Bob_McBob wrote:Only because Chris' Coffee wholesales them to other vendors. They are the exclusive importers and distributors of a number of lines.

As a general rule, I have not seen Chris take some existing product, then arrange to import it exclusively to eliminate competition and raise the price. In fact, I have discussed this issue with Chris before, as it applied to the Isomac line, when he used to be one of a number of retailers selling it, and when someone else got an exclusive, with price increases the immediate result. Chris' response to this was to sell his remaining inventory at a price undercutting the new exclusive importer, with the intention of getting out of the line, and screwing this exclusive importer at the same time. And he succeeded in both, and lost nothing as a result.

Chris competes on many levels; he delivers very fine service and he prices his stuff competitively. Basically no one in the USA can touch him on either level. And that is how you build an enduring business, in my view, to support the customer and to give him good value.

As to those items that Chris has an exclusive on, I see that stuff as more of a marketing ploy than anything else. Semi commercial machines are a commodity business. Most tend to be assembled primarily from off the shelf parts, with a somewhat customized exterior. What Chris has done is to approach various assemblers and to arrange to have machines made with features that he believes his customers want. He gives them a name and then he gets an "exclusive" on them. But he was the one who went to those assemblers in the first place and ordered the assembly of machines with those specifications and those designs.

There is nothing to stop any other retailer with sufficient volume to approach these same assemblers, specs in hand, and to order customized machines themselves. There is not just one of these assemblers, there are a bunch of them. They can't use the same names for them, but there are many other names they could come up for competing machines, were they to decide to do so.

ken

Dave,

I think Chris (Bob_McBob) is correct in his response to you. Seattle Coffee Gear is a good example. They sell both Vivaldi and Alex but they come from Chris Coffee. There is nothing to read into my post. I don't think exclusivity in low demand products either hurts or helps. It's better to have the product than not at all and it's better to have a dependable source that will stand by what they sell. Once you start diluting the sales along with it goes the profit incentive. I don't see either SM or Chris gouging their customers with unfair profit.

Boldjava wrote:No, Alex Duetto and Vivaldis are available at other retailers. The vast majority of Chris's product lines are available elsewhere. I believe he has exclusive rights on a few lines.

I just don't find exclusive rights inherently leads to better service. Maybe I read too much into your post.

B|Java

OK Ken, the entire internet coffee world revolves around you and this place. LOL

So it is not BS but believe what you like, I do.

Nik wrote:Dave,

I think Chris (Bob_McBob) is correct in his response to you. Seattle Coffee Gear is a good example. They sell both Vivaldi and Alex but they come from Chris Coffee.

Friends of mine, who were recommended the Vivaldi, considered buying it from Seattle Coffee Gear because SCG is considerably closer to where we live, in Idaho, than is Chris. My friends had a number of questions about this machine and the response of SCG to their questions was that they did not know, that my friends should call Chris and ask him.

In the end, they decided to just buy it from Chris, and that was the primary reason (not the price).

ken

germantown rob wrote:OK Ken, the entire internet coffee world revolves around you and this place. LOL

So it is not BS but believe what you like, I do.

You said that there were "people" who wanted something and that "people" were complaining when that something occurred. I don't recall anyone asking for a US distributor for the Quest, although I might be wrong on that because it is a rather uninteresting idea to post and I might not necessarily have read it, if posted.

To my knowledge, a "person," moi, made a negative comment on the arrangement apparently made between SM's and the Quest mfr. I know of no one else, but perhaps someone else has made that comment.

"People" is generally regarded as being plural, whereas "person" means one person, unless you make it plural and add an "s" to the end of it.

So what you stated, as far as I know, is BS.

ken

Ken Fox wrote:You said that there were "people" who wanted something and that "people" were complaining when that something occurred. I don't recall anyone asking for a US distributor for the Quest, although I might be wrong on that because it is a rather uninteresting idea to post and I might not necessarily have read it, if posted.

To my knowledge, a "person," moi, made a negative comment on the arrangement apparently made between SM's and the Quest mfr. I know of no one else, but perhaps someone else has made that comment.

"People" is generally regarded as being plural, whereas "person" means one person, unless you make it plural and add an "s" to the end of it.

So what you stated, as far as I know, is BS.

ken

Yes Ken, as far as you know it is BS, that has been established.

For me it is not, maybe it has not been stated here (more then likely has) but it has at CG and since I really find no reason to prove myself to you I will not waste any time finding links to other web sites.

germantown rob wrote:Yes Ken, as far as you know it is BS, that has been established.

For me it is not, maybe it has not been stated here (more then likely has) but it has at CG and since I really find no reason to prove myself to you I will not waste any time finding links to other web sites.

If people on CG asked to have a US importer for the M3, and then once this happened they complained about it, I think it might have been a better idea to have posted your comment on CG, rather than here, right after I posted my opinion about this arrangement.

As for links, I have even less interest in reading them, than you do in finding and/or posting them here.

ken

I'm locking this thread until those suffering from last-worditis go away or stop repeating themselves.