Toronto, ON
Why have distributors when you can go direct to customer?
Well, maybe when a company starts, they can’t reach a mass audience. In comes the distributor with a show room for you to test the game, multiple show rooms across the map.
All types of pinball machines to play until you find the one for you and you buy.
Great relationship.
Company gets popular now, based on the backs of distributors and now assumes/realizes that they are leaving money on The table by not going direct to consumer...
Why not cut out the guys that have made a business of promoting us and just give the people what they want....
Sell direct, unexpectedly, with your greatest product to date,
In turn sullying the distributors reputation of basing a businesses previous actions and sales in accordance to their usual allotments.
They assume they will get 10/500
They always get 10/500
They had their 10 buyers picked before the drop. Everyone knew it would be a success.
The average consumer now thinks the Distro ripped them off? Lied to them?
But heck, I don’t think they were allowed to put in order before the drop?
So how does your deposit matter.
The only thing you can possibly argue is the pecking order the distro gives its 2/10 CEs they ended up getting...
But before you do that, why don’t you try to figure out how many CE went to celebrities and/or “influencers”
How many did the company sell streamline, before then tell distribution their allotments.
I can only imagine the nightmare of dealing with customers flaking or fraudulently ordering direct from the manufacturer.
Not a issue when you use distributors.
What is issues occur with the pins?
I’ve never had to try to mail a machine from Canada to the states. But I assume it’s a nightmare.
Who’s gonna broker your playfield issues? Mech issues? Re-install a unpopulated playfield.
I’m fairly new to the pin game, I’ve bought old and NIB.
2 of my pins had problems out of the box.
Distro handled it all.
Can with the part, to my house, installed the part.
Stayed until I was satisfied.
Came back if there was a issue.
I wonder if they will use distributions infrastructure when trying to ship single units all across the world.
Pay the Distro minimum payment to deliver their product.
I dunno.
I totally feel for anyone that missed out on a pin if they wanted it.
But make sure you take in all the info before placing blame.
Heck? Even I could be wrong about all the junk I just wrote?
Quoted from fooflighter:Well just emailed my distributor. Said JJP pulled their promised allotment by 1/3rd and I am just under the cutoff, as in not getting one most likely but they haven't given up hope as they are expecting cancellations from the Direct orders. I put my order in 2 minutes and 27 seconds after the launch. I put down a non refundable (agreed to) $2000 dollar deposit on 10/5 and can and are willing to pay cash right now. This would be my first JJP purchase, among my other Sterns. Had I known I was supposed to go the Direct route to guarantee AND I was only buying a Pre-order and not a guarantee from a distributor, I would have had a CE direct no brainer. I know first world problems and all, but this leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. Why in the future would anyone buy a JJP from a distributor with this bait and switch?
Dracut, MA
