posted on April 15, 2000 03:59:56 AM new
Had any of these business to business surplus liquidation sites sought the advice of 10 vetran surplus dealers, they would not have opened. It is impossible to carry the type of overheads they do & make money on the meager percentages they charge. One must own the goods in this business to survive. Most appear to be posturing for Wall St., & investors will be the loosers.
The surplus business is a seasoned business, with a good ol' boy network that is multi generational, & our industrial connections run deep. The best deals are one shots. There is no continuity of product, we already know where stuff comes from, we have warehouses, customers, cash, & act quickly. All things the E surplus sites cannot do. Industry often needs velocity. Fiscal years terminate & inventories need to be reduced, space is needed quicky.
The sites are already getting desperate, morphing daily, seeking a viable direction, hiring "dealmakers" from our industry, & in their desperation, spreading themselves thin.
At best, they could become sales reps for the majors, & a cheap advertising medium for dealers. Arenas that generate a fair amount of continuous product. In the end the manufacturers will only loose money, because we will only pay what we will pay. Middlemen cost, & the consuming public & industry works at it's own pace, not cyber speeds.
The only inventory that will dissapear with any velocity, is investors cash.
"Stuff"
