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October 3, 2003
Arguing about Quixtar prices is stupid
By QBlog in
Hey, who has the best prices? Quixtar? Wal-Mart? Costco? Mr. Bean's Corner Drugstore? Who cares? Absolutely nothing is accomplished by arguing Quixtar's prices. Why? Well, because they don't charge $4,000 for a bar of soap and until they do, there's no way to unequivocally demonstrate that Quixtar provides either a good or bad price on their products.
How can I say this? Well, I like name brands. I won't buy jeans at Wal-Mart. I'd rather spend $50 on a pair at Eddie Bauer or J. Crew. We could argue all day about the comparative quality of those jeans but I won't budge. I like my $50 jeans and am more than willing to buy them.
Or, what about peanut butter? I happen to love Jif brand. It's just my favorite. I can buy a cheaper brand and argue about which tastes better but I like Jif, so back off. I'll gladly pay the extra couple bucks to get my Jif.
Then there's the coupon thing. I don't clip coupons. I could but I don't. I could clip coupons every Sunday or wait until something is on sale and save a bundle. But I don't because I just don't care. I'd rather spend my time doing something else, like posting to this blog. You could argue that cutting coupons saves money and I just shrug and say "whatever." I guess it's a quality of life thing.
The point is, anyone who argues that Quixtar prices are too high, or wonderfully low, is just being ridiculous. The only way to make that argument work is to demonstrate, in detail, that the exact same products offered at Quixtar are offered elsewhere cheaper, or more expensively. But you know what? You can't do that because Quixtar doesn't sell SA8 anywhere else. Nor LOC. Nor any other Alticor products. So, until there is a direct comparison, the argument is just pointless.
Comments
Good points. I agree that debating the base (retail) pricing element of Amway products is mostly irrelavent. Pricing is just one attribute that contributes to the customer percieved value of the product. While it cannot be denied that Amway products are price-positioned at the high end of the market, IBOs will always point out that the monthly bonus offsets the high retail. This is where I think the price argument rub occurs. So what is the bonus, a product discount or IBO income? It can't be both, can it?
The other problem with Amway prices is that the significant shipping costs are rarely acknowledged by IBOs. I can't imagine what it would cost to pay for the shipping of one month's supply of laundry detergent for my family. I know what it cost to ship a gift through the mail, but laundry detergent? That must cost a fortune. But then, that is not part of the price because I probably spent that much in gas to go to the store to get my detergent, right?
Hey you guys are all just jealous that you don't live in Canada :P lol :D joking.
Good post Q
It's shipping costs that doomed pets.com. I have a large, 90+ pound dog that likes to eat. Ever ship a 50lb bag of dog food? I also have a cat that we use clumpable litter for. Ever ship a 20lb bottle of kitty litter? The cost for the 50lb bags of dog food is usually >$30 and the kitty litter is >$5. The cost to deliver regular mail for the dog food is probably around $10 for 2-3 day regular mail, and $3.50 for the kitty litter. Not to mention, if the dog food or the litter was delayed, I'd still have to run out and get food and litter, because I don't want my dog to starve, and I don't think my cat would listen to me if I told her to hold it until the litter came!
It is a good idea, however to compare prices on things we can compare. Like the items I have outlined in the "Quixtar Facts" forum, which are cheaper through the Quixtar site than the Sears site.
I understand that price is important but debating price as a method of persuasion (either for or against) is pointless. To some, price is king and maybe those folks won't join Quixtar because they can get a better deal at Costco. I've met those folks and they say Quixtar is overpriced. No matter how much the upline argued, they weren't convinced.
Then there are those who want quality or something else and don't care about price so much. They feel that Quixtar is giving them a good deal. No amount of arguing will convince them otherwise. So pointing out that soap at Wal-Mart is cheaper serves no purpose.
HOWEVER, this all changes when two things occur, both of which I either mentioned or alluded to.
1. When the EXACT same products at Quixtar are cheaper or more expensive than the competition.
2. When Quixtar charges outrageous prices for its products, such as $4,000 for a bar of soap.
Now, some may argue that they charge outrageous prices already, but few will agree. However, with a guaranteed customer base and no competition, they have no real incentive to keep prices low. It's sort of a monopoly situation. That's where price increases can sneak in.
The monopoly analogy is a good one, however I would suggest that Quixtar price gouging should be compared to what drug dealers do to drug addicts. The drug dealer is free to charge whatever price he wants because the dealer knows that the addict has little choice. If the addict wants to change dealers, he must travel to a new neighborhood to do so. If the addict wants to quit, there are always new addicts to take his place. Although this might seem like a monopoly on the micro level, the dealer is still forced to be somewhat competitive on the macro level to avoid being pushed off the block by upsart drug dealers (kind of like Bo Short's Passport). In the end the addict, or IBO in the Quixtar case, is an insignificant market force in pricing which is what makes the entire argument a mute point.
I think you mean "moot" point. Sorry, my editorial nature creeps in once in a while.
I have been an IBo for 2 years now and been inactive since last year. I still buy their products though it's quite expensive compared to other brands. Paper towel, toilet tissues and other non-exclusive quixtar products can be bought somewhere cheaper. But I believe the nutrilite vitamins esp. double x & multivitamins, LOC products, and SA8 are really excellent products though it's quite pricey compared to others. Like me, i am still willing to pay for those prices for their high quality products. I haven't tried other vitamins as excellent as nutrilite. The quixtar itself is a great business, but it's just their tool system is what makes quixtar bad. Just my 2 cents.
When i was in quixtar my team leader kept telling me how companies save so much money selling their products on quixtar as partner stores rather than sending products to retail stores. But when I compared prices from lets say office max. I found out that there was no discount buying the products online than buying them in the store. the only difference was online you had to pay shipping and handling when you bought the products online. What was happening to all the money they saved not having to advertise, stock, ship,and merchandise all those products? what happened was they realized they could get people to sell the products for them not doing any work, and pay the workers a penny or two and think it's OK.
Debating prices is completely irrelevent because only Quixtar allows regular consumers to profit in a very large way.
the price of quixtar products is high. i will agree to that and i am an IBO. What makes quixtar so nice is that you don't have to go out and fight traffic and packed stores every time you want to buy something. Ever heard of ditto delivery? set it up once and you get the product every month at the same time without any hassles. there is a book called "the quixtar price is right" by Dr. Bill Quain where he spells out the reason for quixtar prices. very informative book. a big reason i got into quixtar is because after reading Robert T. Kiyosaki's rich dad series of books and how much of a positive view he has. i was sold. Kiyosaki is one of the premier financial minds of our day. so in my mind quixtar makes alot of sense. when you are getting a percent back after building a team it makes the price comparison arguement a moot point. if you want to argue this or get more info on the opportunity email me at birtikidis@Msn.com
I was an IBO for about 3 months before I called it quits. The problem is that if I don't believe I am doing any significant saving myself, which so many IBO's claimed they were doing, without showing any real proof, how am I supposed to convince my clients they can do the same?
I do not believe arguing about prices "is stupid" because there are many products Quixtar offers that you can compare price and quantity to. At about month 3, I took a totally random list of products Quixtar offers and went to Giant. After comparing price and quantity, Giant beat every one of the prices, and Giant is generally regarded as an expensive supermarket.
I took this to the IBO who signed me up, and he basically tried to say Quixtar products are better. How can they be better ... they were the same products!?
At that point, I threw in the absolutely absurd shipping costs. The IBO mentioned that it was more convenient at Quixtar. If I had to chose between going out shopping on 3 or 4 days a month as compared to spending $30 on shipping, I will chose going out myself and paying less for the items.
Sorry, Quixtar is a waste of time, as far as I am concerned. Too many false claims.
Quixtar's product pricing...? Most IBOS tell you it's the value of the product that counts. "Can't find Double X anywhere in stores, nor the age defying lotions from Artistry which our qualifying products rank better, give faster results on skin with 30% discount savings than Estee Laurel, and Lancome products." I agree that the mainstream products are of good value, and must BE or else how can Quixtar and the multimillionaires that built this system compensate for the high pricing.
Quixtar (along w/BWW who encourage you to spend) is a monopoly system as stated by some because they have the power to decide and place whatever price on their products (now think about how high prices may rise in the future!) Yet they justify themselves with rate value.
Personally, I rather save on needful daily items that provide the same function found in choice stores than spend astronomical amounts of money on their products plus s/h!...At least I have the power to choose & save! Some IBOS may then argue that you are still saving because as your downline grows the paid price on products becomes negligible. They may even tell you that you shouldn't think like a CONSUMER but PROSUMER (you own your own business..a nice catch) but in reality you are becoming enslave by a system in which you will be in time forced only to buy their products (and through limited & selected partner stores) and perhaps even spend more like $750 a month to help upline get 300 points from you as you get deeper in the system. Rich? Well as long as everybody spends RICH, continues to CONSUME RICH, and is bonded for life then perhaps price may not be an issue..right?
Who says that prosperity should exclude peace of mind, power of choice, and liberty.
may be joining the discussion a bit late, but here is my $.02 worth. Prices are very relevant. I've been pitched by a couple of IBOs, and they stress that all you have to do is "change where you buy, not what (or how much) you buy". So if Quixtar products cost more (plus shipping) who is this helping? Your upline? Of course, there is the question of what you compare against, but that should be obvious from the pitch: compare it to what you already use. In that case, quality becomes the non-issue since you are most likely happy with the quality of the products you currently use (or else why use them?).
Why bother? common... Quixtar is expensive and only sold within friends. For a real saving do comparison shopping like www.PriceComparison.com
With all due respect, I think it is somewhat silly when the same people who will pay $60/mo. for cable that they hardly watch, $250/mo. to feed their smoking habits, $100/mo. for the convenience of fast food that will ultimately kill them, and/or 19.99% interest on on 2-3 credit cards all of a sudden become armchair ecomomists when they can save 10 cents on a can of green beans. If you don't like Quixtar - don't shop there.
With all due respect, I think it is somewhat silly when the same people who will pay $60/mo. for cable that they hardly watch, $250/mo. to feed their smoking habits, $100/mo. for the convenience of fast food that will ultimately kill them, and/or 19.99% interest on on 2-3 credit cards all of a sudden become armchair ecomomists when they can save 10 cents on a can of green beans. If you don't like Quixtar - don't shop there.
I too am an IBO and new to Quixtar,
I spend $200 a month buying products from their site.
Shipping is about $15, if you go to a store you are the shipping.
I get a check for about $105 a month; I have not been in all that long less than a year.
The products cost me at most an extra $20 over the big box stores.
So at the end of the month ($200 +$15 -$105) I am out $110 for the month.
So let’s compare prices, my products I spent $215 on that might only be worth $180 at a store like Wal-Mart, but I actually only paid $110 for them, so I saved $70, toss in my gas and i saved another $8. Unless my math is wrong then I would have to say this works and is great. And like I said I have been in less than a year, closer to 9 months and I am already seeing the savings. Did I mention I did not have to stand in line, go out in the rain, or deal with traffic?
Can you be more specific about what items you bought? Anyone can make those claims with numbers. As far as I'm concerned, the 99 cent store is a lot cheaper. And name brand items are far cheaper anywhere else then the quixstar website.
Have any of these stores paid you a referral fee for recommending products or residual income for promoting a great business system? Quixtar does. Law of averages says if you stay in the biz long enough and do what successful people do, you will also be successful! The business education alone is worth the time you take to find out more. Price comparisons are NOT where the money is!
First off, I agree that arguing quality is pointless because it is so subjective. Personally, I've never found AmQuix products to be the be-all/end-all of products, and overall I'd rate them average. Some are good, some are bad, and still some are almost completely worthless. But again, that's my opinion.
Arguing price, however, is appropriate for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, IBO's often time stress the savings aspects of the business. Every plan I've been to, IBO's claim upwards to a 33% savings shopping at Quixtar, without ever proving this. And this savings is simply a false claim, unless you shop at the most expensive places and buy the smallest quantity of items.
Next, while it may be silly to compare one item in store A to one item in store B, fair comparisons on a basket of goods is information that can be very useful to a consumer. For example, I generally take a trip to Target twice a month and buy a sub-set of about 25 items depending on need, plus random items I buy depending on need, price or compulsion. So it would help me to see a price comparison on a basket of goods with 30 items, my core 25 plus another 5 random items that I have purchased in the past, comparing Target, Wal-Mart, Costco, K-Mart, grocery stores and Quixtar. Why? Because while certain items may be cheaper at Wal-Mart than Target, and others still cheaper at Quixtar, this comparison will help the me leverage my time so while I won't always be getting the cheapest prices, I will be within a few percentage points of the cheapest while just shopping at one store.
By the way, Target, Costco and Wal-Mart all blow Quixtar out of the water on every price comparison I've ever seen, and usually are one/two/three in price depending on which store has what on sale the week of price comparisons. And since Target is closer to where I work/live and generally friendlier and cleaner than Wal-Mart, they get most of my business, with occasional trips to Costco thrown in. I'd shop at Costco more, but they do not always have the brands I like, nor all the products I need.
Last, you, QBlog, are but one person in a country of a whole heck of a lot of consumers. You are a name brand kind of guy for things like peanut butter and jeans, and maybe everything else. But there is a large amount of people who are bargain hunters, who would rather save $.10 on a cheap brand of peanut butter that sucks then splurge on Skippy. And for those people, price is very important.
Posted by: dmm | October 3, 2003 3:04 PM