Posts: 13,389
Threads: 4
Joined: Jun 2007
Location: New Jersey
Agreed. It's like at the fleas I go to, nobody NEEDS the stuff they buy, they just WANT it for some reason. When you're dealing with paying for the needs stuff, the wants stuff takes a back seat.
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Posts: 63,475
Threads: 3
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Merryland
To give an example of the decline in my retail sales. Two years ago, I typically ran a four to six week backlog. I turned away more business than I accepted. Today my backlog is less than a week. My prices have also gone up about 20% since then and my profit margin down about 10%. I can't raise my prices fast enough to compete with the rising costs of goods without making my regular clients angry. My prices are already a little higher than my competition. A lot higher in some cases.
I used to get just about every sale that I quoted. Not now. They aren't necessarily going somewhere else, they just aren't getting the work done. If it weren't for the low cost of fuel right now, My margins would look much worse. I'll have to raise my prices again as fuel goes up.
This has been a steady trend since I went into business 9-1/2 years ago. My prices have gone up about about 60% in 9-1/2 years but my profit margin and income has stayed the same.
"Sales are up" but if you do the math, things look bleak.
Posts: 6,562
Threads: 2
Joined: Sep 2006
Location: North Florida
Prices seem a little off to me. They usually spike in the fall and that did not happen last year. I blame the current economic uncertainty.
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