Another segment of the hobby that has changed is in the vintage parts segment particularly the popular brand parts. Reproduction parts that are just as good(or better) than original have made a impact. The days of selling a 55' taillight bezel with a few pits are basically gone. Buying a estate or large parts group has to be well thought out to figure out how much is dead weight and will either be sold off at a discount or scrapped.
Not to go "Amazon" on line has been a death nell mistake for Sears. Sent from my XT1710-02 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Yeah , the old guard didn't see it coming....To fat and bloated as an organization...Share holders took a bath...
Greed is only a very small part of it. Supply and demand, over regulation, licensing, taxes all play a factor in the cost of doing business. Sure there are some large corporations that have share holders that don't give a crap about the hobby we all love. Trying to stay in business now a days is really difficult. If it was only greed there would be another guy out there saying I can produce that cheaper or better and under cut that greedy companies prices. The market just isn't there. If it was the prices would be going down and in some cases with technology they are. Most of the cars we are building don't have computers running them. I wish it was just greed. I'd start a business myself and cut those greedy bastards throat.
If a person was inclined to become a vendor, the market I see growing leaps and bounds is the Off-Road 4x4 market. I go to all my local traditional old car swap meets, but I also attend an annual off-road, 4x4 swap meet in my area (have had good success picking up the occasional "old car" part). The age of the attendees are a growing, far younger crowd.
Just a thought that came to me while reading this thread. All you hambers that have shops and make parts (or extras ) have your website address in your signature line? It’s just happenstance that I find out you make parts... r Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Good point, but I notice that signature lines only appear when I am on the HAMB on the computer, but not my cell phone. Anybody know the reason for that?
Oh Jeeze lets beat this horse some more. I've said it once and i'll say it again. IT WILL GO FULL CIRCLE. Ups and down. But I am older now. It does hurt my old body to work on them now, I must admit.I suspect the same can be said for lots of folks on here.So i don't spend every weekend working/spending $$ on my old cars. Doesn't mean i know it all, but look at the past. Now I am now a racing fan. Worked at local short track for 20 years. followed Nascar since the early 60's. right now it sucks.But it will come back. The sky is Not falling!!
Truthfully, if people think they're going to magically recreate steel, aluminum and other parts via 3D printing - at low cost, high quality and easy-to-do . . . they're smoking one huge crack pipe! I've been involved in 3D CAD, CAM, CNC and all the flavors thereof for 40 years. First of all, 3D geometry (accurate for any real usage) doesn't just show up . . . somebody has to create it. You can't magically scan/copy something like a cylinder head - and then go make anything - it takes a lot of reverse engineering, validation of all critical geometry and designs that are manufacturable. Just think about the complexity of things like engine blocks, cylinder heads, QC rear ends, most any decently complex casting - not only from the perspective of what it takes to lay down the material (lets say sintered aluminum), but also to meet critical tolerances, have smooth machine surfaces, have hole for things to mount, have threads to bolt too, etc . . . none of this is easy by any means and 3D printing is a HUGE distance away from solving these problems for any of us - let alone small companies with limited funds, low production, etc.. Somebody has to redo all the geometry, then they have to put in intelligent tooling, fixturing and CNC knowledge into the part, etc.. It is a LOT harder than the stupid media and TV shows act like . . . as it has ALWAYS been . . .
The Sears thing is directly related to changing from commission sales people to cashiers who know damned little about the product and you have to hunt down a clerk to get waited on if you want to ask questions or actually buy something you can't physically carry to the checkout. My brother in law sold home electronics on commission for a then large electronics/appliance outfit in the PNW I watched him sell 5 rather spendy video cameras on one demonstration that started out for one customer one day as others collected around to listen to his pitch. The outfit dropped commission sales and in under a year they were out of business. People bought from Dick Spardo because they could call up or contact him and get answers directly from him. Same as some of the other outfits that had and still have a very personal owner touch. I had direct contact with Dwight Bond when I bought my flathead to T 5 adapter. You don't get much more low tech than he operates. Same with Tom Langdon when he sold me my cast headers for my 292. He actually called me back as they were rolling down the road in the truck to confirm the order. I'd say that the major issue for our type of cars and builds is more on the line of not being able to find certain oem parts that we can recondition and use often preferring the used and abused that need work rather than buying a repro. Half of us on here have been hunting a certain oem or vintage speed part for the past year or more simply because it has to be that part or none. Just as good as and possibly sometimes better doesn't count as that isn't the "real deal"
Business is hard. Case in point: everybody wants to be rich, but there are only around 600 billionaires. If it were easy, we'd all be billionaires. What I've seen being on the administrative side of business is that it all comes down to pure, unadulterated luck and hard work. Someone lucked out in the beginning at the exact same time that they realize they had the skills to make money, and it worked for them. Success in business is just like surfing. Just like a surfer, eventually the wave they ride comes to an end whether it's during their lives or the lives of their children. No business last forever. Just look at Packard, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, AMC, Studebaker, and on and on. Eventually, even Walmart will close it's doors. They use to say that failure is the beginning of success. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." The problem is most people are afraid to fail, so they never try. Its super easy to work for someone else and complain about how they run their operation. Now imagine if it were your operation. Would you really run it differently? Remember this: their way (even with all the flaws) is still making money...
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