On 5/21/2014 2:11 AM, R. Eric Sluder-W9WLW via TenTec wrote:
Highest margin per unit = Hacker/Maker/Kit e.g., Rebel, Patriot, etc. (caveat, to do
this they'll have to upgrade their way of socializing the community development
effort) <Why the Sales Manager mentioned Facebook, and other social media>
Eric,
The problem I see with that is the cost of the units. While they seem
cheap enough, since they are open design, and sold to a community with
no brand loyalty, someone in China will duplicate them, and sell them as
a kit on eBay.
A great example of that was the 3 band CW only rigs sold from China.
They appeared in the US as a complete kit of parts (no case), sold from
Canada. The important point is that they were not sold from the US,
bypassing FCC regulations.
Ten-Tec bought a licenses to sell them and had to make modifications and
a significant investment.
Ironically, MFJ did the same thing, and they and Ten-Tec were (are?) in
direct competition selling different versions of the same radio.
Since they were developed in China, they did not have sufficient output
filtering, which is why neither radio sold in the US has 3 band transmit.
What worries me is that with the low cost ($20? $50? $100?) of a kit
consisting of a circuit board and a bag of parts, will people buy the
Ten-Tec? My fear is that the brand loyalty is part of the generation
that won't be buying the radios in the first place.
Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson 4X1GM/N3OWJ
Jerusalem Israel.
_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
|