Date:         Sat, 22 Feb 1997 13:21:39
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         EXPRES@gnn.com (Ron Salmon)
Subject:      **BIG NEWS!!** Cheap Parts \ my own VW business!

I'VE FINALLY DONE IT!
As some of  you know, for the last few months, I've been thinking toward 
turning my overgrown VW hobby/side-business into a "real" full-time 
operation. I've dreamed of it for a long time.  What always held me back 
was the Great Fear of Failure - walking away from a safe income and 
risking everything.  Well, I've finally made the no-return decision to go 
for it, rather than spend my life wishing I had. 

So, effective immediately, THE BUS DEPOT is open for business.
Before I proceed in the conventional way (run the Grand Opening ads, etc.), 
I'd like to try a different approach - operating the business as a 
deep-discount distributor, mainly geared toward the needs of the Vanagon 
and Type 2 lists.  I think that between the 2 lists, there is enough 
combined buying power to support this approach.

What I am proposing is this:   I believe that by minimizing advertising 
costs (relying mostly on word-of-mouth among list members), and by 
accepting members' personal checks (or COD) in lieu of credit cards (which 
cost 2-5% to process), I can maintain roughly a 15% across-the-board profit 
margin.  By comparison, most mail order places work at a 25-50% markup, and 
local FLAPS even higher.  Also, I have a background in large-scale buying 
(for a non-automotive retail chain), so I think I can keep finding us good 
deals.  So, the savings to list members could vary from small to huge, 
depending on the item, but there will almost always be a savings.  This 
will be on virtually all parts for all VW's (and even for most other cars, 
since many importers handle multiple lines).

You have already seen some examples of the savings that are possible this 
way - such as the deals I've offered the list on Bentley manuals, poptop 
seals, Vanagon water pumps, etc. 

I'm not offering this strictly out of the goodness of my own heart.  You 
folks represent a tremendous amount of buying power.  Collectively, you 
could make (or break) me as a new business... if I can get your support.   
I think (hope) that you would prefer to deal with someone who is responsive 
to the needs of the V@L and Type2 communities, and has a track record of 
offering good deals and good service to the list.  And frankly, the profit 
I'm giving up by offering listmembers these discounts, I'm making up on the 
other end by not having to advertise. So it's a win/win situation.

Still, this will only work if the lists can generate enough combined 
business to minimize the need to advertise to the general public; with 
advertising costs added in, a 15% margin would be out of the question. So 
I'll have to measure how much business is coming as a result of the List.  
For that reason, I've set up a dedicated e-mail address for listmembers:

			list@busdepot.com

Sending inquiries to this address will ensure that you get the low-margin 
listmember prices I'm promising, and will allow me to guage whether this  
no advertising/low margin approach is working.  Also, thanks to Ken's (and 
Gerry's) assistance, I will be able to verify that those who claim the 
discount (and check writing priveleges) are in fact listmembers and are 
entitled to them.

I have also set up a website specifically geared towards Busses, Vanagons, 
and Westies (and Eurovans, although I need to learn more about these 
beasts).  The website is at:

			www.busdepot.com

***Please note that the prices on this site are NOT listmember prices!***  
Although the site is primarily geared toward the Type2/Vanagon lists, it 
will also get non-list traffic, so most of the prices are a little higher.  
To get a listmember price, you must either e-mail me at list@busdepot.com, 
or specify on the order/quote response page that you're a listmember. Also, 
I'll be setting up a separate "hidden" page at www.busdepot.com/list.htm 
just for additional listmember info or specials. It is not operational at 
this time.  I'll let you know when it is.

This is my first attempt at designing a website. (Special thanks to Ken 
Hooper for some welcome assistance!) It looks good on Netscape 3.0, but 
lousy on my internet provider's proprietary browser. Hopefully it looks 
okay on what you're using. I'd really appreciate your feedback and 
suggestions on both its content and its look. I need to learn. Also, I'd 
like to add more informational pages on Busses, Vanagons, and Eurovans, as 
well as some classifieds. I bought a little extra webspace for this 
purpose.  If you'd like to use some space for info that you think would 
benefit the VW community, feel free to e-mail me directly.

There will also be another side to the business. Simple math indicates that 
unless your VW's start breaking at an alarming rate, your orders alone will 
not support a business.  So I'll be augmenting it with the sale of used 
parts (which are more profitable), plus my friend Jon will be sharing the 
space with me doing air-cooled VW repair (which will reduce my overhead, 
and provide a built-in parts demand). Also, I'd still like to fix up and 
sell a couple of rust-free California Westies here and there (but 
privately, as I don't wish to be a used car dealer).

One comment regarding commercial advertising and the Lists.  Gerry and Ken 
have always allowed or even encouraged it on a limited scale, but obviously 
that's not the main purpose of these lists. They are primarily a forum for 
discussion of Bus & Vanagon maintenence and enjoyment, not an advertising 
medium, and I think most of us (myself included) would like to see it stay 
that way. Obviously, I'm hoping for good word-of-mouth on the list, 
just as listmembers often post positive comments about other vendors that 
they've had good experiences with.  But I do not intend to use the list as 
a Sp*m medium. In the past, I've posted offers to the list when a specific 
opportunity availed itself,or in response to a list query (as have others), 
and with Ken and Gerry's permission, I'll continue to do so.  But not more. 
That's why I set up  list@busdepot.com  - so we can keep most of our 
business dealings off the list.   

I'd really appreciate any and all feedback.  I want to be responsive to 
your ideas, suggestions, and needs. I hope I can count on your support.  
I will do my best to earn it.

Thanks,
Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
4801 Gravel Pike Perkiomenville, PA 18074
(610) 754-VWVW
http://www.busdepot.com
e-mail: list@busdepot.com