PilotBob,
This needs to be answered in parts so...
Quote:
Originally Posted by pilotbob
Is it possible to restructure the price or ordering so that you aren't always ordering the full complement of orders from Bookeen? For example, find a way to get 50 orders ahead or something.... so you are selling from stock, and once half the stock is depleted place another order.
|
We came into this *vastly* underfunded. We're not in a financial position to make such a 'block' purchase. (If we were, I'd opt for buying about 200 up-front and re-ordering whenever we got down to 50.) And restructuring the price we pay requires large orders - like 1,000 units at once. (We'd need to have about $800,000-$900,000 to do that. Don't have it so it ain't gonna happen.)
Quote:
|
I think at this point you have made enough orders with Bookeen to get some terms with them. If they gave you net 30 or even maybe net 15 you would be able to keep some in stock... I think this would increase orders too... since most people in the "internet age" don't want to wait possibly up to a month for something that they order.
|
I wish! I'd kill my firstborn for Net15 at this point. Don't have it. Not likely to get it any time soon.
Quote:
Also, just because your not for profit doesn't mean you can't sell for more than your costs to have some operating assets. Once your there it might be easier to get lines of credits, better merchant account deals, etc. Doesn't non-profit only mean that you roll 100% of the money back into the company?
BOb
|
You would think, wouldn't you? First, more than *which* costs? Units + shipping to US? Got it covered. Same plus S&H to customers? Got it covered. The latter plus all our expenses? Now *there's* a question for you. Remember, we have to compete with BooksOnBoard and their pricing. (And they're clearly capable of selling at a much tighter margin because they also sell ebooks - big margin in those which allows BOB to live with the tighter margins on the Cybooks, or at least that's what I'm assuming is happening.) Guess what? We can't raise our prices. And in the current economic situation, LoCs and other financing is just not realistic. So, there's no money to "roll-back". The only real option is to get a lower cost for our product. Life goes on.
Derek