TulipTools Internet Business Owners and Online Sellers Community

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More discussion on parrothead's fate at OTWA:
http://www.otwa.com/community/showthread.php?t=40563

Apparently, there was some relatively recent buyout?? or joining?? of his company and another. The discussion wonders if that could be the cause.

wouldn't surprise me if his supplier raised it's prices to them and them a few months later bought them out to get thier customers.

Maybe we will hear the facts some day. 

mewsicmama at The Ross Show was able to get through to his old customer service line. Her quote about what she heard:

[quote]I called his local number earlier today, and posted about it on OTWA. There is now a female voice recording apologizing that they have been unexpectedly forced to close their store, thanking all their loyal customers, and advising they are working to send out all backlogged orders. (paraphrased)

There's no telling what happened to him.  :-\

[quote author=xppman link=topic=3718.msg14048#msg14048 date=1147712245]
wouldn't surprise me if his supplier raised it's prices to them and them a few months later bought them out to get thier customers.
[/quote]

Something similar happened to my former shipping supplier shippingsupply.com. She was an amazing seller (FB 45,000, 99.9% positive), fast shipping, great communications, etc but she made the really bad decision to grow her business by merging with a shipping supply distributor who basically let customer service slip.  Rather than letting her reputation and customer service go down the drain, she decided to shut down the business and have her account closed (NARU'd) last Summer.

Her story is on her about me page:
http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=shippingsupply.com

I've seen it with other drop shippers / wholesale supplier types too.

They monitor your sales and see you are getting substantially
more for the product than they are charging you so they
let the customer service "slip" to you the retailer.

(i.e. drop ship SLOW for you to your customers
and / or start raising their prices to you on the drop of a hat).  :blinkie:

Seems many are getting in the retail market direct and are able to
raise their prices and sell to the public  themselves and realize
more profits for themselves.

Happens all the time.
It truly is dog eat dog out here.

In my search for wholesalers / drop shippers seems the
field of choices is all but about dried up and was
already heading this way several years ago.

Rather than letting my reputation and customer service go down the drain,
I decided to design, produce and market my own wares as
opposed to try and keep selling other's products for an ever decreasing
amount of profit to ME.

Now I get inquiries asking if I would drop ship for others.

I bought some mailers from them about 2 months ago. $12. postpaid for 100 size 000 (just right for jewelry). I wondered how they did that.

Maybe they just realized they were losing their butts.  ???