Not good DECC figures

[FB.]

Hi FB, I agree that word of mouth is an excellent advertisment. So why not do it publicy?

Because with the market now being cut-throat, I expect that some people in the industry will do all they can to discredit their competitors.
Whichever company I named, there'd be someone come along with a scare story.

 

[LightGEN]

guys come on, this is a public forum! whats with all the business sensitive info!

I see nothing in this thread which I'd describe as business sensitive. On the contrary, i'd say that it's useful for the public to have sight of the thoughts of those involved in the industry and for the public to understand that it's very competitive out there - Businesses have bills and staff to pay, as such, thay have to make a profit, without which the business stops trading. I'm more than happy to have the idea that there are thousands of pounds of profit built into the cost of a PV system killed. The reality is that the retail price of a solar installation, covers the cost of the equipment supplied, the salaries of staff, other overheads and there's than a little bit left in the pot if everything goes well. That 'little bit' comes to hundreds of pounds not thousands and it's there to cover the cost of any future warranty claims and for the future wellfare of the business.

To quote a well know movie character "Thats all I have to say about that"

 

[moggy1968]

disscussing precise details of profit margins and wholesale pricing on a public forum is stupid. No business in their right mind publishes detailed information like this in a public arena. Most people who aren't involved in business have no idea of the costs involved in running a business or the justification for making profit. My folks run an opticians where I was a manager many years ago and the number of times people used to say 'surely it doesn't cost that much to make a pair of glasses' was unbelievable, many people really do have no idea.

The business overheads vary from business to business and from location to location and product to product so the information is also missleading.

discussing the squeeze on profits is one thing, but putting detailed informaion on wholesale prices and margins on a public website is ridiculous and a diservice to the industry as a whole.

 

[LightGEN]

Having re-read the thread, I see I'd missed the pricing post you mention - i agree on that point.

 

[moggy1968]

ta!!!!:wink5:

 

[moggy1968]

incidently, when I worked at the opticians, we never tried to compete with Tesco or Speccy****s on price. We couldn't hope to. We used qualified staff that cost money and we didn't have their buying power. We instead competed by offering a better service and higher standards. People came to us not because we were the cheapest, but because we were good, and we did well (the folks have now sold the business and retired). After I finished there I went repping for one of the biggest suppliers in the UK. Of the Opticians I visited the ones that were doing well were doing the same. The ones that were trying to compete with the big boys were in a state of perpetual financial collapse.
Try and compete with tesco and their ilk if you like, but personally I think it's the road to financial ruination

 

[dansk]

Try and compete with tesco and their ilk if you like, but personally I think it's the road to financial ruination

Never a more true word said - its a business not a charity, you need to earn enough profit to survive and cover little incidents otherwise whats the point?

 

[SRE]

..and just because Tesco are offering at that price doesn't mean they are selling. We pick up quite a few of their jobs.

1000 installs last week, 700 rumoured to be RAR, 300 private installs - it's not price that's the issue. It's confidence in the market and unsustainable prices encourage further cuts and more businesses to go bust.

It's time for a deep breath and to hold on, the market just needs to settle down a bit.

 

[dansk]

Not only the market but the country - were in a right old mess and its going to some sorting.