Eastern surplus

[JasonS]

Every business is in it to make money. The question is do they offer enough value to justify the higher costs.

 

[73m819]

Every business is in it to make money. The question is do they offer enough value to justify the higher costs.

this can only be answered in the mind of the buyer, thats the bottom line. to him it may be a fair price, to me it may be "OMG you paid way to much, or OMG you got it for a steal"

 

[m109guy]

Oh gawd, here we go . I think that the OP is just wondering why some rusted out NJ national guard trucks (if Im thinking about the correct dealer) are being priced so high. Now don't give me that _____ is a nice guy, and they go over the trucks thoroughly, blah, blah.... Do you want to buy from a used car dealer because the owner has a great personality and he has a few mechanics? Some spray paint and someones word that something is good to go is of small comfort when paying top dollar. True, there is no warrantee or guarantee with GL, but is there one with Eastern? Me? If I couldn't take GL no more and If I were closer to him I'd buy from deuceman51, simply because he has some proof of his work besides word of mouth, and is less expensive.

Now, the simple answer to the original question is if eastern is charging what they do, its because they can. They are obviously getting what they are asking for their trucks ($9000-$14000), so more power to them. If they could charge double that and sell them at the same rate, they would. Now as to why people are willing to pay this, there are a bunch of reasons, from the "nice guy" thing, to the convenience, or ignorance, or maybe they went there and found something that appealed to them and they were able to make a deal on it.

I think most of us go GL for the minimal cost and the thrill of it (certainly not for the wonderful GL customer service experience or DMV frustration ). The gambling, or roll of the dice aspect of GL is exciting cause you often don't know what you are going to get! The risk isn't really bad because you can often do ok parting stuff out if you end up with a wreck.

Your "response" is laughable. Did you even read what I said, or just skim over it?

Since you cannot seem to read, I will say it again:

"Go buy directly from GL if you are not happy with their prices. They are in business for a reason, to make money."

Which you needed to repeat for some reason.

And where did anyone say that you should buy from him SOLELY because he is a nice guy? No one. The people who have posted have stated that he is a nice guy AND that they have gotten good service from him AND that they are generally very happy with their purchase.

Plus you also don't seem to have a bloody clue what you are talking about. Does he offer a warranty? Generally no, as all the equipment is used, but it doesn't mean that as soon as you drive off the lot he doesn't care and won't do whatever he can to help. We bought one truck from him specifically because it had a hard top. Well when it was being transported to us, the hard top ripped off the truck due to a few rusted bolts that no one had noticed. We bought the truck as-is, and we had no problems with that. Sh*t happens. We went and saw the truck in person, we accepted it, and said a company to transport it for us. He could of just told us "I sold it as-is" and that would have been the end of it. Well he ended up replacing at damaged top at his expense, including shipping! Yeah that was pretty bad of him. What horrible service. Who would want to buy from someone like that?

What would GL have told you? More or less: "Tough Sh*t".

So in the end you are dealing with:

1. A nice guy.

2. Good service.

3. Someone that many people trust.

4. A truck that is ready to pickup right away most of the time.

5. No need to do a lot of paperwork, waiting and crossing your fingers.

Lets compare that to GL:

1. Generally not very nice people to deal with. Though there are a few exceptions.

2. Service....a lack of. "We will get to you, when we get to you".

3. There have to be a few dozen threads here about people who would never trust GL with even a hub-cap, let alone an entire truck purchase.

5. A good amount of paperwork and running around is needed before you can even pickup the truck. Then more paperwork and running around afterwards.

The problem with some people is that they seem to get mad that places like this can sell the vehicles for those prices. Are you just pissed off because you didn't think of it first?

I will say it again as some people can't seem to read: If you are not happy, go buy it from GL or somewhere else. No one is forcing you to buy from him or anyone else.

I can't see how you can complain unless you have either had a bad dealing with the person, or that what they are doing is really wrong.

 

[bassetdeuce]

That is commendable that Eastern took care of you and others. I had to respond to your pizzed off and rude post. I can read just fine, I'm an electrical engineer. Intelligent folks on this forum know my meaning. I don't care what dealers do and I'm not mad at them for their pricing. Take a pill and read MY post again bud.

 

[Recovry4x4]

opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:
Hey Dave, how's it going there in PA? Want some popcorn? Want to join me for the show? LOL

 

[bassetdeuce]

:stir pot:

 

[m109guy]

opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:
Hey Dave, how's it going there in PA? Want some popcorn? Want to join me for the show? LOL

Watch out Dave. Recovry4x4 is eating all the popcorn. There probably won't be anything left if you don't hurry up!

I hope it is the extra buttery popcorn too

 

[73m819]

kenny, dont you think this has goen the full circle about twice

 

[Recovry4x4]

It has Ron. Until folks realize what capitalism is, they will continue to complain about markup not understanding risk and overhead. I assure you not one of these folks operate a commodities type business. When I ran a successful pool business some decades ago, it took 100% markup just to keep the doors open. If it cost me $1.00 it cost you $2.00 and that's without turning a single wrench or repacking a single box. Just the nature of the system. Boy, they would really be bi$&#ing at the wholesale cost of a gallon of milk if they knew what it was.

 

[littlebob]

The main points have all been addressed. When you buy anything you buy it where you buy it because of a few factors. Price, percieved value, convienance and sometimes a longstanding working realationship with someone. These days it starts at the beginng of my list, 25yrs ago it was the other way around. I think society has gone the wrong way as far as not looking at the big picture. I could give plenty of real life examples of how this works, but I can't type and would have to get the wife to edit it to make sense. My

 

[bulldog_mack13]

This and the 1,000 of the same threads on ss about the same thing allll the time.

 

[rideni]

I've bought parts from him when I needed them in an emergency. His prices are fair if you compare it to similar options with other collector vehicles or even new vehicles.

 

[m109guy]

This and the 1,000 of the same threads on ss about the same thing allll the time.

There are also a thousand threads on CUCV keys, what to look for when buying a truck, how to bid on GL, what tires fit on a deuce, etc, etc, etc.

You can except to see the same threads come up again and again.

What is worse is that SS has one of the best forum search engines I have seen and a lot of people never use it. If they did it would stop a lot of these multiple posts.

 

[JasonS]

The main points have all been addressed. When you buy anything you buy it where you buy it because of a few factors. Price, percieved value, convienance and sometimes a longstanding working realationship with someone. These days it starts at the beginng of my list, 25yrs ago it was the other way around. I think society has gone the wrong way as far as not looking at the big picture. I could give plenty of real life examples of how this works, but I can't type and would have to get the wife to edit it to make sense. My

I don't know if I agree with the last part of your post (or at least how I have interpreted it). I think that it has come full circle. My grandfather bought almost everything out of a Sears catalog. Today, I buy most things off the internet (worldwide catalog). There just isn't a need for a local retailer for every product. I WILL NOT pay extra for no additional value and that is what a lot of local retailers expect of their customers (me!).

To the rest of ya: If you think a retailer charges too much, purchase somewhere else or go into business as a competitor.

 

[73m819]

do you think we can keep this dead horse on its feet for at least 2 more pages

 

[rivired]

I specifically agree with what basset deuce said...

They price high CUZ THEY CAN.

And altho i do understand there is a point in running a BUSINESS..people are still gonna complain..like me

Take my fav topic for example...CUSTOM DEUCE WHEELS!... I see one guy selling em for 375...k.....thats pretty expensive..THENNN!!!

I see em for 400 a piece!..wtf!...that comes out to 2000(plus shipping) if u buy 5..lets say for a bobber..
(most people here didnt even spend that much to purchase there whole truck)

God for bid u need to buy 6 or 7....what is it gonna get to? 500$ next? just cuz they can? just cuz everybody wants em. I understand profit margin but i respect a reasonable price .and have no respect for super inflated wheel prices just cuz they know people will cave and fork out the money eventually.

 

[DavidWymore]

It's called OVERHEAD. Sure, some guys might charge more than they need to, but not most I think/hope.

Here's an example. I am the foreman at my grandfather's machine and welding shop. My mom (his daughter) is the CEO.

There are 30 employees. about 15 work in the machine/weld shop and "make money". The rest are sales guys, office people, and supervisors/engineer.

A machinist welder makes 15-25 bucks and hour. We charge 85 per hour. HOLY COW! WHAT A MARKUP!

NO, you genius. The shop pays several THOUSAND dollars a month in power bills. Same with water, insurance, TAXES, ETC, ETC, the same expenses everyone else has. They also have to pay the "non-producing" employees in the office, buy welding supplies, fuel for the trucks/forklifts, and their maintenance, facilities computer maintenance and repair, rent. It is INSANE what it costs to run a business, pay an empoyee to TRY to make sure we're in compliance with all the OSHA/EPA, ETC. gov stuff all the time. I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff.

By contrast, a former employee has day job with the power company and works out of his garage at night. He charges way less than us and makes more money than me...but he doesn't have the machines or the manpower or the liability insurance, etc. we do. See?

Sure, I could go buy a deuce myself, fix it up, and sell it for a just a few thousand. But if I did it thru my shop, with employee time, it would cost you easily what he's charging. It's a crying shame and I hate charging joe blow off the street $85 an hour to fix his lawnmower but that's what I have to do to keep the doors open. We're really more geared for doing work on big stuff for companies who can afford it, but I'll fix anything for anyone that can pay and do my best to give them a fair price. Sure, maybe the guy working out of his garage could do it cheaper, but not til he gets off work...maybe.

Parts sales is the same. We mark stuff up becasue if we paid a dollar for it, it probably really cost a 1.50 or more by the time we paid freight, the empoyees time to unload it, label it, stock it, talk to the customer, bring it out, cut it, and hand it to him....THEN pay the office girl to ring him up, price it out, invoice it, mail it to him, get his check, pay taxes on it, put it in the bank. It's mind boggling. Seeeeee.?

Sure, we pull in XXXXXX a month, but you know what's left? maybe x, maybe we owe!. Now do you understand?

 

[rivired]

I do..and i did before i made my statment...BUT when a deuce wheel that has a center made out of 1/2 inch flat plate is going for more than most 24inch ****** rims are..that takes a million dollar machine to carve out.. then chrome plating ect ect.

It just pisses me off...thats all.

 

[Recovry4x4]

I'm sure rims could come down if someone would just make a run of say 10,000 like the big rim companies do for 24s or the like. Until these rims are mass produced, expect prices to stay stiff. Most of these are made one rim at a time.

 

[54reo]

It's called OVERHEAD. Sure, some guys might charge more than they need to, but not most I think/hope.

Here's an example. I am the foreman at my grandfather's machine and welding shop. My mom (his daughter) is the CEO.

There are 30 employees. about 15 work in the machine/weld shop and "make money". The rest are sales guys, office people, and supervisors/engineer.

A machinist welder makes 15-25 bucks and hour. We charge 85 per hour. HOLY COW! WHAT A MARKUP!

NO, you genius. The shop pays several THOUSAND dollars a month in power bills. Same with water, insurance, TAXES, ETC, ETC, the same expenses everyone else has. They also have to pay the "non-producing" employees in the office, buy welding supplies, fuel for the trucks/forklifts, and their maintenance, facilities computer maintenance and repair, rent. It is INSANE what it costs to run a business, pay an empoyee to TRY to make sure we're in compliance with all the OSHA/EPA, ETC. gov stuff all the time. I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff.

By contrast, a former employee has day job with the power company and works out of his garage at night. He charges way less than us and makes more money than me...but he doesn't have the machines or the manpower or the liability insurance, etc. we do. See?

Sure, I could go buy a deuce myself, fix it up, and sell it for a just a few thousand. But if I did it thru my shop, with employee time, it would cost you easily what he's charging. It's a crying shame and I hate charging joe blow off the street $85 an hour to fix his lawnmower but that's what I have to do to keep the doors open. We're really more geared for doing work on big stuff for companies who can afford it, but I'll fix anything for anyone that can pay and do my best to give them a fair price. Sure, maybe the guy working out of his garage could do it cheaper, but not til he gets off work...maybe.

Parts sales is the same. We mark stuff up becasue if we paid a dollar for it, it probably really cost a 1.50 or more by the time we paid freight, the empoyees time to unload it, label it, stock it, talk to the customer, bring it out, cut it, and hand it to him....THEN pay the office girl to ring him up, price it out, invoice it, mail it to him, get his check, pay taxes on it, put it in the bank. It's mind boggling. Seeeeee.?

Sure, we pull in XXXXXX a month, but you know what's left? maybe x, maybe we owe!. Now do you understand?

Very well put.