Ok, I had to start writing this response before finishing half-way through everyone's comments, because I knew that there would be something I would forget.
First of all, Pelican is not doing poorly - sorry if I gave that impression. Just because a company is not earning a profit doesn't mean that it's doing poorly. We're only 3 years old, and have seen sales go from zero to more than seven figures over that time. I guess we must be doing something right. However, to suceed, we need to make sure that we're correctly servicing our customers. Hence this post...
On the issue of mistakes and backorders, and other problems like that. We try our best to make sure that your order is perfect, and complete. We just installed a brand new computer system (written by yours truly), that will be able to accurately track and manage backorders. When you supply more than 20,000 parts - it's sometimes tough to keep track of things like that. You will be able to check the status of your order, and see if something is backordered as soon as someone here at Pelican checks in your order (should be first thing the next morning if placed overnight).
On the issue of price, a lot of you are saying that our prices are much higher than our competitors. However, most of the time Vertex is mentioned. Without going into too much detail, Vertex doesn't have a good website, doesn't have on-line ordering, charges you for credit cards, and doesn't have a toll-free number. As you might have guessed, all of this costs $$$. If I were to categorically match Vertex's prices, then it would be bye-bye website, bye-bye toll-free number, bye-bye tech support and all of the other things that Pelican stands for. I did not start this business to run it as a discount house - but instead to run it as a company for enthusiasts. And we've been successful at that. Vertex was around when Pelican was just an idea in my head, and I did not want to be 'just another.' Besides, I have a copy of Vertex's new printed catalog, and some of their prices in the catalog are higher than ours! (printed proof in my hand). If Vertex were so wonderful, then they would be the $30+ million company that Performance Products is. For some reason, they have been around for many years, and are still run out of the back of a garage. (Not really my goal, and destined to become a reality if I categorically match their prices).
Now, some of you mentioned that our prices were higher than Automotion and Performance Products on some items. That's most likely an error on our part. There are some items (such as Weltmeister stuff) that I have to buy from PerfProd because they manufacture it. They do not typically give me enough room to keep my prices lower than theirs, but these products are by far the exception, not the rule. Your feedback here has indicated to me that some of our prices are too high on some items. This is probably not on purpose, but more because we sometimes lack the resources to quickly adjust prices to increases and drops in our costs. We will be looking at adjusting our prices in the near future so that they don't seem wildly off...
As I suspected, it seems that we need to beef up our catalog again, and add pictures, pictures, pictures. I have always struggled with the choice of adding more product or adding more photos, and I usually have chosen product over photos. However, it seems like we'll have to balance that if we are to support everyone here. I would like to place parts diagrams in the catalogs, but for potential liability concerns, I am reluctant to do so. Perhaps there can be a bit of a compromise - stay tuned - I have a bunch of ideas on this subject.
As for BMW, it's here to stay. As our business expands, the economies of scale will help make everything better for both Porsche and BMW owners (new server for this BBS is coming soon). We see the BMW market as an important co-market along with the Porsche market.
Tech Support - most of you use the BBS for tech support, so you are unaware of our award-winning tech staff - Bob, James, and Dave, who answer email questions on a daily basis, and are considered experts in their field (Dave won the PCNA tech quiz at the Parade last year).
As for local events, this is a good idea, but very time-consuming for the amount of potential return. I can't help thinking that my time would be better spent writing more material for the website (which would attract people worldwide), versus attending a local event that may be attended by 200 or so people. Keep in mind that we get over 7000 unique visitors to the site each day.
Ok, I have to make our catalog more comprehensive (add everything including the kitchen sink to it) and more impulse-oriented (like the colorful front pages of Perf/Tweeks catalog). I still think that the Internet is the way to go - ordering on-line is soooo much easier than phoning in orders.
The Wish-list / Project List feature I wrote in about 12hrs - there are still some bugs, and I also need to convert it from flat-file to SQL. Look for that in about 2-3 weeks - it is a high priority. I'm also excited about our new order-delivery and tracking system. Nothing in the industry (not even Amazon) comes close. You'll be able to check the status of your order, see any changes, track backorders, and see who handled and packed and shipped your order, all from the web. This will be true for phone orders too. This will be up in about 2-3 weeks too.
Customer Service? That's what we're known for, so I can't help but hope that the one or two isolated incidents that people mentioned here are the exception.
Advertising on the web. I'm going to have to start selling advertising on the BBS and the website. There's a lot of potential there, but I have been reluctant to irritate my users by tossing ads their way. I have mulled this for a very long time - traffic is now finally to a point where we can be considered a large site by advertisers...
Advertising - We advertise in Excellence, Panorama, Grassroots, Bimmer, some local regions, 911 & Porsche World, etc. We sponsor 3 of the largest Rennlists. My ad budget is almost as large as PerfProds or Tweeks (Actually larger than Tweeks). I think that this has done well for us, although I overspent my budget by a lot (one of the reasons there's no profit). I'm now tapering down my advertising to save on costs - we'll see what the effect is. Local PCA advertising is not bad, but there are so many local regions, and all of these people receive Panorama, so I'm duplicating my efforts there.
Suppliers - I know this one, and ours need to get ready for some phone calls!
We're big enough now to get better pricing from people...
Repeat, frequent-flyer programs. An excellent idea - builds brand loyalty. Maybe tie it into the number of posts that somone makes on the BBS? Tough technology questions there, but most likely doable without too much heartache.
Shipping costs? I've installed a formula-based system that queries UPS and gets standard rates from them, so our salespeople will charge the same exact amount that the website charges. Unfortunately, it does cost about $7 to send a 1 lbs package locally versus $15 for a 40 lbs. package locally. Doesn't seem to make sense, but if you want to complain ->
www.ups.com. Perhaps I need to talk with Airborne...
The name Pelican is unique and very rememberable. No, it's not SUPER-GERMAN-PROS or AUTOMANIA, or SUPER-DUPER SUPERMACHINES. They all seem to blend into one after a while. Performance Products? How general can you get? You all have valid points about being related to the cars, but when we started, we literally spent 20+ hours coming up with the name (it wasn't picked out of the hat). No body thinks of Amazon as a dumb name, do they (besides me I guess). What has Amazon got to do with books? I think that the uniqueness is more important that whether it sounds like something German techy. Not defensive here, just our opinion...
Well, it's time for a nap. I'm depressed now. I'll have to go re-read the post from the other day asking people what was right with Pelican. Thanks everyone for all your comments. I realize that our typical customer may not be the person who reads this BBS, but the things that you have mentioned are indeed very important and very applicable to the site. (speaking of the site, it's very difficult to compress 2000 pages of tech-oriented text onto an easily viewable home page, I wish I knew how...). Keep a lookout for our new backend computer system to show up on the web (in the on-line ordering section), and also a new search engine that's SQL-based instead of the hokey flat-file one we have now. Got some new photo equipment that I'm anxious to try out as well!
I've deleted the original thread (saving a copy internally of course), because there is lots of info that I wouldn't want my competitors to see. If you have any additional comments, then let them fly here!
-Wayne