I can offer a little perspective on this. Margins on telescopes are very small because most manufacturers are trying to simultaneously support a dealer network, sell from their own websites and sell through other online retailers such as Amazon. It's not just telescopes, _all_ consumer products retailers with brick & mortar stores are finding that if you don't also aggressively offer an online sales system your days are numbered. We charge sales tax, but Amazon doesn't. When you're buying something for less than $100 that's not such a big deal, but when you're spending well into four digits _and_ online stores increasingly offer free or dirt-cheap shipping, _and_ they're discounting below MSRP, customers will buy online in order to save a couple of hundred bucks. Price is everything these days. I've lost count of the people who've told me, "Yeah that's a cool telescope but Amazon sells it for $50 less and they don't charge sales tax and with Amazon Prime I get free shipping, so thanks for showing it to me, but I'm going to buy it online." Seriously, they were comparison shopping our floor models and then using their smartphones to order from Amazon while standing right there. They're proud of it. And can I really blame them? By buying that 8" go-to SC online they've saved themselves more than $150. Plus they don't have to figure out how to lug the thing home - it's being delivered to them. People who are serious about telescopes are generally tech-savvy enough to shop online, they know what they want, so they search online for the best price. I'd adore being a full-service stocking retailer of high quality telescopes and accessories, but today's consumer purchasing behavior in a market of our size just doesn't support that business model. If you figure out how to make that work here, please let me know and I'll apply for a job with you. Seth On Jul 6, 2013, at 9:54 AM, "Chuck Hards" <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote:
On Sat, Jul 6, 2013 at 9:14 AM, Dion Davidson <diondavidson@yahoo.com>wrote:
I guess I'm wondering why there isn't a telescope store here, like OPT or ScopeCity. Joe hit the nail on the head, Dion. There aren't enough walk-in customers in this area to make a brick-and-mortar store profitable.
Camera Den used to sell higher-quality scopes and equipment, before they switched to bicycles, then folded completely if memory serves. Hammond Toys and Hobbies used to be a Celestron dealer and still has some telescopes set-up in their stores, but most are old and missing parts. The kids that typically work the registers there can't answer any questions and only make minimum wage. I think since Lee Hammond retired/passed-on, the telescope and binocular side of the business has died out as well. I didn't know any other family members besides Lee and am not sure who even owns and runs the business anymore.
OPT, Scope City, Adorama, etc., have huge metropolitan customer bases that dwarf the entire population of several western states, but even so, most of their business today is mail-order. A live, walk-in storefront has to be self-supporting in order for it to be a successful side of a business. Payroll is typically the highest monthly expense for businesses, and knowledeable salespeople with a background in astronomy and optics can't be had for minimum wage and no benefits.
Online retail is about the best business model for astro vendors these days, and real storefronts will only be a side of such businesses, especially in areas with little walk-in traffic. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
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