Why Do You Make It Hard To Buy From You?

Roger Wright

Loquacious beast, aren't you? :laugh: Anything worth saying can be said in 100 characters or less. Just ask CNN...

Will Rogers never met me.

Gary R Wheeler

We do that. We sell commercial ink-jet printing systems that range from $1M to $5M. Yes, those are 'M's. There are a number of outside companies that sell applications to make data for our machines, but we have our own basic application that will do the job. Not only do we make the customer pay for the stupid app, but we have a freaking dongle required to let them run it. Our entire profit model is based on consumables (ink and printhead refurbishment), and yet we charge them for the thing that makes them able to use the machine. Stupid.

Software Zen: delete this;

OriginalGriff

Gary R. Wheeler wrote:

Our entire profit model is based on consumables

That is how the Rausings got so rich - they will lease you the machines on a trivial rent, but you have to buy the packaging you fill from them. It's a good racket, as long as no-one gets too greedy. (Such as selling something non-consumable they need to make the kit work).

Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water

gavindon

most older cars that I have worked on, one hose is pressure(Buy that one premade), the other is return and can be replace with the proper length/size generic hose. Most parts stores at least used to carry rolls of heater hose that you could just whack off the proper amount.

Common sense is not a gift it's a curse. Those of us who have it have to deal with those that don't.... Be careful which toes you step on today, they might be connected to the foot that kicks your butt tomorrow. You can't scare me, I have children.

Roger Wright

That's probably an option, but the one store that had the hose lists it as fitting both sides of the connection. So why not carry two and sell the whole job? Besides, the markup on the "right" hose is probably higher than on generic, sold-by-the-foot hose, so they're missing out on profits, as well.

Will Rogers never met me.

Anthony Mushrow

Perhaps even worse, I needed to buy a pair of new tyres for my bicycle so I went to a large cycle shop and asked for a pair of puncture resistant tyres (Roads I go on are quite rough) the guy came back and said they only had one tyre. A large well known cycle shop in the centre of the city and they have one tyre, the guys excuse was that people usually only buy one tyre at a time (and move the rear to the front, where it takes less wear) so they don't stock many. I thought better of making any comments and just ordered a pair online, it's completely ridiculous. Same shop a couple of months previous I needed some extra tough tyre levers. They had some, but only one set. I feel sorry for any other customer that may have wanted some decent levers.

-SK Genius

Vehicle Simulation Demo - New and Improved!

R Giskard Reventlov

Whilst I would mostly agree with you I don't think a store can carry every conceivable part for every car and certainly not for one 17 years old! How much call will there be for that part? No one wants to keep stock on the shelves for years with only a slight chnace of selling it. Those sorts of parts are probably order only or buy some generic hose and do it yurself.

"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me

jschell

But on the upside you have a great story that you can tell for the rest of your life.

Member 4194593

Roger, Don't make the mistake of connecting the hoses to the incorrect pipe. I made that mistake and didn't catch it until I was halfway across Texas, at night, and Freezing! If the heater core is anything like my 57 Plymouth, there is a heat control valve that is in the Exit side of the core. If you put the hot water Supply there, it shuts off before it even starts. Now, if you are just changing the lines one at a time, then you won't have problems, however, I removed and replaced all hoses all at once before my long trip. Dave.

Roger Wright

No worries, Dave. I've done this a few times. :-D Not on anything as old as that Plymouth, of course, but this newer Buick is quite simple - one hose in, one out, both the same. Vehicles are a pain, always something breaking. I spent today replacing the oil pressure sending unit on my truck, changed the oil while I was at it, and found that the oil cooler is leaking. Grrrr.... Another weekend. :sigh:

Will Rogers never met me.

Member 4194593

Roger, This botched job was back in 62 as I was heading off to SAC after training. I have been very lucky with my current vehicles, a 98 GMC Sierra 2500, and a 2002 GMC Envoy. They just keep running. Dave.

Vivi Chellappa

Roger Wright wrote:

So I'm wondering, is there a software equivalent to this ridiculous situation? Does anyone work for a company that makes an "almost complete" solution for a problem, but not the whole solution?

Yes. Oracle and SAP, among other ERP vendors. Never made a good Shop Floor Control System for semiconductor manufacturing. Or a Production Planning System. And people pay millions of dollars to buy them and tens (to hundreds) of million to install them. You got off cheap at a $4.95 hose.:rose: