+ 6 Its enough to make me glad I'll be going back on TRT alone next year. Well, almost.
Let's establish as given:
1) Ordering a specific product produced by a specific manufacturer, and then receiving ANYTHING BUT is uncool. If you're shorted on the quantity of what you ordered as well, that's practically un-American.
2) Anyone with $15 can go to Staples or Office Depot and buy a calculator. Then, you see, they could compare stock with order volume using something like, oh, I don't know...a spreadsheet with a cross-tab? When order volume approaches a certain percentage of inventory, hey, it's time to re-stock! In meat-world, where real business is done, that's known as inventory management and order management.
3) Then we have the next to last piece of a business that sells goods: Fulfillment. If you say your T/A time is n business days, but you NEVER HIT THAT MARK, you need to figure out why, adjust your calculations, and publish ACTUAL T/A times. Why, both USPS and UPS have free software to tell you <> 1 day when a package of a given weight and dimensions will arrive when sent from one zip code to another. Imagine!
4) Lastly: If you want your customers to come back, it's YOUR job to make them want to come back. That's where customer service comes in. You don't have to kiss anyone's ass, but it is in your own best interest to be prompt, courteous, and honest when dealing with questions, complaints, whatever. If your first response is more than 24 hours after the initial communication, and on top of it, drips a snotty, superior, "fuck you, go somewhere else if you don't like it" tone, well, it isn't rocket science to surmise that's exactly what they will do -- While smearing your name across every 'net BB forum they belong to. All because your panties were in a wad when you answered an email.
So then what's up with all the domestics here constantly making excuses for one thing or another? Meh - That's an argument not even worth having, given the loyalists, shills, and reps that would come out of the woodwork howling that THEY AREN'T MAKING EXCUSES AND NOTHING IS THEIR FAULT, but think about it, if an outfit as small as these UGLs are can't handle inventory, order, and fulfillment management in an Excel workbook with three sheets and a couple of cross-tab reports, and get a written (obviously not signed) Service Level Agreement from THEIR supplier they can point to when one thing or the other goes wrong, before the excuses become lies, and the lies become scams -- Because that's the easy way out, then do you really want to be injecting or swallowing their products?
This is a community of BODYBUILDERS, for God's sake. Easy isn't even in our VOCABULARY.
So look: Every bookstore has some sort of "How to run a Business Online" textbook. There are meticulously engineered, yet 100% free inventory management, order management, and order fulfillment software packages at sourceforge.com and many, many other places on the 'net - All you have to do is download them and use them. Personally, I'd recommend the Excel solution...this isn't exactly rocket science we're dealing with here. Oh, it's a BLACK market, but it's a market nonetheless, and you'll sink or swim based on your market share. It's that simple. eRoids is an invaluable resource for just this sort of thing, don't you think? If the site's software could be modified to quantify the number of reviews containing bad information by vendor, then set a threshold to simply wipe a vendor who hits that threshold completely from the site, it would go a long, long way towards separating the wheat from the chaff, and maintaining an even better ranking system for vendors under the threshold than the already impressive one in place. Because just as sure as God made little green apples, every supplier here will stop reading right after point four above, muttering to themselves "fuck does he know about it".
So, that's about as rant-ish as I get anymore, but I cannot possibly be the only member to have noticed the recent spate of discontent lately with what should be truly basic foundations of running any business -- be it crotchless panties or edible ones. When you entrust someone with your hard earned money, you should get what you pay for - Not a load of grief, excuses, and even threats.
MODS, feel free to delete this, blast my karma, call me anything but a human being, Hell, pay yourselves a Hoodoo man to curse my chances for winning or placing at my upcoming competition. This thread will probably start a shit storm, so I'll just go ahead and send in another donation now :-)
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uhmmm... you do realize most of these guys are just knuckleheads trying to make a buck, right? There is no business degree, no certificate of completions, no seminars... the facts are most of these guys are about 2 clicks up from your local crack dealer and have little to no business experience never mind have any practical experience running an online black market business... You guys really need to get it out of your head that you are somehow ordering from the Sears catalog or something
We have moved trial and error to ONE convenient location so this is STILL 100% better than it used to be : /
Than it used to be when? '95? '97? 2002, when the hammer came down? Hell, somewhere in these forums there's a post I wrote that reads almost exactly like yours: This is NOT Wal-Mart or Target, so do your research and watch your ass...and I felt like a dick when I wrote it because I'm pretty sure most folks here know that (oh, here it is: http://www.eroids.com/forum/general/general-talk/you-dont-have-to-take-s......). But that's no reason to let these clowns treat the members here like shit when THEY are the fuckups.
No denying the old fuck me once without a kiss shame on you, fuck me twice without a kiss shame on me syndrome, some folks just never learn. But the ones fucking them need to be held to account too.
Just like you said bruthaman... if the bruthas can't see past the shills and the fanboys then I just call it "natural selection"
I was on this board waaaay back in the beginning and was one of the few bruthas tossing my $$ into the wind for the greater good of "sample orders". I made 8 orders from 8 different SRC's to bring reviews to the boards and I got screwed a total of ZERO times. Why? Cuz I'm not an idiot and I understand the game we play here. There is NO REASON for anyone to get fucked around here! I (personally) am under no illusions that just because you call me "bro" and answer my emails suuuuper quick with funny,relatable banter means anything. I don't care if you have give-a-ways, raffles or 20 fuckwads having a good ol' time on your Intro page. I've been here quite awhile and I know who I will deal with and who I won't. I would rather you treat me like an asshole and send me my gear than stroke my dick and piss in my pocket.
Again, if you don't have the patience, reserve and foresight to NOT be taken in by the stupid parlor games than, once again, I chalk it up to natural selection
"I would rather you treat me like an asshole and send me my gear than stroke my dick and piss in my pocket."
I am so stealing that line, you know :-)
Been fucked myself, I must admit, although it was many moons ago and had nothing to do with this board. My personal fucking (or awakening, if you will), cost me $7K, and it wasn't spent for anything as altruistic as making sample orders to check out a vendor - It was just for some expensive ass Saizen that I probably didn't need at that point in my development. So respect for that, anyhow - I can be civil and agree to disagree over whether or not thieving bastards should be treated as a mere fact of life, while contributing members are referred to as idiots when they are taken, often for more than they can afford, because they followed someone else's advice, followed the herd, or whatever the case may be. We were all noobs once, I don't see any need to add insult to injury.
(Datman does a tiger woods fist pump). F*ck yeah!!! You said it!!!
all i can say is there are many sources, some are very good with their t/a times, and some need some serious help.. personally, i order my gear far enough ahead it doesnt really matter how long it takes.. as long as it doesnt get siezed or somehting i am completely ok with it taking a while.. but i do agree, if they tell you a given time frame, you should recieve it within that time!! one site in particular i have ordered from in the past, told me eta was 21 days.. and EXACTLY 21 days later, it was at my door... some of these src's are nothing more than a 2 or 3 man operation (making an assumption here) and if they carry good gear, they suddenly cant handle the workload, and chaos ensues.
Ah, a fellow hoarder. I've followed that principle for years now...always have two cycles and at least enough ancillaries for one good PCT on hand, put 'em in a lockbox, and put the lockbox somewhere it is a real pain in the ass to get to, so I'm not tempted to use it for a grab bag. I mean, if you know you're going to do, say, three cycles next year, and you have a good supplier now, cut your budget in a few places and buy your gear 6-8 months ahead of time.
Folks who live in states with a blue law know all about that shit...buy two cases of beer on Saturday, 'cause no one will sell you any on Sunday :-)
There really isn't an excuse for a domestic supplier to have problems with their T/A times, IF they have the rest of their shit in one bag. List what's in stock and what's not. Don't screw around with backorders, this isn't a market that lends itself to backorders or layaway plans, as you never know who will be here from one day to the next. If you don't have it, say so. For damn sure don't send someone a brand or a product they didn't order, then get your ass up on your shoulders about it when you get a "what the fuck?" email, and announce it's been policy all along. That's some old bullshit right there, I would raise straight hell from professionalmuscle to eRoids to Anabolex. If you know how to pack (again, not rocket science), have your postage printing system somewhere far from your inventory (I can't believe some of these guys buy goddamned stamps and don't use metered postage - just how good of a pic of you do you want that hi-res digital video camera to get while you buy stamps and slap labels on 30 - 40 packs?), and a post office nowhere near ANY of the rest of your operation, then you can calculate <> 1 day of what T/A time will be, barring tornados and hurricanes and shit.
Internationals have much less control over T/A, but let's not discount greed there either...most of them charge you four times what the actual shipping cost is, then use the cheapest service available to get the product to you. EHP should be a freaking textbook example of how to ship - I won't go into details here, but ask anyone who has ordered from them, and 85% of them will tell you they are faster than any domestic on this site.
And if, by some stroke of luck, you DO turn out good gear, and you're able to provide it in a reasonable time frame, don't let the greed factor overrun you - GET SOME MORE HELP. If you are moving shit so fast that you're out of stock every week, your supply chain or your staffing plan is fucked up. Fix it, or your greed will suck you down.
Lol, you hit the nail on the head brother
next cycle 4 months away and already buying gear.. enough test for 2 runs :). +1 again from me.
LOL, you know what they say, great minds think alike :-)
My philosophy is simple... If they got really good gear, buy that Shit up cause they might not be around when you need them again.. and no, I don't go domestic.. ;-)
Yeah -- I worry sometimes that I've become complacent with foreign orders - not a hitch or a seizure in 2 years. Pure luck of the draw, I know, but I figure if I keep 'em small (<> 5 bottles or 200 tabs), if one does get snagged it's not going to be a disaster. And my mail delivery lady is so damned cool she signs for international packs for me and puts them in a safe place. Must be that C note I give her with a sappy card every Christmas :-)
I will use a domestic on occasion, but only for Euro gear he's remailing, and only if I need it super fast.
I've been to so damn many grocery stores around here to wire funds that they've all heard my explanation ("Ebay purchase") so many times they don't say anything at all any longer, but I still know I'm not taking all the precautions I could be, I guess I'd better re-evaluate there. But the difference in quality of the products is like night and day...and I've never had sterility issues.
Yeah, foreign's the way to go. Just takes a bit of planning and a bit of balls :-)
Well thought out, well written, and speaks to probably more than you know. Most of us are decent, mellow dudes who don't say anything and just take it when we're treated like whining, desperate drug addicts. No more ! Thanks Monkman
Well, I don't know about the well written business (although you're kind to say it), but I will admit to having studied on the matter for longer than probably all but a few guys and gals here. It's just gobsmacking to me how suppliers treat their customers anymore...in the day, there were maybe 3-4 GOOD domestics who cut off their stable of customers at the point it became dangerous to fill orders, or impossible to maintain enough inventory (these were the Brovel, Tornel, Fort Dodge, and Loeffler days -- Before Ttokkyo, or QV set up shop, and before suppliers started acting an ass and selling rec drugs along with gear), and would only accept new customers who came with a referral from a customer in longtime good standing.
You really hit the nail on the head with your "decent, mellow dudes" description - Most successful bodybuilders I know are exactly that, and these days, fitness fanatics on top of it. You don't see guys crawling around looking for shit like Nubain or Ketamine or Ritalin or Valium here, at least not out in the open. And I think the percent of the population of every gym in the US who have at least TRIED gear is much higher now than it was 15 years ago, so we know a lot more about the compounds we're using, and are all too aware of how much we have to lose if we give in to a Tren Tantrum in the parking lot or a Fina Fiasco in the locker room. Most of us are just regular guys who want to be big and by-God strong, without a lot of hassle.
I wrote another post here a few weeks back about how you DON'T HAVE TO SHOVE YOUR NOSE UP A SUPPLIER'S ASS ANY MORE. Just look at the front page of this site -- Do some of these pricks really believe they are so good at their game that any one of the rest couldn't step in and take their place? This is a business for them, and they should run it like one - Not like some street thug with lookouts and junkies who are like putty in his hands.
56tooThere's a domestic source on here that twice I sent in an order and never got a response back. It's a popular source but I'll be damned if I ever ordr anything from him. He's got a lot of ass kissers always on his intro site but karma's a bitch and when that catches up to him he is gonna wish he hadn't done business that way
AnonI don't even have to ask who - been burned as well still awaiting my 2nd pack which honestly I don't even want at this point going to sterilize + sell that crap. There's NO excuse for being an ASS to your customers with legitimate concerns as he was to me and MANY others. There's NO excuse for giving people infections by "cutting corners" and moving out as much product as possible either. Move on bud... I could suggest a domestic supplier that REALLY takes care of you but that's up to you, I'm no rep or "dick rider" it's just personal experience.
Brother, you have to brush that shit off and move on. Hell, I'd never have tried the second order if whoever it was never responded to the first order - he clearly didn't want your money. I'll repeat it it until I'm blue in the face...any supplier here who thinks he can't be replaced has only to look at the rankings and how often they change. That's the slow wheel of justice revolving right there...if you don't take yourself and your business seriously, and treat your customers with dignity and respect, that wheel will roll right over you. Pick another supplier, ask around the membership here who aren't obvious shills or reps, and it's not that hard. Lord knows decent (if not good, and damned sure not great) gear is easy to find here - You may pay a bit more, but you'll have your peace of mind and your dignity.
Well said buddy . Agree 100%... + 1