Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mike Johnston who wrote (36281)	7/26/2005 1:00:57 PM
From: BWAC	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

"Tell me how can a pizza operator make more money this year, if his costs are going through the roof but the price of his product stays the same. " Easy. Dough is cheap. Tomato sauce is cheap. Would you like the 2 large for $17.99 special? Or the one Large for $12.99? You'll take 2? Great. Now using my special secret topping measurement chart, I'll be dividing your toppings in half, and spreading them over 2 pizzas. $5 more sales for adding in some dough and sauce.

To: Mike Johnston who wrote (36281)	7/26/2005 1:01:08 PM
From: jrhana	Respond to of 306849

Maybe the pizza guy is just using the store as convenient funnel/front for other enterprises (legitimate or less so). Maybe he has been dabbling in real estate speculation through his business. From a liability and a tax basis, it would make senses. Maybe he even enjoys the people he meets in his business. Who knows but perhaps there is a hidden secondary gain. I have wondered about my lawn man who runs a little business with employees and who has not raised his prices in over 10 years. I think he enjoys the work and perhaps feels responsible for the poor slobs that work for him. He, I know, was buying up townhouses on a cash basis in Homestead Florida 10-20 years ago way before the boom started, and I am sure is now fairly prosperous. My roofer here south of Miami and my painter in Washington, D.C. (Georgetown) have no trouble charging super top dollar. In fact they are so busy I feel lucky to get them. The roofer is busy here with all the mansion (Mc and not so Mc) construction going on and the painter in Georgetown has his fill with all the constant renovations going on.

To: Mike Johnston who wrote (36281)	7/26/2005 1:22:54 PM
From: deeno	Respond to of 306849

ot "This is like saying that GM is making more money this year, because they are selling a lot of cars at employee discount" um, no its not. not anywhere close. "By definition, a company should be breaking even with employee discount" Whose definition is that? yours? "So either GM is losing tons of money or the employees are shafted because of the bogus discount. " neither is likely to be true. Just because the were buying less then the public does not mean GM is breaking even. It is a discount so they are not getting "shafted" "Tell me how can a pizza operator make more money this year, if his costs are going through the roof but the price of his product stays the same" by cutting his own costs " honey, lets buy that new more energy effecient stove" or concentrating on better markup idems. "like our new tap system? 20 new microbrews on demand fo 4.25 a glass". How about getting customers to upgrade, frequent eaters, more delivery. I hope you dont run a small business as you seem to lack imagination. Suffice it to say these people are likely making alot of money and will continue to do so regardless of bubbles, pullbacks, money supply etc. I think a place with GOOD pizza has not limits to their upside. I guess my only point was you need better examples. Perhaps using examples in your own business?

To: Mike Johnston who wrote (36281)	7/26/2005 11:29:24 PM
From: Tradelite	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

re: <<Tell me how can a pizza operator make more money this year, if his costs are going through the roof but the price of his product stays the same>> This is the funniest post I've seen on this thread after being away and just now looking at posts for the past three days......... ummmmmmmmmm......I have no idea how pizza guys make their money, but I do know that about five or six of them are operating and have been operating for a very long time within a couple miles of my home. I also happen to live in an area where you MIGHT think sushi or caviar would be more popular than pizza. But the pizza guys seem to be doing fine. <<gg>>

To: Mike Johnston who wrote (36281)	7/27/2005 12:15:26 AM
From: Pogeu Mahone	Respond to of 306849

Bogus Discounts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You Hit the Nail on the Head! Auto Prices Went UP on Employee Discounts Pavloves dog! At a few dealers, 'discount' depends Advertised prices of some cars rise after Ford launch By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff \| July 16, 2005 With much fanfare, Ford Motor Co. launched a national marketing campaign last week promising to save car buyers possibly thousands of dollars by giving them the same discounts Ford employees get. But at some local dealerships, including Quirk Ford in Quincy and Jack Madden Ford in Norwood, advertised prices for some models have gone up as much as $1,000, not down. Adam Abelha of Fairhaven, who has been hunting for an Explorer for weeks, said the employee discounts seem misleading. ''I thought I was going to pull the trigger and buy a truck this week, but now I may wait until after the employee discount promotion ends," he said. Executives at Quirk and Jack Madden Ford didn't return numerous calls seeking comment. A member of the Quirk sales staff said the dealership had been offering unusually steep discounts in June that expired earlier this month. He referred all other questions to a dealership executive, who did not return phone calls. The nationally advertised employee discounts cover certain 2005 models. The pitch is that anyone walking in off the street gets the same discount off the manufacturer's suggested retail price as someone who works at Ford. But while automakers heavily influence car prices, local dealers have leeway to adjust prices on their own. For example, at Quirk Ford in Quincy, a four-wheel drive Ford Explorer XLT was advertised at $22,249 on July 3. But on Sunday, after Ford began promising that everyone would pay the same price as its employees, Quirk raised the advertised price of the XLT by $1,000. Advertised prices at Quirk also rose $1,000 for the Ford Explorer XLS, Eddie Bauer Explorer, Freestyle SE and SEL, and Ford Five Hundred. After the employee discount program took effect, Jack Madden Ford in Norwood raised the advertised price for the 2005 Taurus SE sedan by $1,000 to $14,995. A Ford spokesman said it would be unusual for a car's price to increase after implementation of employee discount pricing. ''The discounts this month in almost all cases are better," said David Reuter. ''I'm not going to tell you that in certain regions, in certain areas, a customer couldn't get a better price last month than this month. But the circumstances are very rare." General Motors launched employee discount pricing in June and sales that month jumped 47 percent compared with June 2004. Both Ford and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division jumped on the employee discount bandwagon this month, launching programs that are scheduled to expire Aug. 1. At all three manufacturers, the employee pricing deals apply only to 2005 models, and customers can continue to receive other discounts. Certain popular models are excluded from the deals. Comparing advertised prices before and after the advent of employee discounts for Chrysler and GM cars was difficult because local dealers often haven't included specific prices in their ads. Edmunds.com, which markets automobile pricing information, said it surveyed a sample of car sales nationwide involving all three manufacturers and found only one instance where the price a consumer paid for a vehicle increased after the advent of employee discount pricing. ''It seems to be savings across the board," said Jeannine Fallon, a spokeswoman for Edmunds. ''In almost every instance it's a better deal with the employee discount." Fallon said the savings tend to be the greatest on popular cars that were not heavily discounted before the employee discount programs began. She also said some dealers have dropped prices below the employee discount level. Indeed, the local advertised prices were still often better than what Ford was promoting with its employee discount program, called the Ford Family Plan. For example, the Ford Family price for the four-wheel drive Explorer XLT is $24,739, several hundred dollars above what Quirk Ford is advertising. In its ads, Quirk Ford boasts that ''you buy for less than the employee price." Even though automobile manufacturers have suggested that employee discount prices are no-haggle prices, Fallon advised consumers to keep haggling. ''Push harder than the employee discount," she said. ''Dealers want to unload these vehicles." Bruce Mohl can be reached at mohl@globe.com. © Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company