Date: Mon 23 May 2000
To: moving@avatar-moving.com
From: Eric Scorzelli <ESPNJ1@aol.com >
Subject: AMS-Forum Why are there DOT.COMS if nobodys buying
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[ Return To The Hall of Fame ]Read a lot of posts today...hate it when you sign on and it tells you that you have 136 messages waiting...
So far this year I have purchased books, flowers, clothing, a Goo Goo Dolls poster my daughter had to have , airline tickets, hotel reservations, and have bid on a laptop computer, PalmVII, digital camera. ( all three went to higher bidders)
I have converted my brokerage account to online, my car insurance gets paid online now, my banking is all online access now. Just today I accessed my AMEX bill online and I even can get an up to the minute listing of my current long distance bill online.
The year is 2000, I work approx. 160 hours ( or the equivalent of 1 extra month a year ) more than the previous generation did. My wife works ( my mother did not). My children like most these days are living in a commuter world and the scheduling that they place in my leisure hours has all but removed any free time I would like to have. I am 'everyman' and 'everyman' don't feel like talking to no salesman after dinner tonight....enter the Internet...save me time, give me a printed record of what I just did, and let me watch the Knicks game.
I think many of you are missing the boat on what the internet does. The advent of online transaction has not saved anyone any money, it has saved them time. ( side note here and I paraphrase but- heard a blurb on Bloomberg radio that said the average priceline.com air fare was actually X% higher than if consumer went to travel agent)
TIME has become the real estate of the new millennium. It is a valuable resource that is in short supply. The less of it we have the greater the price for it.
If you consider the concept of "saving time" as a "value added "to your customer then you will see that the online transaction is used by consumers that are willing to pay for that value. The sales script is not "go online and save money" it is " use our easy on line estimator". "Eliminate the worry of finding a reputable mover ; we have done the homework, here is the list"
Don't worry about the dot.coms lowering the price in your marketplace worry about the competitor that lowers the pricing in the market by wearing blinders to the wants of the moving public. Relocation companies are all about saving the relocating employee time and they get more for each service they provide than the contracted sources they use. I think AAAMOVE made a mistake in using the word PRICELINE in his solicitations it scared many of you. Maybe he should have let you all know that his leads go to only three movers, I see that as a savings to the industry ( yellow pages shoppers are said to get five estimates). I also see an opportunity for a higher price in a three way fight.
I think the bottom line is to weigh the DOTCOM you wish to deal with by their ability to get you the type of work you want. If you are a volume COD mover than you go on the listing type sites which mimic the Yellow pages , they give you a high volume of unqualified leads. If you want a smaller volume of qualified leads than you pick some of the more specialized sites ( those that source by locality or target a certain economic level)
Eric Scarcely
Eastern Seaboard packaging
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