Racingline Ypipe - Discounts for forum members?

[funkee]

Hey all,

Racingline's Ypipe is back in stock: http://racinglineperformance.com/shop/p ... ategory=20

Being a Nico member, I was hoping to secure some sort of discount. It appears that most vendors on this forum are happy to extend such a courtesy. I sent a PM to Racingline a few weeks ago, but never heard back. I am hoping that the Racingline rep might chime in on this thread.

If Racingline can't give us a discount, perhaps we can do a group buy to get a price break. I'd like to secure a Y-pipe soon. Would anyone be interested in doing a group buy?

[Ranga14]

Well if they're selling like hot cakes then I don't see why they'd give out discounts.

[Hussain]

Well if they're selling like hot cakes then I don't see why they'd give out discounts.

I PM'd them about a RSB and they said no discount because their prices arnt inflated and they're already at a good price (or something along those lines). so most likely no discount for Y-pipe. Y-pipe seems to bee really good and I'm still getting the RSB (as soon as its back in stock) so its not too bad.

[funkee]

Their margins are high. I'm sure the Y-pipe could cost even more, because they have no competitors making the same product. If you are the only retailer in this industry that sells a Y-pipe for the Altima, and demand is sky-high, you would have to be an idiotic businessman to sell it at a low margin. Unfortunately, this translates to not offering discounts either. From what I recall, Racingline claims that the Y-Pipe is the best bang for your buck for a bolt-on mod, with the lowest cost per hp.

I could go to an exhaust bender and get a customer Y-pipe fabbed for a lot less. Of course Racingline did put money into R&D, and $290 for the Y-pipe is not a bad deal. But I figure that they could offer Nico members a small price break, like most other vendors here do. This community brings a lot of business to them.

A rear-sway bar is a piece of alloy steel. Materials + labor + overhead + markup should not exceed $50 from a manufacturer. Let's say $60 if it's a small order part. I'll go out on a limb and say that Racingline has their own warehouse; add $15 in shipping costs to that. The product should not cost more than $65 to $75 on its way in. However, it costs $150 on their website. Don't forget the cost of the endlinks too!

Bottom line with the RSB, is that you're buying a piece of steel for $150. Sure it's an alloy, and it's powder coated, and it has two adjustable settings (two holes) on each end, but it is not expensive of a part. The only reason the parts sell for the price they do (RSB for $150, Y-pipe for $290) is because there are no competitors.

[Racingline]

Well if they're selling like hot cakes then I don't see why they'd give out discounts.

I PM'd them about a RSB and they said no discount because their prices arnt inflated and they're already at a good price (or something along those lines). so most likely no discount for Y-pipe. Y-pipe seems to bee really good and I'm still getting the RSB (as soon as its back in stock) so its not too bad.

We said not to forum specific discounts, because we advertise strictly trough forums and only sell direct, no wholesale. Besides offering a permanent forum discount is like admitting you inflate your prices IMO. But we do have sales. As soon as the bars are back in stock we plan on running one actually so watch out !

[Racingline]

As to margins.. ( not that we need to justify anything), they are not too high when you consider many things of similar nature in other segments. Acura pipes ( they call them J pipes) routinely run $450+, the only real difference is they polish theirs. Sway bars for other cars like 350's, evo, sti, Mazda 3 ect all cost anywhere from 160-230 per bar and there is fierce competition in those segment. In fact Our sway bar does have a competitor whose product (a good quality one) uses smaller diameter less expensive steel, does not come with bushings and costs more. Endlinks.... Go price them from other manufacturers for other cars and you'll get where I'm going.

If was so easy anyone could make one for cheap, they would

Fact is, Racingline has always been about delivering value. For these reasons we try to keep the margins tight. For those same reasons there is less money allowing us for expansion. This is also a big reason why we do not distribute to wholesalers, there simply isn't enough margin in most items for both of us to make the required margins. Our margins are quite low because of our operating structure ( small business, small overhead.) Some areas suffer more than others, but we always deliver, and compared to our competition on any part, I'd argue we deliver more product for your money than almost anybody.

[funkee]

Thanks for chiming in. I realize that Racingline's products are a good value for what you get. I was still hoping for some kind of discount, price break, or promotion, because other vendors offer them.

[Ranga14]

As to margins.. ( not that we need to justify anything), they are not too high when you consider many things of similar nature in other segments. Acura pipes ( they call them J pipes) routinely run $450+, the only real difference is they polish theirs. Sway bars for other cars like 350's, evo, sti, Mazda 3 ect all cost anywhere from 160-230 per bar and there is fierce competition in those segment. In fact Our sway bar does have a competitor whose product (a good quality one) uses smaller diameter less expensive steel, does not come with bushings and costs more. Endlinks.... Go price them from other manufacturers for other cars and you'll get where I'm going.

If was so easy anyone could make one for cheap, they would

Fact is, Racingline has always been about delivering value. For these reasons we try to keep the margins tight. For those same reasons there is less money allowing us for expansion. This is also a big reason why we do not distribute to wholesalers, there simply isn't enough margin in most items for both of us to make the required margins. Our margins are quite low because of our operating structure ( small business, small overhead.) Some areas suffer more than others, but we always deliver, and compared to our competition on any part, I'd argue we deliver more product for your money than almost anybody.

I'd even be willing to pay a slightly higher price if it means you guys can ramp up your R&D more. I remember there were a number of items that you had listed as "coming soon" awhile back such as more suspension mods.

[tomsteele01]

Just as Racingline said earlier. They have the RSB back in stock and on sale. Picked one up for my-self.

A little off topic here, do the folks with the traction bars scrape on speed bumps with the eibach drop? I can angle over the humps at the slowest speed and still scrape the front that hangs down every so often.

[beeristasty]

A rear-sway bar is a piece of alloy steel. Materials + labor + overhead + markup should not exceed $50 from a manufacturer. Let's say $60 if it's a small order part. I'll go out on a limb and say that Racingline has their own warehouse; add $15 in shipping costs to that. The product should not cost more than $65 to $75 on its way in. However, it costs $150 on their website. Don't forget the cost of the endlinks too!

Bottom line with the RSB, is that you're buying a piece of steel for $150. Sure it's an alloy, and it's powder coated, and it has two adjustable settings (two holes) on each end, but it is not expensive of a part. The only reason the parts sell for the price they do (RSB for $150, Y-pipe for $290) is because there are no competitors.

+1. The great thing about owning a business in Canada is that business owners don't have to pay for the overhead of owning their own business. Things like leasing the warehouse space/mortgage on the building, insurance, employee salaries, server space, software licensing fees, utility bills, taxes... It's all paid for by the government. So any money they make over the cost of production is all net profit.

[funkee]

+1. The great thing about owning a business in Canada is that business owners don't have to pay for the overhead of owning their own business. Things like leasing the warehouse space/mortgage on the building, insurance, employee salaries, server space, software licensing fees, utility bills, taxes... It's all paid for by the government. So any money they make over the cost of production is all net profit.

I almost thought you were serious for a second, because Canada does help subside wages. It sounds like you're implying that their overhead is close to 100% of the product's cost. Is that what you're saying? ... It is possible for overhead to be so high if you sell only a few hundred products per year.

Now, I'm sure that Racingline found their break-even point for the Y-pipe and stocked inventory accordingly. If you don't think that you'd sell of enough of a product to break even, why would you even produce it? So now that the inventory is wiped out, with y-pipes are flying off the shelves, I think that there is a lot of profit to be made. Look up economies of scale. Overhead is a small part of cost of good sold, and the cost per item goes down as production goes up.

It's also possible that the income from the y-pipes is helping other business units to stay in production and keep the company afloat - if other areas of the business are suffering. I have no hard feelings towards Racingline, if that's the case.

It doesn't make sense to offer discounts on a product that is already flying off the shelves. But, I think you would be very surprised to find out how much some of the products you buy, actually cost to make.

[andyhenault]

A rear-sway bar is a piece of alloy steel. Materials + labor + overhead + markup should not exceed $50 from a manufacturer. Let's say $60 if it's a small order part. I'll go out on a limb and say that Racingline has their own warehouse; add $15 in shipping costs to that. The product should not cost more than $65 to $75 on its way in. However, it costs $150 on their website. Don't forget the cost of the endlinks too!

Bottom line with the RSB, is that you're buying a piece of steel for $150. Sure it's an alloy, and it's powder coated, and it has two adjustable settings (two holes) on each end, but it is not expensive of a part. The only reason the parts sell for the price they do (RSB for $150, Y-pipe for $290) is because there are no competitors.

+1. The great thing about owning a business in Canada is that business owners don't have to pay for the overhead of owning their own business. Things like leasing the warehouse space/mortgage on the building, insurance, employee salaries, server space, software licensing fees, utility bills, taxes... It's all paid for by the government. So any money they make over the cost of production is all net profit.

What? If this were true it would be a perfect recipe for a failed economy. Everyone would be doing it. You'd be able to offer products cheaper than Wal Mart.