If there are any moderators on this board then they need to look at this thread and do some deep thinking about matty125.

I'm new here, but will have a Mini soon and this is by far the most mature automotive forum on the net, we should keep it that way. When people start attacking the classiest dealer I have EVER seen, a slippery slope is a comin'

Adam, speaking as a Program Manager you are a 1%er. Meaning that you are running your company better than 99% of the people in the industry. Sheer class man! Keep it up! I guarantee I'll be buying Alta parts!

Stating that your South American does not exempt you from being racist. Don't hide behind your race...that's racism

 

Seconded. . . .

 

What a shocking post! My apologies as a NAM member!

To Alta for handling not only thier design and day to day business well, but my hat's off to you for having to deal with people like this poster.

Moderators, I would like to ask that you delete or lock this post as it really adds no value to NAM.

 

talk about something getting blown out proportion. i am guilty too. i went through an outfit thru ebay and saved about $500.00. needless to say i was very weary of them and i was set that i wasn't going to get my parts this year. i too am stationed in germany and i have to deal with the apo system. i have noticed alot of vendors do not want to ship to an apo address because you have to use u.s. postal service and also there is no tracking from apo (new york) to lets say in this case europe. all i can say is 1. shop around for good prices (most importantly someone reputable) and 2. see if they can ship to an apo. i got lucky and got both and got my fmic, exhaust, and downpipe today. i can't wait to install! bottom line, alta keep up the good work in aftermarket parts-- you will always have customers. also, i have in-laws in hillsboro i will be there next month--looking forward to it! theres no place like usa!

 

THANK YOU ALL! I REALLY appreciate it!

 

Big welcome to NAM, Ken. I'm sure we'll all be bothering you as much as we do Adam, in the very near future.

Also huge thanks to you, Adam, for the new price-matching system. I think this proved that any allegations of ALTA caring only about making a profit were/are clearly misled. Any manufacturer that would change their entire sales method based on one misled forum post definitely deserves my business.

 

Bottom Line

If the Manufacturer sells products at the same price as his dealers he will not have dealers and he will be represented by one location rather than many. Map pricing not match pricing was developed to protect stocking dealers with live customer service from small online dealers or non brick and mortar dealers. Alta is doing the right thing by selling the kits slightly above their dealers pricing.

I will not post another word on this subject but the person who posted this obviously should buy from Nike Direct who knows if they continue to make children slave away maybe they will have enough money to diversify even more and build Mini Cooper Performance Parts.

 

MSRP is, although some Supreme Court rulings may be changing it, a SUGGESTION. IF the manufacturer has the lowest price, they cut off thier own distribution network, and this is bad, as many of them have web stores, sell other products that allow for cross-selling, and may have local installation services that ease the burdon on the customer. You will ALWAYS find people who chose to work a lower profit per sale than the manufacturer, and this is good.

Matty125 has a good point, that there are ways to save by looking, but it's not ripping off, it's just business.

And Alta has the same decisions that other companies have. As more and more buy from the lowest source and go direct to the manufacturer for support, there is less incentive to sell through channels. But to retreat from channel sales compeletly leads to less, higher margin sales, as there are less points of entry into the market. One has to juggle this all the time.

FWIW, mandating price points used to be considered market manipulation, and was against the law. There have been some decisions by the supreme court (wrongly decided, I think) that allow manufacturers to set floor pricing. To me this reeks of legal market manipulation, and should not be allowed. But the Supremes have been doing some wacky stuff lately....

Anyway, I'm actually shocked that Alta would match the sales prices of discount outlets, as that is effectivly giving the distributor markdown (or a good portion of it) away to the end user as just less profit per part sold. This means less is available for R&D, less incentive to supply the market and on and on. But like I mentioned earlier, each company has to juggle this balance between end user and channel sales as they seem fit to. But guys like Central Coast (who posted earlier) may have to stop carrying brands that discount too heavily.

For what it's worth, I've talked to some stores that stopped carrying a different brand because the couldn't compete with the manufacturers "inventory reduction" and special pricing.... In the sort run some save some $, in the long run, there are less suppliers to the market. Choose your poisen.

Matt

 

This is the first I have heard of the $300 limitation. As far as I know there is no restriction on price for as long as it is not a gift. Dell ships to APO/FPO and I doubt much of there stuff is under $300, and I know uncle Sam knows they do as they are linked with AAFES. I spent three years in Germany and never heard of any price restriction for shopping online.

Yes there are lots of restrictions on size and how it can be shipped. But if you are branching out into the distribution side of the house you may want to look into that a little.

But as with anything you should never listen to word of mouth, go straight to the source.

Here is a little of what I found while searching.

Military.com they mention this site Oconus.com

As I am about to be stuck on an island with the wife and kids for a couple of years the wife is really looking into shopping online and shipping to APOs.

As with everything to do with the gubment it is sometimes hard to get the right answers unless you ask the right person the right question.

Just my two cents.

 

Wrong. Software, particulary Microsoft, is about the WOST example you could think of. Take Microsoft Office Pro 2007, for instance:

Buying from Microsoft direct at MSRP: $499.95

Amazon.com price: $361.99

Academic Superstore (http://www.academicsuperstore.com/ma...?PartNo=784349): $169.95!!!

...and your complaining of some vender knocking off 10-20%!

 

I'm surprised as well. It's like the manufacturer wants to compete against its own dealers.

 

Matty, this is true but not all companies are willing to deal with USPS and the extra paperwork that has to be done before it can be shipped. It may be a stateside address, but customs are still involved even if the regulations are relaxed. It still costs them time and effort to do it on top of the purchased part.

That being said Matty, why don't you use www.shipitapo.com and then buy from Alta. It may take a little longer (like a day or two) but you will get what you want.

For what it is worth to the vendors, you can now fill out the customs paperwork on-line. https://webapps.usps.com/customsforms/

Thank you to all the vendors that go out of the way to ship to us here in overseas.

Lastly Matty, we will be having a parts fitting party Jan 26th, you planning to attend? I (and others) will be there to help fit some pulleys and parts.


****************************************

Clearly I am a bit slow this morning. I just read the rest of the thread. Matty, they are not price gouging. Other vendors may be buying in bulk from them which allows that vendor to lower the price of the item. This is standard business practice. Alta clearly doesn't care if you go someplace else to buy their part as it was originally bought from them so they still made a sale either way.

You would have a better fight to say that AAFES price gouges the soldiers. At least there you would be correct.

As for the racial remarks, I have no comment. It is pointless as nobody knows what race I am sitting here behind a computer monitor. If the OP removed the comment (error in judgment that was corrected), why bring it back up and continue with it. I think mods should just sanitize this thread as there are some good tips here for us US Citizens living overseas.

 

Im sorry... But this is a bit ridiculous. I really do feel that matty should just be banned

 

Matty is posting his opinion and is entitled to that. That does not warrant a ban but it does warrant some moderation and a warning.

Personally I am getting tired of the vendor bashing that is going on. Now we are bashing Alta, who is next?

 

This all should have stopped after the explanation of MSRP as it applies to a typical manufacture and a typical vendor of their products. It's not hard to understand the theory and applies to most things that are purchased, not just car parts! With all that said. Everyone can use a deal sometime. How you go about it can be up to interpretation! Anyway, everyone else seems to know how the marketplace works and Alta got a lot of free exposure! Merry Christmas to all.... PS just traded a2005 to a 2008, so Alta (and others) keep up the good work and you other vendors get crackin.

 

Vendor bashing seems to be the badge of a successful vendor on NAM. When you get a thread bashing you, your service, or your products, you've made it on NAM.

The APO thing is a PITA for both those who don't typically ship USPS and those of us needing to receive items through it but so long as I can get the product I don't see the problem. I have no problem with paying a bit less and sending some profits to both a small business owner as well as the manufacturer.

Finally, I think the added desire to get things directly from the manufacturer is partially do to the increased amount of rip-off and imitation parts available on ebay. We become wary of businesses we can't see in person because we have no sure way of knowing where they got their part from. Ordering from the manufacturer provides a sense of security.

 

go alta! dont worry folks this too shall pass and alta will still be king.

 

Thanks again to all!

Dr.Obnxs and RKW : I appreciate your reply and think you may have missed a minor detail. We revise dealer agreements each January 1st. John Leitl has been revising these agreements anyway and as such the MAP (minimum advertised price) is being revised as are MSRP and discount structure. This will be more strongly enforced in 2008. This is to PROTECT the distributor from price whoring and insure margins given are earned. My choice opt match the internet pricing from dealers is temporary to help the clients until such time when each dealer can adjust to the newest program price points and structure. Also, don't gloss over the factory training and dealer reduction I mentioned as well. WE want dealers to compete for sure, but compete based on other value added services (LIKE SHIPPING TO APO'S), location, etc., etc. NOT just solely based on price gouging.

Also, if we offer a special price on any item (inventory reduction, etc.) we also offer an increased discount to the dealers on the same item during the same time. The point is to move more product, not screw the dealers. Contrary to some people's belief we DO protect our direct dealers the best we can. But you wouldn't generally know that we do these things as we share that with dealers not consumers. Just want you to understand with some clarification.

Also, you guys may have come late to the party and since Matty is obviously familiar with Hillsboro's cultural makeup he made a snide, racist like remark in his OP, that he since edited instead of apologizing for. (I am happy he removed of course, but he should have simply apologized instead of getting defensive. It clearly showed he was working from emotion and not rational thought.) My mistake for not copying the quote in my first reply. That is the bulk of the reason why folks are asking for him to be banned, not because of his opinion. His opinion is valid and the reason why NAM exists. But thinly veiled racist remarks against ANY race, creed, religion etc. is ESPECIALLY unneeded here on NAM (or anywhere for that matter.)

daflake: Good points and I hope Ken takes notice of that option as well. Would help a ton to ship FedEx to a location like that. Or Matty could have had his relatives stop by our offices it appears to pick up the items as well and forward them too.

Also, I don't think I have been bashed here. This is part of us doing business in a virtual world. I will always stand up for our products and services as well as explain away any concerns as they are addressed. I want clients to be as fully informed as possible when making purchases from ALTA or ALTA dealers.

THANKS AGAIN FOLKS!

 

Regarding the APO issue, I recently left the Navy as an E-7 (Fire Control Technician Chief) and though I've never been stationed OCONUS (overseas) I can say that shipping via APO as a business is a very confusing and expensive proposition.

As a business, Adam has the right and responsibility to decide if it's worth his time and money to ship to a very small portion of his consumer base. What's the return on investment? That's why I think he's taking the correct route (and very imaginative route) in offering this as a value added incentive to other third party dealers that he has partnered with.

Something that gets missed in these forums is that Adam is in business to make money first and make friends second. Somehow he's been able to do the impossible and excels at both...that's why he has my utmost respect


I agree 100% with that ideology and we all should so he can make a profit (I hope to god you are!) and continue to offer us the quality products that he does.

 

Adam. You and your company are a class act.
Merry Christmas to you,your family and entire staff.
Baron

 

so any racial marks really miss the point. there are lots of high price high wage employers there.

And Adam, I said ANOTHER Suppier screwed thier distribution channels, not Alta, while there are MAPs and such, I don't think I missed the point at all. It's just business. And it's up to each supplier/manufacturer to decide if they want to sell direct or just deal with distribution or some mix inbetween. I think the original poster just wasn't aware of how these things work.

Every company I've ever dealt with or worked for that had channel and direct sales oscillates between the seductivily high margins of direct sales with the increased overhead of lots of small volume high margin sales, and the ease of volume shipments to key sales channels.

Matt

 

What I want to know is if people think that ALTA's stuff is too expensive then dont buy it. It's not like they are selling gas or electricity. We are talking about aftermarket parts that are purely for enjoyment and performance, not necessity.( ok maybe for some of you)

But Honestly,

If people think they can do better why dont they just buy from another vendor or just make the parts themselves?

I chose to pay the prices that they ask because it is worth it for me. The fun I get from the parts I bought from ALTA are certainly worth it .

 

As a person who has done a couple ALTA mods in the past and has plans for quite a few more in the near future, that's my thoughts exactly. I've been tempted before, and probably will be again, to spring for a product that's cheaper than ALTA's. However in the end, their quality wins me over. I'd rather spend more on a product (and possibly buy it later as a result) that's going to guarantee me top performance, than to just go for whoever is cheapest. Totally worthwhile for me although it very well may not be for the next person.

Bottom line I don't feel like I have to prove my loyalty to ALTA, or something of the sort, and therefore buy from them simply because they're ALTA. Rather I make the decision to spend more because they build products for the MINI that IMHO no other vendor can match. If someone else doesn't feel the same way, simply buy from one of the other vendors.

As mikeg4572 said, it's not as if we're dealing with necessary parts here. Not to mention it'd be totally different if ALTA was the sole company producing aftermarket products for the MINI, but they're not! Granted there still aren't many other options for us R56 owners especially, however there's enough to where if one doesn't like ALTA it's very easy to simply shop elsewhere.

 

There are laws in this country against price fixing. A mfg. cannot determine what a retailer sells his products for. Some companies have found ways to squirm around the law, but generally, a mfg. determines what the wholesale price will be and retailers can mark it up as they please.

Often, a wholesaler will set a suggested retail price (MSRP) that will work for the small, low volume dealer. High volume retailers will often discount below MSRP. High volume retailers also have the advantage of getting special deals with FedX and UPS because of the volume they do.

If an mfg. also does retail, they have to sell at MSRP to keep from undercutting their dealers. They would lose their dealers if they sold at an aggressive discount the dealers couldn't afford to match.

 

Personally I like Alta and their parts, They do not have to explain their business practices to me or anyone. If you dont like how they do business than do not buy from them, Its that easy. As far as Matty goes, He is allowed his opinion and I dont think he should be banned for stating it. If you dont like what he says than dont read it!! As members of N.A.M. we dont need a gestapo!
I will now step down from my cardboard soapbox,
Thank you.