Why don't more dealers offer parts and spares online, eBay etc?

[Dry Rot]

The answer to the question in the header is, if we knew the price of the parts, we wouldn't have bought the item in the first place!

(Trying to get panels for an Ifor Williams trailer is a nightmare).

 

[smcapstick]

It's a pain in the arse. Advertising something for £1 is as much work as listing something for £20,000.

People stick to their niche - a jack of all trades is a master of none.

 

[smcapstick]

That's the one. Very unfriendly and most dealers seem to use a DOS version. My goodness!
It has its good points but I would be very surprised if it could be used to automate an internet retail shop.

I liked IBCOS Gold. It was really easy to use and really the only stock system suitable for dealerships.

I did laugh when I saw on their website that their idea of a mobile app was basically a dos terminal emulator

I like DOS. I know how it works!

Unfortunately as I understand it, IBCOS have almost monopolised ag dealers with their Gold software. It's very old fashioned, and very expensive with yearly licences for each PC/laptop, but pretty much all seem to run it? Many manufacturers produce "stock tapes" to update parts stock, and every time this is produced IBCOS charge dealers to update it.

Not sure what alternatives there are? Shame there's not more competition for such software.

Furthermore, many dealers buy their PCs from IBCOS at more than market value. If they buy elsewhere it apparently costs more to get Gold installed and licensed than it would if IBCOS supplied the machine, so any saving on buying elsewhere is lost ? In addition many dealers seem to have their website/email all supplied by IBCOS at more than the usual market cost? Even setting up email addresses seems to cost.

The cost of IBCOS Gold is f**king terrifying. Something like £20k - I priced it ages ago.

 

[Tractor_dealer]

I liked IBCOS Gold. It was really easy to use and really the only stock system suitable for dealerships.


I like DOS. I know how it works!


The cost of IBCOS Gold is fudgeing terrifying. Something like £20k - I priced it ages ago.

£20,000 seems excessive
It all depends on how many users etc
What add on etc
The monthly fee is the worst
Farmers have no idea !

 

[sleepy]

The cost of IBCOS Gold is fudgeing terrifying. Something like £20k - I priced it ages ago.

To be fair writing software isn't cheap, and they don't exactly have a large customer base who they can sell to.

 

[smcapstick]

To be fair writing software isn't cheap, and they don't exactly have a large customer base who they can sell to.

I understood why the cost was so high - it's a big programme that must be supported until day X.

It priced me the hell out, though

 

[sleepy]

I understood why the cost was so high - it's a big programme that must be supported until day X.

It priced me the hell out, though

I would think Xero plus Dear inventory (http://dearsystems.com/inventory-software/) could do most of what Ibcos Gold can do, maybe need a workshop scheduling software as well but there's loads of them.

 

[Farmer_Joe]

I know exactly what you mean, bought a quad for from a dealer the other day surprisingly was very reasonably priced,

crap website (in my opinion) so did not know which branch said item was at, so had to ring switch board,

They directed me to the Selby site rung them to find out it was actually at Northallerton.

Rather than give me the details for the man at northallerton the guy from selby rung the chap at northallerton???

45 mins later rings me back with more details at which point i ask for the details of the chap at northallerton as its silly going through another person.

Got hold of him told him was coming to at 1 ish to see it, arrived at 1.20 went to desk,

'Dont think hes about' walked around yard twice looking for him not around had to virtually force them to get someone else to show me quad so i could look it over etc,

Said yes fine i will take it lets get paid up, 'oh he will be back soon' thank f**k he arrived within minutes as i was getting fed up,

THEN oh we cant take business card as it chearges up a fee

So piad with my personal card

Then 'oh dorris is not around today so i will have to send you an invoice'

I mean honestly wtf i dont know how they sell anything if its so hard when somone to organise to view something pays and takes it away??

dealers like this days are surely numbered, everyone i dealt with was helpful dont get me wrong, but no one had a clue what anyone else was doing so inefficient

i think another 10 15 years dealers as we know will have to change radically going online is happening now for the savvy ones offering decent parts stocks includng places like ebay.

 

[Steevo]

@B&B Pig Man

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

£20,000 seems excessive
It all depends on how many users etc
What add on etc
The monthly fee is the worst
Farmers have no idea !

If you were starting from scratch tomorrow theoretically, surely you'd be crackers paying and using that, there must be better, cheaper, faster solutions around.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

I would think Xero plus Dear inventory (http://dearsystems.com/inventory-software/) could do most of what Ibcos Gold can do, maybe need a workshop scheduling software as well but there's loads of them.

That looks the job.

 

[Jim B]

£20k for gold is absurd, that can't be right?

Surely there's plenty more choices with car dealer software, one of those packages could fairly easily be adapted?

 

[Cowabunga]

£20k for gold is absurd, that can't be right?

Surely there's plenty more choices with car dealer software, one of those packages could fairly easily be adapted?

Whatever they use, it must support constantly updated prices and part numbers from the major machinery distributors. If it doubles as a virtual retail shop front, then the front of shop must automatically link with the back room, adding margins or deducting discounts, plus the ability to create a system similar to Amazon. Of course it should be able to link directly to eBay and Amazon so that product can be retailed in-house and through both popular web sites and also 'facilitated by Amazon' sales.

I suspect it is a very technical exercise, and as such rather time consuming and very costly.
Card purchase commission is another expensive issue.

 

[db9go]

£20k for gold is absurd, that can't be right?

Surely there's plenty more choices with car dealer software, one of those packages could fairly easily be adapted?

But Ibcos is the one the big manufactures supply updates to for prices and part number changes. Most of the car dealers are controlled by the manufacture.
There are changes coming

 

[Cowabunga]

But Ibcos is the one the big manufactures supply updates to for prices and part number changes. Most of the car dealers are controlled by the manufacture.
There are changes coming

Great minds synchronise their identical thoughts.

 

[db9go]

Great minds synchronise their identical thoughts.

There is a new system being tried with 14 dealers at the moment
by are large manufacture

 

[TripleSix]

I know exactly what you mean, bought a quad for from a dealer the other day surprisingly was very reasonably priced,

crap website (in my opinion) so did not know which branch said item was at, so had to ring switch board,

They directed me to the Selby site rung them to find out it was actually at Northallerton.

Rather than give me the details for the man at northallerton the guy from selby rung the chap at northallerton???

45 mins later rings me back with more details at which point i ask for the details of the chap at northallerton as its silly going through another person.

Got hold of him told him was coming to at 1 ish to see it, arrived at 1.20 went to desk,

'Dont think hes about' walked around yard twice looking for him not around had to virtually force them to get someone else to show me quad so i could look it over etc,

Said yes fine i will take it lets get paid up, 'oh he will be back soon' thank fudge he arrived within minutes as i was getting fed up,

THEN oh we cant take business card as it chearges up a fee

So piad with my personal card

Then 'oh dorris is not around today so i will have to send you an invoice'

I mean honestly wtf i dont know how they sell anything if its so hard when somone to organise to view something pays and takes it away??

dealers like this days are surely numbered, everyone i dealt with was helpful dont get me wrong, but no one had a clue what anyone else was doing so inefficient

i think another 10 15 years dealers as we know will have to change radically going online is happening now for the savvy ones offering decent parts stocks includng places like ebay.

You can't rush Russells!

 

[Robt]

Pheasant you really do seem be the expert in so many subjects, why not rather than knocking them do it yourself?
Why did you use local dealer if internet is better?
It really is money for old rope so show them all and set up an online business to rival them all......

Sorry but is very easy to critisise from ones small farming business.

Classic example today, while on hols in Cheshire , I managed to break the main belt on brother in laws husky mower. I went on line to check part number then emailed local dealer parts tech to leave one on counter. Family have dealt with dealer for years and don't want to see them disappear. Probably similar to why you still use local dealer with his rubbish website.... people deal with people

 

[sleepy]

Whatever they use, it must support constantly updated prices and part numbers from the major machinery distributors. If it doubles as a virtual retail shop front, then the front of shop must automatically link with the back room, adding margins or deducting discounts, plus the ability to create a system similar to Amazon. Of course it should be able to link directly to eBay and Amazon so that product can be retailed in-house and through both popular web sites and also 'facilitated by Amazon' sales.

I suspect it is a very technical exercise, and as such rather time consuming and very costly.
Card purchase commission is another expensive issue.

It's not just agriculture that deals with lots of different product lines.

There are hundreds of eccommerce packages that can receive a CSV file from a manufacture, and 'import' it daily to updates prices. Millions of eccommerce outfits do exactly that, triaging the fact that many of the importers and distributors are utterly useless at online marketing and customer service.
Many are just 'drop shippers', passing the order back to the supplier to be fulfilled, leaving the customer none the wiser.

Ibcos Gold might package it all up into an easy to buy package but it's certainly not irreplaceable.

Card purchase commission is a bit of a pain but in reality it's beans and certainly less than the cost of borrowing money to lend to customers in the form of credit accounts.

 

[Farma Parma]

In these times of austerity, we as customers need to haggle and Google more, often the trade price is about 40% of the retail price.

i can vouch for that... Google saved me £1,000's