POX on OBX!

[Briancembor at aol.com]

i work with many manufacturers and my company is the second
largest fastener importer in the country... that being said, i have
to agree with the premise that HOT SHOT needs to have a reality
 check. OK, OBX is copy/ripoff, does not dispute the fact that HS
 is still overcharging. if HS has not recouped R/D costs in 10+ years
 of manufacturing then they need to reexamine their business model.

OBX can make the headers at $150 b/c they are Chinese/Taiwanese.
 It is not b/c they pay some kid $5 a day to make. it is b/c the gov'ts
 over there CONTROL COSTS. the control the price of steel, they
 control shipping, they control labor, and they control R/D. if the US
Gov was to control costs in the same manner here we could be
competitive but, life would SUCK. however, to be competitive US
companies MUST change their practices. labor costs MUST be cut
and efficiencies found (not even gonna start on the union thing). THIS
is where HS must make note. THEY NEED to lower their prices to
be competitive. i am sure they are still operating on the same premise
that they are the "premier" header manufacturer in the US. this may
be true, however, the competition (PS, OBX) have shown that percieved
lower quality, service, performance, and above all price point play
a MAJOR role in who buys what.

my point about all this is that my company has been able to
become a billion dollar distributor in less then 20yrs since going
public b/c we offer service, value, and quality. much of this is from
IMPORTED product. to be competitive we had to source lower cost
product because DOMESTIC product was not the cheapest, nor was
it the best for the price we are paying.

anywho... i dunno, i forgot my point now...
i just don't see how HS can justify their prices, EVEN IF there is "stolen"
designs that cost less.

Brian