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Hooker Harness Group Buy

I'm ready for a complete set for an RV-10. Might there be any status here? I checked with Hooker at OSH, and their pricing was kind of high as an individual buyer.


Vic
 
I'm in the same boat as Vic (needing RV-10 belts), please update the status of the group buy.

thanks,

bob
 
Status update

Fellow Builders,

Much has continued with efforts to get this group buy up and running. Without going into specifics, Hooker is still in discussion with retailers of their product to work how this might progress. There have been issues in the past with getting it right for everyone, (consumer, retailer and manufacturer) and Scott is keen to make sure past mistakes are not repeated.

WIll keep you updated when I know more.

Greg
 
Greg, any progress here, or for those of us needing something in the next month or so should we just move ahead on our own?

Thanks.

Vic
 
CROW

I dont have a dog in the race...but while Hooker has great products, seems they arent that interested. I have heard good things about CROW, and their prices are much better. Why not see if there are alternatives and if someone will run with it. I would think selling 20 or 50 or X sets of belts in this economy would be good for some business?
 
Do we have a connection at Crow?

I would be interested in getting some belts through Crow. I would spring sooner than later if someone would be interested in getting something together. I don't think Crow is a VAF vendor and wouldn't that be some kind of violation on group buys for this site?
 
I have bought all of my last few sets of seatbelts through Crow, and am very pleased with them. I was trying to support a group buy and the VAF site. I will take ownership to call Crow this evening and see if we can come up with anything.
Doug---- any issues with that?

Vic
 
Feedback by weeks end

Fellow Builders,

I should have some information by the end of this week for everyone about this Group Buy. Much Dialogue has been happening behind the scenes and I have kept Doug informed as best I can. Expect enough information by the end of this week to let everyone know further so stay posted.

Cheers, Greg
 
No go on a Crow group buy

Sorry it took so long to get back to everyone concerning Crow, but...

I contacted right after my previous post. They were not interested in a group buy or advertising on VAF.

Depending on price, I may be interested in 5 point harnesses for my -7.


DD
 
I emailed for a price from Crow yesterday

I emailed Crow Enterprises yesterday to find out what the price would be for a five point harness with camloc and pull up belts for my 9A. The price I received was a little north of $150 each if I wanted them with the optional pads for the upper belts. These would be in either 2" or 3" wide restraints.

This begs the question - What size restraints are most people getting? Guess I need to search the archives for a consensus.
 
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Hooker Harness Final update

Fellow Builders,

Hooker Harness are not interested in undertaking another Group Buy or advertising on VAF. This is dissappointing for everyone though much time effort and money spent on phone calls has not been able to sway Scott on this one. I also attempted to work this from another angle and have a Hooker retailer support us and although a discount was offered there has been no commitment to support VAF with an advertising package in any form. To this end I am now waving my 'White' flag and suggesting if anyone wants a Hooker Harness to make contact directly with Scott or through one of their retailers. I ended up purchasing mine through Mark Frederick at Team Rocket who graciously passed on a small discount. Classic Aero Interiors are another advertiser on VAF who also retailer the Hooker product that can support accordingly.

I know this is dissapointing for everyone, and in some ways I feel I have failed you all in not getting this off the ground. It appears previous Group Buys that Hooker have been involved with have tarnished any future committment in again providing this opportunity for builders.

Yours sincerely, Greg Blakey :(
 
Thanks

Hey Greg. Your time and trouble is much appreciated. Kind of surprising that retailers dont jump at these opportunities really. I know some people dont pay on time, others back out...but the reality is they can move a ton of product realitively quickly and easily. I would love to see Aero LED, Classic Aero, Vetterman, Crow etc (any of the bigger ticket firms) offer things up every year or two. Pick their slowest month, give a little break and why not? Odd. If they sold 50 sets of belts, thats a nice check.


Anyway, your efforts were appreciated.
 
Greg and all,

I'm truly surprised people believe this is such a good deal for the vendors and get upset when these deals don?t come off. I can think of any number of reasons why I might not be interested if I was a vendor.

Top of my list would be that you are asking them to "pull through" 1-2 years orders in a very short period. This is possibly worse for cash flow over the longer term and the risk that you have the problems of supply and unhappy customers if they have to wait for product.

General practice is to give a discount for volume. But you are expecting the vendor to sell to 20-100 retail customers, process every order themselves and deal with the issues. Why would anyone do that? There is no saving for the vendor at all. You are not really doing anything other than handing over a list of unconfirmed sales leads.

I'm not saying that some orders may not come through which the vendor would not have had otherwise, but is it really worth it for them? Not one person on this list has even forked over a deposit to firm up the deal, and many would walk away if the deal went ahead.

I appreciate Doug's position about advertising on the site, but if these group buys are going to happen, shouldn't someone consider doing something to help the vendor out? Try turning up with a firm order and 20% down payment; optionally agree to ship each of the items to the customer. You will find vendors are interested.

Otherwise I vote people stop listing ?possible? group buys on the site. It is a total waste of time and can only serve to upset good people who want to earn a living supporting homebuilders.

Regards
Richard
 
Just purchase Crow's....They are already less expensive than the Hookers on a group buy and are just as high of quality....;)
 
Its not ruining my week that it did not go through but....businesses are in the business of selling product. Most I know of are always looking for new and creative ways to get people to buy. I will use OSH as an example. Several suppliers there offered substantial discounts. Most have pretty fat margins on this stuff, dont kid yourself. If I owned a little shop in Florida and I could use the net and wrap up sales of 30 or 40 or 50 sets of belts at thinner margins then normal to people that NEVER would have bought from me, whats the downside? They run businesses and need to decide if there is adequate profit. Obviously there isnt they feel. I would have gone Hooker if they presented a fair offer here. I will now order Crows that everyone seems to really like and cost much less. So...they dont get anything from me. Their choice.

I hope group buys continue, and appreciate those that try to get them in place.
 
Not just moving product.

I agree with Richard. Hooker doesn't just sell product, they also make it. That means labour. Further, not all customer's want the same "cookie cut" harnesses. There's diff colors/combo's, lengths, attach hardware etc etc. This makes each customer's order unique. Trying to saticefy a whole bunch of these customers at one time would not reduce the price. I wouldn't and I do run a custom labour intensive business. If all the harnesses were going to be the same, paid for up front, and delivered as one lot (when they're all done) would be considerations for a discount. Anyone organizing a group buy on a labour intensive product may want to consider doing this or leave it alone.

My .02.

Bevan
 
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