We were in web development business. It was hard to find new customers, and the old ones had no new projects for us.
It's a constant problem. But we do have a special promotion: turn in your counterfeit tinfoil hat and get a 2% discount off the purchase of a genuine tinfoil hat (not including taxes, handling fees, special surcharges, and finance fees.)
The trouble is that the counterfeit tinfoil hats use inferior materials that we cannot recycle or re-purpose. We actually have to pay to dispose of them. If you buy two of our hats with a trade-in, we do generously increase the discount percentage by 50% by making it a full 3% discount on both hats!
He is not getting rich off of the PURCHASE PRICE. The PURCHASE PRICE is nothing more than a teasing leader so he can get rich off of the ATROCIOUSLY high HANDLING FEES, SPECIAL SURCHARGES, and FINANCE FEES as well as SHIPPING CHARGES if he ships the hats.
Our legal department has advised me that I can state, unequivocally, that while the Federal Trade Commission is rumored to have opened an investigation into our fees, we have not been notified of any criminal charges having been filed at this time.
Have seen some unable to keep funding their bills, offline business is slow (car dealer). Online has been just turning over and steady but the reality is people are afraid to spend like they use to at the moment especially with lockdowns.
Some of what you are seeing must also be reduced demand because of remote working. My local car repair shop is having issues because people are working from home, not travelling, etc., so they are not having anywhere near the level of mechanical problems that occur from regular travel. I am guessing that this has also reduced the demand for a new or used car purchases, since the older vehicles do not have the typical daily strain on them that causes breakdowns, accidents, etc. However, the biggest change I have seen in the car industry over the past few years (and well before this lockdown nonsense) has been the online publishing of car prices. Dealers now have to post their best and final price online or not get customer traffic and that has changed the purchase/price negotiation shenanigans that used to be the stock in trade for car dealers. Certainly, the ill-conceived lockdowns have contributed to more and more consumers going online to search for cars and see the final prices, but that cost transparency likely has had more of an impact on your margins and the willingness of your customers to part with their money than the lockdowns, themselves?
I agree however the biggest two issues we have seen is 1) People scared to travel as they will be fine and 2) Lack of money genuinely - Previously when lockdowns ended in the UK the phones went off the hook, but during the lockdown it literally just went dead. In terms of pricing, car prices have actually gone stupid just like puppy prices - We are making extremely good margins vs what we use to, however every trader and dealer has inflated the prices so it helps in being more competitive and generating higher profit.
That is normal. Your fixed expenses never go down, so in order to pay them with fewer sales, your sales margins MUST go up. Since everyone is in the same boat, everyone must generate larger profit margins to keep from sinking. For example, my normal margins are around triple what I pay for items. With the drop in sales, I now find that I must price items at FIVE times cost in order to keep the doors open. On bulk flipping the number was double my cost. Now I am pushing 2-1/2 times cost and think maybe I should aim for triple cost. Recently I paid about $1800 for some bulk items that I had presold at $4300. Looks like I scored big, but that will all be put on bills and be gone in 5 days and I will STILL be behind the eight ball trying to keep the doors open.
The economy is still down despite of the availability of Vaccines. Lay offs are still ongoing even for large companies. Most affected is the Tourism Sector, which is the bulk source of income for governments.
I've only earned from it . My income is growing . I don't personally own a business, I just started working on the internet.
It happens for a reason... so we can all take time out from our busy schedule and focus on the almighty God.
Hi, The pandemic has given all business owners a big heart attack, including us! What we can do is to find alternatives to maintain the business. One way is to generate new business ideas, such as using your expertise to conduct classes or workshops. Hope to hear from you guys the solutions you implement for your business to brave through this tough time.
everyone effected, just because people are not interested to invest money, they are keeping money for covid treatment