22 Aug
1999
22 Aug
'99
5:56 a.m.
On Sat, 21 Aug 1999, James Willing wrote:
Once, not too long before his retirement I finally
just asked him why he
operated like this. The answer was as direct as it was annoying. He had
(and implied that this existed throughout all 'serious' surplus dealers) a
list not unlike a automotive 'blue book' detailing easily resold components
and their values.
I guess I'm just spoiled. At one local electronic surplus shop I go to,
they basically look at what you got and throw out a (sometimes seemingly
random) price. The bigger your pile, the lower the relative price. You
can negotiate with them a little but risk insulting them. If you tell
them what you're looking for they will keep those items intact for you,
and will even warn you when something you like will be coming into the
store. After they get to know you (and know that you're a good, paying
customer) they will let you root around in the back where all the stuff
that hasn't been processed is piled up.
But, it did take me a while to develop a good relationship with these
guys. For a time I felt they were dicking me around, and I vowed never to
go there again at one point, but I gave it another shot, softened my
tactics and eventually learned how to deal with them. Sometimes I'll just
accept a price they quote, even though I think it's way too high, because
I know it'll make it easier to deal with them some other time. Other
times they give me really good deals, sometimes surprising me.
Some of the guys in the surplus business just don't want to bother with
having to run a business. They'd like you to just come in, see what's for
sale, and buy it without giving them too much trouble and making them do
more work than they expected to when they got up that morning. If you
give them the least amount of hassle possible then they will be more
amiable towards you. And I'll just reiterate what others have said which
is you need to develop and nurture a relationship with these guys that
takes time and patience. I've learned that.
Actually, with this and a few other things that
I've learned this week
about common 'business practices', I'm becoming massively disallusioned
with the whole structure of 'modern business'.
It took you long enough :)
Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
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