may do well.
How many small businesses fail? How many small business owners do you think are going to line up to sell a piece of their successful enterprise? I can just imagine all of the headaches involved in trying to split up a small business if there were any people willing to do so in the first place. It would seem to be a very messy proposition.
How many small businesses fail? How many small business owners do you think are going to line up to sell a piece of their successful enterprise? I can just imagine all of the headaches involved in trying to split up a small business if there were any people willing to do so in the first place. It would seem to be a very messy proposition.
Quite the contrary... there are very good small businesses for sale all the time. I am a perfect example. I sold a very successful security business in it's prime (for me). Didn't have to, but I did. I was tired of it. If I didn't sell it to someone who was willing to run it and take it to the next level it would have suffered for sure (like many also do).
Call a business broker and see for yourself what kind of small businesses are for sale out there, or pieces of. Many are looking for partners also to limit their time involved. I'm sure things will be a bit askew right now though but normally they are all over the place. Some of which will surprise the hell out of you. You would have never thought in a million years that a certain business you knew of for years has been for sale! Most are on the down-low and before you can hear about them any reputable broker will have you sign a non-disclosure. And most brokers won't take dying businesses or ones in to much distress. Nobody wants those ones, after all they work on commission.
Small business sales is a HUGE market !
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