FLO Prices just gone up...

[Stub Mandrel]

On 17/08/2019 at 21:48, Mr niall said:

Probably should have titled my post "Everyone has just got more expensive"

You can change the title by editing your first post.

[Skipper Billy]

On 17/08/2019 at 21:48, Mr niall said:

Looks like FLO have just put a blanket 10-15% increase on pretty much every Skywatcher item in the shop... not sure about other brands.

If someone wrote that about my business I would call it 'having a go' !

 

[Gina]

I agree.

[Mr niall]

37 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

If someone wrote that about my business I would call it 'having a go' !

 

I see. So if I said "Skipper Billy has increased the prices of items in his shop, that's disappointing. To buy the same item will cost me more today than a week ago", and you had indeed increased the prices of items in your shop, then that would somehow qualify as a criticism of you and your shop?

Have we somehow moved to a universe where people don't care what things cost anymore, and any observation of the relative cost of items is taboo? If I was planning to spend £10,000 on a car that was advertised as £10,000; and then they increased the price of that vehicle to £10,800, I think I would be perfectly entitled to say "that's disappointing, why have you put your prices up?" Or is that "having a go"?

Edited August 19, 2019 by Mr niall

[Icesheet]

1 hour ago, Skipper Billy said:

If someone wrote that about my business I would call it 'having a go' !

 

I would call it having a grumble (albeit laced with sarcasm) rather than having a go. It’s ok to have a grumble, even a go if the situation merits it. 

The average consumer hardly ever has the full picture at their disposal and in Mr niall’s defence I don’t think he may have seen FLO’s post regarding the rises. It was probably one price one day and another the next. I’m sure we’ve all experienced frustration at sudden price rises. You even voiced it yourself in your position as a retailer. In the absence of any further information it’s only natural that those frustrations are directed to the next in the chain (consumer > retailer > manufacturer). 

Whilst we all appreciate FLO sponsor this site and play a huge part in what I consider the best astro community on the net, I don’t think it’s healthy to suggest any negative opinion of FLO should be suppressed based purely on that fact (and I’m sure FLO agree).

FWIW I think FLO’s business model is spot on and highlights their place as the UK’s no.1 retailer. A strong loyal following supported by their 1st class customer service and interactions on this site. Coupled with a pricing regime that keeps the regulars coming back whilst also attracting those ‘one off’ buyers that must make or break a business in this niche market. 

Edited August 19, 2019 by Icesheet

[Skipper Billy]

1 hour ago, Mr niall said:

So if I said "Skipper Billy has increased the prices of items in his shop, that's disappointing. To buy the same item will cost me more today than a week ago", and you had indeed increased the prices of items in your shop, then that would somehow qualify as a criticism of you and your shop?

No that wouldn't qualify as a criticism as long as it was factually correct - it would be a statement of fact.

But if you said Skipper Billy has increased the price of XYZ widgets by 15% and intimated that I was about to do the same with ABC widgets and is wasn't true then I am entitled to think that you are having a go and you would be on very thin ice.

I see you have heavily edited your original post.

I have no wish to start an argument so I will not post again in this thread. You are entitled to your opinion - as am I.

 

 

[FLO]

Thank-you for your support but please don't be concerned for FLO, we have thick skin 🙂 

Nobody likes it when prices rise and this recent increase from Sky-Watcher affected a lot of telescopes and mounts but, as a retailer, we are not responsible and have done all we can to reduce the impact on our customers. 

3 hours ago, Skipper Billy said:

Secondly - I am not sure that FLO's price match is a wise move. The race to the bottom is almost impossible to reverse once introduced. 

I am grateful for your comments and share your concern but sadly, for us UK astro retailers, the race to the bottom is already well under way. It is fuelled by one/two-man bands with low overheads (overheads include staff!). Some don't even have premises! 

Consider a few years ago there was Telescope Planet, Greenwich, Astronomia and Venturescope. All gone. Widescreen (still a good company) had a London showroom and Telescope House was a UK company (now owned by Bresser-Germany). Pillars of the astronomy retail world. Not to mention the countless smaller companies that disappeared with barely a trace (they thought retail was easy!). 

Our price-match offer has been on our website for nearly a year but few people used it. We chose to make it more prominent and draw attention to it when Sky-Watcher increased their prices, to ensure our customers don't lose out during a period when prices are, frankly, all over the place! I can't promise we will continue to draw attention to it after prices have settled... 🤫

Fortunately FLO is ticking along nicely. I won't share why (competitors read forums too) other than to say when we launched (fourteen years ago!) we knew we would not be an overnight success. We knew it was going to be a long haul and would require hard work. We planned for that. We are here to stay 🙂 

Steve 

[FLO]

12 minutes ago, FLO said:

We are here to stay 🙂 

So too is SGL 😀

[Tomatobro]

I am surprised that retailers held out for so long given the currency movements of late. Adequate margins are needed to survive coupled with the ability to keep writing  on new business so I am sure Flo are aware of the trade off's.

[Gina]

Long live FLO and SGL!

[DaveS]

It's not just Skywatcher. I had been planning on an Atik 16200 and EFW3 (A toss up between that and Moravian but Atik was significantly cheaper) but since I last looked the price has gone up enough to make the Moravian option (For what is probably a better camera) more attractive.

I'll still be getting the Baader filters from FLO.

[Mr niall]

Well its a good old debate if nothing else! I can think of other astronomy forums where we'd all be driving round to each other's houses with baseball bats by this point in the argument! 😉

I love this place! 🤪😀

[JeremyS]

1 hour ago, Mr niall said:

I can think of other astronomy forums where we'd all be driving round to each other's houses with baseball bats

Is that a car I hear pulling up outside?

 

🙂

 

[Rob Sellent]

Tweaks to grammar, spelling, adding links, and so on is a very useful function of the edit option but I don’t think we should abuse this option by making drastic edits to an opening post that ends up changing the meaning of a thread, especially when there have already been a good number of thoughtful responses in context of that original post. Editing posts a few hours later for typos is one thing, heavily editing an original post some 48 hours later just doesn't come across as good form or fair-play. Perhaps, in the future, when significant changes to context, meaning and intent have been made, it might just be better to delete the old post and publish a new one

[L8-Nite]

On ‎17‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 21:48, Mr niall said:

…………………. I have money to burn and the cost of items means nothing to me.  …………………………………………………..

 

That's good to know, as I've been considering selling my Questar 7. 

[Mr niall]

2 hours ago, Rob Sellent said:

Tweaks to grammar, spelling, adding links, and so on is a very useful function of the edit option but I don’t think we should abuse this option by making drastic edits to an opening post that ends up changing the meaning of a thread, especially when there have already been a good number of thoughtful responses in context of that original post. Editing posts a few hours later for typos is one thing, heavily editing an original post some 48 hours later just doesn't come across as good form or fair-play. Perhaps, in the future, when significant changes to context, meaning and intent have been made, it might just be better to delete the old post and publish a new one

Hi Rob; I must admit the irony of this amuses me as the significant changes were in fact made to add a lighter touch to a post in which- in all honesty - I've felt fairly "got at" from the moment I posted. What was meant as a "heads up", seems to have turned into a bit of a Niall bashing and quite frankly I'm getting tired of being told why I'm wrong and what is and isn't good form. 

I wish I'd never started this thread. 

[Stu]

Don't worry Niall, I don't think anyone was trying to bash you.

I've re-instated your original post with edits, and locked the thread to stop any further posts.

Thanks all,

Stu