Simple DIY - Sway bar braces
#31
Rennlist Member
Right. Of course. Sorry, my mistake.
#32
You know, I paid $40 for my set and I couldn't care less that they are cheaper now. They fit nicely, they are coated and I didn't have to bust out the hammer. Convenience is a beautiful thing.
Its such a minor amount of money to be all mad about. I was happy to not spend the time making my own.
Its such a minor amount of money to be all mad about. I was happy to not spend the time making my own.
#33
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Whoa! Woke up to mayhem! Well maybe mayhem from just one buyer but still.
Travis is offering this discount just for a day. As in a one off gesture of good will. I wouldn't call that being ripped off. I bought a car once and the next year the exact same model was $3000 cheaper. Did I get ripped off by $3000 as well?
Travis' brackets are zinc dichromate plated. Home made ones are not. I do have a very inexpensive plater who will do parts cheap for me and I get many things plated but still didn't go to the extent of plating the ones I made. Most places have minimum batch charges of $80 for plating so that alone justifies the price. If anyone feels like the initial price is a rip off then they probably should make their own just like I did. If they don't have the skills to make them then they pay what the industry dictates is an acceptable price. Also, vendors do this as a business. Most businesses charge a decent mark up to make a living. To be honest, I wouldn't make and sell them either if I was only charging $10 a set. As an example I just ordered another set from Travis for $10 for a second car rather than take my time to make another pair even though I have the raw materials available.
Travis is offering this discount just for a day. As in a one off gesture of good will. I wouldn't call that being ripped off. I bought a car once and the next year the exact same model was $3000 cheaper. Did I get ripped off by $3000 as well?
Travis' brackets are zinc dichromate plated. Home made ones are not. I do have a very inexpensive plater who will do parts cheap for me and I get many things plated but still didn't go to the extent of plating the ones I made. Most places have minimum batch charges of $80 for plating so that alone justifies the price. If anyone feels like the initial price is a rip off then they probably should make their own just like I did. If they don't have the skills to make them then they pay what the industry dictates is an acceptable price. Also, vendors do this as a business. Most businesses charge a decent mark up to make a living. To be honest, I wouldn't make and sell them either if I was only charging $10 a set. As an example I just ordered another set from Travis for $10 for a second car rather than take my time to make another pair even though I have the raw materials available.
#34
Talk about nipping a revolt in the bud. It cost me more for the steel bar than it would of to buy these from Rennbay at this new price. I spent a couple hours grinding and hammering away at a steel bar trying to get it to fit nicely. I spent an hour drawing up a template. I wake up this morning to see that these brackets are now 10$ or 75% off if you wish. Well at least I have the satisfaction of doing it myself. The information is out there for anybody who wants to do these themselves if the price ever goes back up.
#36
Instructor
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Casper, Wyoming
Posts: 222
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I see it as the other way around. I have a fab class today and I could totally whip these out and then paint them, or thanks to this mark down on Travis' part I can buy some already coated ones for slightly more then materials would cost me. As I was already in need of an oil filter I decided to buy both this morning.
#38
Site Sponsor
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: A great big building in the woods, FL.
Posts: 6,527
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes
on
3 Posts
Wowzers. First off, the $10 sale is just a show of good will. I didn't send out emails, put up billboards or otherwise mass advertise it. I posted it to this thread because this thread is where it is relevant.
Now, about a standard price point. This is a product that you do not "need," it is something you want but can assuredly live without. At $40 a set I can sell X number of sets. This (and other) threads have shown me that the market for this product is there but the pricing is just too high. So I am going to cut the price in half and I expect to be able to sell MORE THAN twice the number of sets that we were selling before. Simple economics really.
If my being open, honest and publicly reactive to what my customers are telling me pisses you off, I apologize. It shouldn't **** anyone off too bad because I haven't sold a set in about 2 months. It's not like someone paid full price for them yesterday, even though that might be the impression.
Anyway, now that I have thoroughly hijacked this thread...
Now, about a standard price point. This is a product that you do not "need," it is something you want but can assuredly live without. At $40 a set I can sell X number of sets. This (and other) threads have shown me that the market for this product is there but the pricing is just too high. So I am going to cut the price in half and I expect to be able to sell MORE THAN twice the number of sets that we were selling before. Simple economics really.
If my being open, honest and publicly reactive to what my customers are telling me pisses you off, I apologize. It shouldn't **** anyone off too bad because I haven't sold a set in about 2 months. It's not like someone paid full price for them yesterday, even though that might be the impression.
Anyway, now that I have thoroughly hijacked this thread...
#39
It isn't derailed enough yet
Travis my window likes to go up and down as I'm trying to wind it up before I eventually just pull it up my the glass itself. Is this something that could be repaired by the window regulator kit?
Travis my window likes to go up and down as I'm trying to wind it up before I eventually just pull it up my the glass itself. Is this something that could be repaired by the window regulator kit?
#41
Freedom Enthusiast
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Supply and demand and free enterprise are great things. These braces aren't health insurance. The IRS is not going to climb up your @$$ if you don't buy them.
I get so sick of people who complain about the way free enterprise works. Every time I hear someone complain about "price gouging" I want to puke.
I find it amazing that Travis makes a business decision that benefits his customers and someone uses that as an excuse NOT to do business with him.
I get so sick of people who complain about the way free enterprise works. Every time I hear someone complain about "price gouging" I want to puke.
I find it amazing that Travis makes a business decision that benefits his customers and someone uses that as an excuse NOT to do business with him.
#42
Travis - Thank you very much. Just ordered a set. Wish I had made the exhaust stud sale though... I wonder if I can set a flag so every time you post I get notified... Hey, if having a sale is pissing someone off I think you should focus on making that person really, really mad.
#43
Just my two cents here but I think Travis is a very good businessman and realized that there was demand for these brackets but that his price point was a little high. For all we know he may be selling these at a lost just to gain market penetration. He saw that his market share was being challenged by a DIY solution and decided to do something about it. I just wish he would of done this before I went out and bought the materials and started work on a bracket already. His brackets are a very good deal at 16$ with shipping. Travis is also one of the few vendors (actually the only vendor) that offers great deals like this (remember the 20$ exhaust studs ?). Sure, for about 15$ I will of bought enough paint and steel bar to make four of these brackets myself but at 16$ with shipping I wouldn't of wasted 1 second of my time and just of ordered them from Rennbay/Travis.
Travis, I'm about to start a tutorial on how to make a headlight wiring harness kit... :-) PLease put these on sale too before I'm in too deep!!
Travis, I'm about to start a tutorial on how to make a headlight wiring harness kit... :-) PLease put these on sale too before I'm in too deep!!
#44
Site Sponsor
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: A great big building in the woods, FL.
Posts: 6,527
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes
on
3 Posts
All you do is say on here that "the drop brackets fatigue fracture from bending back and forth and break" and from a safety standpoint, this bracket is a must, no? Especially on older cars? So based off of the above, are you just going around introducing fear so people will buy needless brackets for $40?
I still don't see how people can apply free market ideologies to the admittance of overcharging. There still needs to be a level of respect established and maintained between company and customer.
I still don't see how people can apply free market ideologies to the admittance of overcharging. There still needs to be a level of respect established and maintained between company and customer.
But, back to why you are here. When the product was released the price was set at the current market value of similar items already being sold. s14kev stated that ALL of the braces on the market are priced too high. I see this statement, use the ole calculator and figure out maybe I CAN sell them for less money. To add some weight to this I toss you guys out a hand full at cost.
Now with all of this considered, if you still feel that I have maliciously taken advantage of the 944 community for years and I am now making some type of public admission of guilt, YOU ARE AN IDIOT.