Wayne, How's Business?

[Paulporsche]

Some months ago, you sent out a message informing us that business was down. I remember responding how in my field, which includes design of retail stores, things had been soft for about a year and a half, but were starting to pick up. In fact, business has been good for the past eight months, and looks promising for the near future. I mentioned that design services are often a barometer of impending economic turns, because of the timing of the design function in the life of projects in the corporate world.

As I'm not sure if or how this relates to the mail order aftermarket auto parts industry, I thought I'd check back with you and see if there has been any improvement.

[Paulporsche]

Bump for Wayne.

[MarkY]

My guess is that Wayne isn't going to answer your post, for a number of reasons. One might be that it is NOYB.

[Paulporsche]

I disagree, Mark. When Wayne posted his original message, which told us about his plight and asked for comments and suggestions, he made it our business (to a certain extent). My question is in exactly the same spirit as his original post.

We all have a "stake" in keeping PP and this BBS alive. I'm not doing a tax audit here.

I do agree, however, that if Wayne chooses not to respond, that's up to him.

[gr8fl4porsche]

I placed an order this week - just trying to help out.

[GaryR]

I know i've done my part this past month!

964 - H&R Springs
964 - Bilsteins
964 - Complete taillight/reflector set
964 & SC - Oil Filters
964 & SC - Weltmeister Strut braces

[FenderGuy]

Originally posted by MarkY
My guess is that Wayne isn't going to answer your post, for a number of reasons. One might be that it is NOYB.

I second what Paul said if Wayne made it public, it would be good to know that business is doing better. If it was NOUB there would't have been a post correct?

[CBRacerX]

Just placed an order yesterday, so I'm trying to help

[Zeke]

I think (not completely sure) that Wayne pulled the thread after a couple of days.

While this is undoubtedly OT, I will throw in my .02. The home improvement business is off according to my suppliers and peers. It certainly is for me and I have little to spend on Pelican for fun stuff.

I don't personally have a problem with today's gas prices, but in the big picture, it is a travesty. That and rising interest rates spell hard times ahead. The trickle down effect of high petroleum prices is huge and is already being anticipated and addressed by Greenspan.

For some 911 content, I have noticed in my many years as a self employed person working off other's discretionary income, that certain demographics are less affected by economic undulations than others. I.e., the profile of the typical 911 owner I see here is that of some financial means. These cars are not primary transportation, on the average. (There are exceptions, of course. You don't need to point out that your 911 is your only car.)

People who can afford to have an extra car or two as a hobby are more or less recession proof. During the last recession (and most severe in recent history), I saw two home improvement related companies grow while dozens went out of business. The typical customer profile targeted by these two companies was that of the upper 5% in income. I learned a big lesson in economics a decade ago.

[Paulporsche]

Question was originally posted on this board (and maybe others).

[Wayne 962]

Hi all. Since that last posting, sales stayed flat for a while, and then picked up again in the spring. This summer has been pretty slow, both at us and our competitors (yes, we all chit-chat together), so there's something holding people back from spending. I personally feel that most people are probably tapped out right now, and also very anxious over the high gas prices. When people see the costs of gas, energy, and housing increase - those are some pretty basic needs which typically get priority over the P-car (although in some cases with some extremists, I'm sure not - heck, you can always sleep in your Porsche if push came to shove right?).

Sales for July were slightly sluggish compared to years in the past. That is one of the reasons why we decided to nudge people who were thinking of doing some popular upgrades, by offering some specials on the site and the board. If you haven't seen them already, check out the link on the home page and / or the rotating banner at the top.

We appreciate everyone's support and commitment to supporting Pelican and this BBS. Every dollar spent with Pelican really counts to keeping this great resource alive!

Thanks!

-Wayne

[Paulporsche]

Not the answer I was hoping for, but thanks for the honest response. Hang in there.

[Kurt B]

Wayne.....how do you feel about walk-in purchases?
Is it cool or not cool...for drive there and pick stuff up?
I'm too close for mail, and near enough I'd swing by instead...

[chrisp]

I would be interested to hear if there are any non-economic contributors to the soft business.

Could we all have started this hobby at a similar time (5-10 yrs ago), fixed up our cars (1-5 yrs ago), and now we are just drving them but not fixing/upgrading as much?

Could enough be typical type-A folks and have moved from one thrill seeking hobby to the next?

I joined PCA 10 yrs ago. In that time I have seen DE's go from:

80% sell outs @ $95 per day (mid to late 90's)

to

100% sell outs (long wait lists) at $125+ per day (late 90's to early 00's)

and back to

$125-$150 per day events not selling out as quickly or at all

This trend has given me cause for concern over the long term re-sale value of my track car.

[Scott at Pelican Parts]

Kurt,
Feel free to come in and pick up your parts here at Pelican. You do, however, have to order and pay for your parts online or on the phone before you come by (select Will Call as the Shipping option) so that we can process and fulfill your order via our regular procedures.

More info about Will Call orders here:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/OrderingFAQ.htm

Scott

[Par911]

Originally posted by Zeke
I think (not completely sure) that Wayne pulled the thread after a couple of days.

While this is undoubtedly OT, I will throw in my .02. The home improvement business is off according to my suppliers and peers. It certainly is for me and I have little to spend on Pelican for fun stuff.

I don't personally have a problem with today's gas prices, but in the big picture, it is a travesty. That and rising interest rates spell hard times ahead. The trickle down effect of high petroleum prices is huge and is already being anticipated and addressed by Greenspan.

At this rate, I'm about to sell my 911 to buy a track prepped hybrid. I wonder if anyone on the hill will care when gas breaks the $3.00 mark.

[Rick Lee]

Pari, adjusting for inflation, gas in the early '80's was well over $3 a gallon. We still have it pretty good. Even if we didn't, folks on the Hill can only affect the fed. gas tax and Porsche owners probably aren't their top concern. I'm looking forward to $5-$6 a gallon when I rent a car in Germany in a few weeks.

[CBRacerX]

Early 80's = Recession

[boxster03]

my 2 cents as a newbie is you need to either put out a hard copy cat. or put a PET on the site. Check out the Triumph guys their hard copy cat. are real useful and give part #s for nearly everything. Seems like we are always aking for part #s from the select few members that have the full part cat. at their disposal. Partial cat. listings that don't give you answers unless you can supply a specific part # may keep some people from buying on the site. IMO

[Scott at Pelican Parts]

OK guys, let's not turn this into a debate about economic forecasts and analyses. The bottom line is that business has improved since Wayne wrote that post in November -- but business could always be better.

For those of you who find value in the Pelican Parts forum and have been thinking about buying parts for a project -- we encourage you to go over to the ecommerce side of this site and make that purchase. It is, after all, parts sales that pays for this community that we all enjoy so much.

Sincerely,

Scott Shores
E-Commerce Content Manager


PS - boxster03, it would be ideal for us to include a PET-type resource on the web -- but because of copyright issues, we are limited to what we can do. If you have any questions about part numbers, please feel free to call our toll-free number 888-280-7799 and ask our sales staff. They are armed with all the necessary resources to answer those types of questions.