[Rhodes22-list] Now Comes General Boats And

BenCittadino bencittadino at gmail.com
Wed Aug 5 18:46:24 EDT 2009


Stan;

I really like Mike W's idea. It works on so many levels. First you have the
General Boats Buyers and Sellers Exchange which is clearly spelled out
already on the GB website. Then you have the opportunity to "cross sell" the
added value of a customer support agreement, which no buyer can get from a
private seller outside the Exchange because no private seller can provide
customer support. Only GB can do that. Thus you can not only sell the
support agreement with new boats and recycled rhodes' but with private sales
through the GB exchange. You can earn a commission on the sale and also have
a great shot at selling the support agreement on top of that. You get a
great competitive advantage over a private seller who doesn't use the
exchange. Sounds like a winner to me.

BenCittadino
SV Susan Kay ('93, recycled '08)(purchased from GBI in '08)
Highlands, NJ 

R22MikeW wrote:
> 
> Stan,
> 
> OK.  Now for those of us who purchased new boats directly from GBI.  I
> want 
> my numbered "Original Owner Certificate" - just kidding.
> 
> I think that the LoRo should come from the buyer, since the seller has no 
> real incentive to pay and probably will not.  The buyer, on the other
> hand, 
> buys into value appreciation and support.
> 
> Why can't you simply sell a "Customer Support Agreement" that defines the 
> level of support (Bronze, Silver or Gold) and/or parts and services
> discount 
> that is purchased.  This is being done in many industries and achieves 
> similar results.  Most of these agreements are transferrable to new owners 
> for a small fee thus enhancing the value of the item.  This sounds much 
> easier to administer and palatable to a new owner.  "Hello, GBI support. 
> May I please have your support agreement number.  You don't have one, may
> I 
> please have your Visa card number ..."
> 
> Mike
> s/v Shanghai'd Summer ('81)
> Nissequogue River, NY
> 
> From: "stan"  Wednesday, August 05, 2009 4:02 PM
>> relax guys
>>
>> This was not then, and is not yet, a formalized program - it is in the
>> thinking and testing stage where results are beginning to lead to a 
>> solution
>> based on a numbered LoRo certificate that a participating seller will
>> pass
>> along with their boat.  Since most buyers somehow come in contact with us
>> before buying a private sale used boat, they will be made aware of the
>> program and ask (or not ask) the seller for this certificate when they
>> buy
>> that boat.   The seller that can include the certificate along with the
>> title papers, will have a great selling advantage.  The seller who opts
>> to
>> not go with the program would not be able to give the buyer the 
>> certificate
>> and the buyer hopefully will pass on buying that boat.  If the buyer does
>> decides to buy a boat where the seller can not include the numbered
>> certificate, the buyer will be doing so knowing that they have to move to
>> the end of the line if they ever have to have any future dealings with
>> GB.
>>
>> What we are open to now, from our thoughtful Rhodies is their take on
>> this
>> gelling.
>>
>> ss
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "David Culp" <dculp at hsbtx.com>
>> To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, August 05, 2009 3:16 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Now Comes General Boats And
>>
>>
>>> Stan:
>>>
>>> Thank you for your long post in explanation of Loyalty/Royalty which I
>>> am
>>> going to abbreviate with the term "LoRo for future reference.  I concur
>>> with
>>> Cowie in that your post should be added as a section to the GBI website
>>> perhaps after a little editing.  The reason for this is that as a
>>> prospective owner and buyer, I did not become aware of it until after
>>> purchasing the boat and joining the list.  As a new buyer, I was a
>>> little
>>> taken aback by facing yet another fee which was nearly as much as the
>>> sales
>>> tax that I paid the State of Texas for the boat.  And as you will
>>> recall,
>>> I
>>> was rather defensive about it at the time.  By putting this information
>>> upfront on the website, it can become a part of the negotiation between
>>> buyer and seller on a used boat.  I doubt seriously that the seller of
>>> my
>>> boat paid any Lo/Ro fees.  I have paid only $ 200.00 toward the buyer 
>>> LoRo
>>> because it caught me by surprise and frankly, these boats ain't cheap... 
>>> I
>>> spent my budget and then some.
>>>
>>> Had I known that LoRo was going to be an issue... It would have been
>>> brought
>>> up during the negotiation for the boat.  Of course, a buyer can never
>>> insure
>>> that a seller will pay and vise versa but at least I would have had some
>>> monies negotiated to cover my end.  The buyer will always be the one
>>> very
>>> interested in the continued operation of GBI and likely to pay for a
>>> certificate.  Most sellers will take the money and run.
>>>
>>> I look forward to details of the LoRo program when you notify us of
>>> it...
>>> Especially how you intend to deal with present owners who have no 
>>> vestment
>>> or only a partial vestment like myself.  The only caveat I see and this
>>> sounds kind of ridiculous; is that I seem to recall some FTC rules
>>> preventing manufacturers from withholding customer support for
>>> manufactured
>>> goods still in production and then for a certain time period afterwards 
>>> if
>>> production ceases and the company continues in operation.  So if lack of 
>>> a
>>> LoRo certificate means a reduced customer support program then you may
>>> want
>>> to check with counsel to make sure of the legality.  I don't want you to
>>> go
>>> out of business and neither do I want you to be sued.
>>>
>>> Perhaps a "certified" boat owner gets a break on the price of parts 
>>> and/or
>>> goes to the top of the email/telephone queue.  I'm sure you will think
>>> of
>>> something.
>>>
>>> David
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Date: Wed, 5 Aug 2009 09:15:01 -0700 (PDT)
>>> From: cowie <ccowie at cowieassociates.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Now comes General Boats
>>> To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
>>> Message-ID: <24831681.post at talk.nabble.com>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>>>
>>>
>>> Stan:
>>>
>>> You have done a great job establishing and maintaining the general boats
>>> company.  The recycle program has been a significant part of your 
>>> success.
>>> As a buisness owner I can appreciate the challanges and opportuniites
>>> trying
>>> to provide a product to be proud of and stay afloat at the same time.  I
>>> am
>>> in favor of a Loyalty/Royalty program along with any other specific
>>> suggestions from GB.  It would be helpful to have a clear statement on 
>>> the
>>> GB business plan and how we as a community of owners can support GB to
>>> contribute to and benefit from the win/win/win conditions you aim to
>>> support.  Maybe this is already included on the GB web site however
>>> clear
>>> communication of your message to current and future community members
>>> would
>>> be helpful.
>>> __________________________________________________
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>>>
>>> For the list Charter and help with using the mailing list and archives
>>> go
>>> to http://www.rhodes22.org/list
>>> __________________________________________________
>>
>> __________________________________________________
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>>
>> 
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