How come higher end detailing products arent available in stores

[2drtahoez71]

Products like PB`s, 4*, Wolfgangs, Adams Polishes, Ardex, Clearkote, etc are all leaps and bounds ahead of products like Mothers, Meguiars (most of them anyway), Turtle wax, Eagle One, etc....so how come the smaller, better copmanies dont put those bigger companies whose products produce sub-par results out of business? Or how come PB`s and other "detailing products" arent available in stores?

[Beemerboy]

Marketing is my guess, its hard to get some one to buy a product that they have not used or know nothing about.

[dr_detail]

:yeah I tend to agree... a national marketing campain cost`s lots and lots of money... can you say "seven digits?"

[Nickc0844]

Turtle Wax is more geared towards large car wash ports and bulk chemicals.....it`s all the advertising $$ that makes them work! Meg`s advertises quite a bit also, and that is why their claim is "The most used in the world."

Heck, most haven`t heard of products past what they see at Wally World!

[2drtahoez71]

Hmmmm....well do people like Poorboy go to car shows and conventions with their products, to try to indtroduce them to the masses? Maybe advertise with banners on car forums? Got to start somewhere.

[Nickc0844]

Absolutely, that is how Poorboy`s and Adam`s get the word out....through shows, banners, and forums like this

As for companies like this, WORD OF MOUTH MEANS EVERYTHING!

[elortt]

I asked Steve the same question, I will attempt to repeat what he said.........
Basically the chain type stores want you to supply multiple stores on a "supply now pay later" plan. In other words they want say, 1000 cases of each product (100 stores 10 cases each of each product) and they will pay you in 6 months - 1 year later. It is a HUGE investment you talking about basically dishing out 20k or more and then you have to pay for them to advertise, so it sells. Not many average consumers are gonna buy a product of which they never heard of without proof. Only large commercial companies have enough cash flow to sustain during that period. That was my understanding......Hope this helps

Eric

[Mosca]

Good question; here`s an answer.

For the same reason you can`t buy fine jewelry at WalMart; putting it for sale there misses its target market.

1) Products are neither good nor bad; rather, they either fit the intended use, or market, or they don`t. Most shoppers in WalMart wouldn`t have a clue how to use Menzerna Intensive Polish, to pick an example. For those people, IP would be a bad match of product to intended use/market. For Joe Average, a decent cleaner wax (Mother`s, or Meguiar`s), or a long-lasting sealant (NuFinish, Liquid Glass) fits perfectly.

2) Manufacturers pay retailers for product placement. It costs HUGE amounts of money for shelf space at WalMart, or Pep Boys. When taken in conjunction with the above statement (the fact that the more specialized manufacturers/remarketers won`t hit their intended target), it doesn`t make any sense at all, economically, for them to place product there. They would be paying to fail; that`s absurd. Even Meguiar`s only places carefully chosen products in big box stores; the "A" series (maroon bottles), Gold Class, and now NXT. You won`t see #83 showing up there soon.

And, in the larger scheme of things, Meguiar`s (along with Mother`s), is an anomaly; they are actually a small company, family owned, competing with DuPont, Proctor & Gamble, 3M, General Mills, and the like. That their products are available at all on consumer`s shelves is a tribute to the products` quality and customer demand; enough people had heard about them, and wanted them, and asked for them. At that point, it made sense for Meguiar`s to spend, and for the big box stores to sell the shelf space.

I`m sure there`s more, and that some people can add to that, but it`s a start.



Tom

[2drtahoez71]

hm....well i gues that explains it.

[kimwallace]

In addition to what Mosca has said, Meguiars also produces product used in other industries (molding for example) so that gives them other cash flow to be able to wait 90 days plus for payment on the product they place at Wal-mart etc.

[Cujo31]

While those are good brands you listed I disagree that they are leaps and bounds ahead of a company like Meguiars. If you think that then you should really research that more. Also, it is a matter of opinion. I feel Meguiars is one of the best out there because they make products that work and have been proven in shows again and again. They have been around for a little while longer than the others.

Im not knocking the boutique products you mentioned as I use some of them all the time. I also use alot of Meguiars.

Just my 2 cents ...

Cujo

[BaDm0theR]

Very interesting thread, i was previously unaware that manufacturers had to fork over large shipments of their products to these large retail stores with the hope of getting a return on their investment in 90 days! Thats extremely expensive, and quite risky is your a small company.

I assumed that all the products that line the shelves of large retail stores like Walmart, Pepboys etc...were all pre-paid for by the actual store and kept as hard inventory (meaning the manufacturers already collected a profit and the products are now the retail stores liability).

I would love to hear more from people like Poorboy, the owner of Adam`s polishes and other car detail product manufacturers.

[2drtahoez71]

Originally posted by Cujo31
While those are good brands you listed I disagree that they are leaps and bounds ahead of a company like Meguiars. If you think that then you should really research that more. Also, it is a matter of opinion. I feel Meguiars is one of the best out there because they make products that work and have been proven in shows again and again. They have been around for a little while longer than the others.

Im not knocking the boutique products you mentioned as I use some of them all the time. I also use alot of Meguiars.

Just my 2 cents ...

Cujo

Everybody knows Meguiars makes plenty of great "detailers" line products, but the ones found in Walmart and AutZone-type stores are pure crap....with the exception of maybe NXT tech wax, which i havent tried yet.

[elortt]

Originally posted by BaDm0theR
Very interesting thread, i was previously unaware that manufacturers had to fork over large shipments of their products to these large retail stores with the hope of getting a return on their investment in 90 days! Thats extremely expensive, and quite risky is your a small company.

I assumed that all the products that line the shelves of large retail stores like Walmart, Pepboys etc...were all pre-paid for by the actual store and kept as hard inventory (meaning the manufacturers already collected a profit and the products are now the retail stores liability).

I would love to hear more from people like Poorboy, the owner of Adam`s polishes and other car detail product manufacturers.

The info that I gave was actually told to me by Poorboy (Steve) he said they wanted him to supply every store in their chain (Pepboys) then wait for their 6 month turn around before getting paid, not to mention that does not include listing in ad papers and stuff, that is just for shelf space and stock. Also if the stuff sells he has to send more stock at his expense until his payments start rolling in.

Eric

[Mosca]

Everybody knows Meguiars makes plenty of great "detailers" line products, but the ones found in Walmart and AutZone-type stores are pure crap....with the exception of maybe NXT tech wax, which i havent tried yet.

Products are neither good nor bad; they are either suited to the task at hand, or not. You wouldn`t pick up a butter knife to do surgery... but you also wouldn`t pick up a surgical scalpel to spread mayonnaise, either.

Every Meguiar`s consumer product I`ve tried has done exactly what it was supposed to do. Remember, different products are for different users. Now, there are some PRO products I`ve tried that I didn`t think were all that great....

Once you`ve removed all the imperfections from your car, you could live the rest of your life with proper washing and a maroon can of Meg`s cleaner wax.


Tom