Is it a blinds sale or is it not?
I wrote this small paragraph many years ago when I left a national company to set up on my own. The words are as true today as they have always been. They can be applied to almost every business you can think of and that is the reason I have reposted them to my new web site.
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What does the word sofa sale bring to mind?
Well if you are like 95% of the population then you would be thinking of a certain sofa company that has ran a massive sale since the beginning of time and is now the butt of jokes by television comedians.
It’s the same in the blinds market. Certain companies both national and regional run with what appears to be a window blinds sale on but the truth is it’s probably been running from day one.
Up to 50% off selected blinds.
So are you really getting 50% off?
Well the short answer to this is very seldom are you getting this discount.
You need to understand the economics of business to appreciate this statement.
All businesses need to make a profit. If they did not then what’s the point of being in business?
It would be like a doctor going to his surgery every day for no income, he would not last long would he! Or an office assistant working 9 to 5 every day for zero.
A business mark-up is usually in the region of anything between 20% and 60%. This would give the company its profit margin from which comes all the other overheads of running a business.
So if a company are making a 50% mark-up then it stands to reason that 50% off would give them no profit margin whatsoever and they would still have overheads to pay.
So how can they say 50% off? Well it’s the rest that’s actually 50% more expensive giving you the impression that 50% off is much cheaper but in reality you are paying exactly what the company wanted in the first place.
Now look at the word selected. What this means is limited choice. This can work two ways in favour of the company.
1/ It can off load unpopular items and this is where you actually can get a deal so long as you don’t mind that insipid green colour hanging in your window.
2/ It allows the company to purchase a lot more of the so called 50% off fabrics at a much reduced price allowing them to make even more profit but you will still be paying what they originally wanted in the first place. All clever stuff.
2 for the price of one blind or buy one blind and get one free
This means exactly the same as the above. 50% off. Just playing with words.
Multi blind offers
This is where you could possibly get a bargain because the more you buy the better the price can be but you have to understand that again it will be on selected items only and also the overall quality could drop. By this I mean head rail system used, whether they are glued, bonded or stitched. Also the fabric used can be inferior copies of originals but won’t stand up to the full heat of the sun and in some cases end up curling.
7 blinds for £120 ish.
Well it does not take a rocket scientist to work out that each blind is only around £17. Just what do you expect for £17? I don’t really need to explain this one just use your imagination. I have actually seen 7 blinds for £69 offered once. Needless to say, this company no longer trades.
All sales blurbs are designed to get a toe in the door. They really don’t want you to ask for them and once in it’s a case of selling up.
At Panda blinds we don’t work like this. Everything we sell is at the correct price. We don’t load onto the price so that we can reduce it and say it’s in the sale.
Most of the quality blinds we sell and fit are already at below the price that others say are 50% off and some of them are from the same companies as well.
We just give you a fair price for quality blinds and leave you to make an informed decision.
We will not chase you and we won’t get into any price competition matching because we know the price we have given you at the very start is a fair price based on the quality and local service you will get.
Remember, we are a local company and as such we can offer a better service than most national and regional companies and also help in building up the economy in this area instead of it going to invisible shareholders with massively inflated bank accounts.