This was a really common question 5 years ago but not so common now as consumers have become used to the lower prices that the internet has to offer. Although this might be true, this is a question worth answering. I will try to be brief, which is not easy considering how many areas of business and economics this question touches on, but by the end of reading this, you will have the understanding of what our company’s goal is. Companies hate the word “cheap”, well not companies but marketing execs, they like inexpensive or good value – no matter what we call it the question is still the same. How can we sell a product for 50-60% lower than everyone else and because of that is it inferior?
First lets remove the “cheap” issue with an example. We sell brick metal 1.5″ x 3″ for $14.95SF; however, boutique retailers sell the same exact product for $50SF. Metal has a high “price feel” to it- it looks expensive and is relatively new so retailers will charge what they can (marketing 101 if it looks expensive make it expensive). The reality is this is not the case while it is not as cheap as ceramic technology has driven down the production costs of stainless steel mosaics. Additionally, traditional boutique retailers have 2-3 steps in their supply chain process-each one adding 50% in which the pice rapidly rises. Our company method: we ship directly from the factory to our warehouse and then from our warehouse we ship the product directly to the consumer. With this method, we skip 3 steps in the supply chain and pass the savings along to you. This explains how we can sell for $15.00SF.
Second, “quality” (related to cheap) – here is a brick metal mosaic product installed in a $2m house click here to see. Or a backsplash (using a $7SF 3×6) in a $10m house or many other superb bathrooms. Cheap does not get installed by professional architect firms (this is one of many examples we have). Then there is the marble product that our company has to offer to the consumer. Italian Carrara and Calacatta Gold are top of the line products that we have imported. Our company imports directly (strategy #1) taking out 3 steps in the supply chain that our competitors the ‘boutique tile and stone retailers‘ have to suffer. and in the end just makes there process more complicated than it needs to be. Why do these companies have to suffer an inefficient supply chain? Answer: a retailer cannot buy 28 pallets of 6×12″ Italian Carrara at a time – he does not have the ‘wholesale’ sales to support it. This goes back to our logical and efficient way of processing: we import the product directly, and then the product is simply shipped straight to you.
In our company, it is necessary to make a profit, yet we are no where near the same as a tile store. The reason for not needing a higher profit is we operate a low cost business (Strategy #2). Without the complicated extras, marketing is our mantra-pictures taken with a $50 camera = no advertising cost. We are not only advertised in magazines and on DIY network, but we do not pay for this. The value of our products is all top of the line quality at an affordable price that makes sense to the consumer (or cheap) in which our customers want to tell their friends, TV shows wants to tell their viewers, and magazines their readers. Our company operates with minimal staff (so you feel as if you have more of a personal relationship with the company in which you are getting your product from), so minimal that answering the phone can be sometimes be a challenge (sorry I know that can be frustrating). I could go on but you get the idea.
Direct import, minimal operational costs and premium products (word of mouth is our marketing). As the buyer, these products do not always come to us cheap; however, it is out goal to offer one of the best deals that can top any competitors pricing-so good we understand the skepticism. To help alleviate the skepticism, we offer a variety of samples for you to physically see, so it can make the process easier when you know exactly what you are buying. Not only do we offer samples, you can also get more information based on the reviews online from EBay and Amazon. We are a company that is proud of what our business has been able to accomplish; we wanted to create something new and like no other and that’s exactly what we brought to the customer. In our company, we receive a constant stream of pleased and content worthy emails from our grateful customers who create an enchanted looking bathroom buying $4K worth of marble and adding $15K in value back into their home price.
We are probably one of the few online products that offer an instant profit once purchased and installed. I hope I have answered the question and did not go off on too many tangents. If I failed please let me know david@thebuilderdepot.com if you liked it please let my boss know sales@thebuilderdepot.com. Thank you 🙂
