In light of the dominant issue of the year, the economy, I was curious how folks felt about it's impact on the boutique builders.
I've been shopping for awhile, but in early July, right when I was a few clicks away from buying a new machine (puget was my choice, William was awesome), I just took my hand off the mouse and decided I'd hold off a bit longer as it looked like the economy was worsening. I decided to keep my cash in hand and available should my employment come into question.
Anyway, as the mess deepens, I'm curious how this has impacted the boutiques. I have no idea how the inner workings of these companies operate and I'm sure it varies greatly, but as their ability to draw upon credit becomes more difficult and as more customers, like myself, decide to hold off on what really amounts to a luxury item, it has to have an impact.
I still want a new machine but I have to tell you, in addition to concerns about build qualities or customer service, now we really should at least be mindful of the possible impacts the downturn plays in our decisions.
What if our company goes belly up? Your warranty is just a useless scrap of paper. Warranties and service are *the* definining advantage of a boutique over DIY and if they're out of business, well...
What if companies have to scrimp on quality, build time, service, because they've had to let go staff.
What if companies have to use lesser quality parts because it saves them 5% on overhead while they're getting hammered on their margins due to low sales?
Which of the boutiques are built to last, have the best business models and have the ability to weather the crisis? Some will likely go out of businessin the next year, but who knows which ones.
Just some late night thoughts I wanted to share.
I've been shopping for awhile, but in early July, right when I was a few clicks away from buying a new machine (puget was my choice, William was awesome), I just took my hand off the mouse and decided I'd hold off a bit longer as it looked like the economy was worsening. I decided to keep my cash in hand and available should my employment come into question.
Anyway, as the mess deepens, I'm curious how this has impacted the boutiques. I have no idea how the inner workings of these companies operate and I'm sure it varies greatly, but as their ability to draw upon credit becomes more difficult and as more customers, like myself, decide to hold off on what really amounts to a luxury item, it has to have an impact.
I still want a new machine but I have to tell you, in addition to concerns about build qualities or customer service, now we really should at least be mindful of the possible impacts the downturn plays in our decisions.
What if our company goes belly up? Your warranty is just a useless scrap of paper. Warranties and service are *the* definining advantage of a boutique over DIY and if they're out of business, well...
What if companies have to scrimp on quality, build time, service, because they've had to let go staff.
What if companies have to use lesser quality parts because it saves them 5% on overhead while they're getting hammered on their margins due to low sales?
Which of the boutiques are built to last, have the best business models and have the ability to weather the crisis? Some will likely go out of businessin the next year, but who knows which ones.
Just some late night thoughts I wanted to share.