Fair market price for super hots
homefry319
11 years ago
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peppernovice
11 years agoArmageddon
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Economy and Gas Prices and effect on Markets
Comments (5)I've got lots of time to write about this subject because I am NOT selling this year - mostly a side effect of last years drought and the drought that is supposed to happen this year, though it has been raining pretty good here lately. I grow and sell ornamental plants and herbs from my home garden and I only sold at one farmer's market about 50 miles away last year. I live and garden inner city. There is one much larger market nearby but it is really a re-sellers market and I cannot compete with the prices for plants (in the spring they will have over 30 plant vendors!!) and it is difficult to get a space. Because of the high gas prices I imagine plenty of shoppers will NOT be driving too far to shop - which could be a good thing for vendors. But because of higher prices across the board most people will have less disposable income so there won't be a lot of experimenting with new veggies or fruits. But then - with all the stress and pressure on the wallet, I guess plenty of people will want the "fun" shopping experience you can only get at an outdoor market. The charm of the small market I sold at last year is that it's set up in a downtown parking lot with plenty of shops and galleries around and neighborhoods within walking distance - which is where most of the customers come from. But in order to succeed (its a relatively new market) it really needs more customers and with gas getting higher I worry that people further away are just not going to make the effort to drive that far to shop. Personally I believe that in order to make farmers markets successful you need plenty of them. They need to appear at convenient locations in every small town so that people get used to shopping at them. I also believe that only a section of the population wishes to walk around outside and shop in the open air - no matter what you do, some people would just rather shop at the grocery store or the mall (shudder). This area just came through an extreme drought where city drinking water was measured in days, not months, and yet plenty of people are out shopping for plants this spring. Garden centers are full, the farmers market vendors report good sales - legally we are only allowed to water once each week. I just couldn't wrap my head around selling something to people that will probably fail once the rains stop, the heat sets in and outdoor watering is restricted again. Besides most of my spring crop looked pretty awful. So I miss the extra money but not the extra work - and I worry about what direction to take for the future....See MoreNew year and considering a new market
Comments (14)I am worried that if I go to the larger market that I will lose my niche as a small organic grower and not be able to compete with the other small growers. Ever wonder why every city has "dealer's row" ... a couple of miles of car dealers, side by side? It helps comparison shopping and increases sales for all of them. Same with the larger market - you will be one of many organic growers, but will have far larger numbers of people looking for what you are selling. it's a 'watering hole" and you benefit from the others. Keep your competitive edge by working on being the FIRST with something popular, or by offering less common items. One area to explore would be things used by "ethnic" chefs ... check out the international student population and cater to their recipes and let it be know that you will do it. ASK them what they can't find - locate their Facebook page and ask what things they want to cook with they can't find grown locally. Often it's not something exotic and hard to grow, it's just not being grown....See Morenightmare kitchen reno - please advise your opinions on fairness
Comments (18)Dandylandy, I'm so sorry to hear about this mess. You unfortunately do need to talk to a lawyer now. That doesn't necessarily mean you need to file a lawsuit--sometimes a stern letter or three from a lawyer is all it takes. Also, depending on the value of this (what's the total cost of the cabinets?) you might find yourself in small claims court or in mandatory arbitration, which is a lot easier and cheaper than a full-on lawsuit. Where I live any dispute worth $25,000 or less goes into arbitration, which just means you and the contractor show up (with or without your lawyers, but obviously I'm going to recommend WITH, absolutely) and say your piece to a group of three local lawyers who volunteer as mediators, and that group of three lawyers decides how to resolve it. It's much cheaper and easier than an actual lawsuit. If you're in NY, perhaps the cap is higher than $25k. Anyway, what I'm saying is that you may not be looking at a lawsuit at all; that's not the only way the legal system has for resolving disputes like this. So, put plywood on your counters or some other temporary fix, DO NOT pay the guy another dime, talk to a few local lawyers who specialize in real estate or construction law (ask friends and your architect for recommendations) and pick the lawyer who seems best to you. The first step will probably be for him or her to write a mean letter to the contractor, and then you go from there. Oh, about this: **"Some of the things that really bother me could have been avoided with better communication - e.g. if they couldn't go to the ceiling with the cabinets b/c my ceiling isn't totally level (or something, I am just speculating), and they warned me about it, that would have been a lot better than telling me "Yes" and then not delivering."** I don't even see how that would be possible; if your ceiling's not totally level, then the cabinets would stop somewhere below the ceiling and it would be up to you to decide whether to build up the ceiling a little bit or put some moulding on to hide the gap. In other words I can't think of a legitimate reason that your ceiling would prevent you from having ceiling-height cabinets. I just mention this to cut through any BS you may have heard from the cabinet guy. Anyway, gather together everything you have in writing (including any drawings or mock-ups) and write down everything you remember saying to or hearing from the contractor. Have your architect forward you any emails she sent to or received from the contractor. Also go through your voicemail and see if he left you any voicemails that could be relevant. Then try and write up in one or two pages exactly what you understood he was supposed to build for you, in every detail (dimensions, materials, etc.), and then what he actually did build, and what problems that caused or will cause (e.g. plumbing messed up, plates won't fit, layout changed so cost increased). Also note any scheduling screwups that occurred. Go over it with your architect and your hubby (if any) in case they remember things you don't. Then send this write-up to the lawyer, along with a copy of your contract with the cabinet guy and any other really critical documents like emails where the contractor committed to something that wasn't clear in the original contract or where he said X but it later turned out he did Y. It will take less time (and thus cost you less money) for the lawyer to read this than for the lawyer to "interview" you to figure out what happened. Best of luck....See MoreIs the Price for My MFG Home Fair?
Comments (7)Hi again, Cobb! Here's my take, and it's just my opinion. First, the scenario in Grissim's book (a very excellent book, btw), is different from yours, in that the Millers were buying an MP off the lot that was costing the dealer money every day that it sat there, while you are ordering your home with custom upgrades. The dealer has much less reason to negotiate on yours. On the other hand, everything is negotiable, IF you are good at negotiating AND come from a position of power (or appear to be). I RARELY pay full retail price for anything except food, gas, and taxes, heh heh. My ex hubby, who is a banking lawyer, (yeah yeah, I know) , taught me the art of negotiating, although we use very different tactics. He's like a pit bull--when he gets done, the other party feels like they've been through a meat grinder. When I'm done, the other party thanks me. Neither of us use deception or trickery. Just earlier tonight, when I finally got my satellite internet set up, the installer sold me a $60 router for $50. The company's installers are independent contractors who have to buy their own equipment and get reimbursed by the company, so it was truly out of his pocket. How did I do it? Well, by being a decent human being. He was supposed to come on Tuesday, but called Monday night and explained there was a mistake with his equipment order and it didn't arrive on time. I didn't get all pi$$ed off, call my satellite company, or insult his mother, haha. I just nicely told him that mistakes happen and Thursday would be fine, no big deal. (In truth, it did inconvenience me because my daughter and I both re-arranged our schedules for Tuesday and couldn't change them back.) Then, today, he was an hour and a half late, though he called to let us know. While he was here, he told us it's strictly forbidden to ask, but could he please use our bathroom? Well, of course! Finally, he was putting in the metal pole on which to mount the satellite dish, and we had a sudden thunder storm! I was terrified for him! Naturally, I offered him a hot cup of coffee when he came in soaking wet, which he gratefully accepted. My "position of power " was that he mentioned the company would be emailing a survey for me to rate him as an installer and make comments about him. My negotiation skill was in making him feel appreciated after several things had gone south for him in the past couple of days. This only works if you're genuine! I truly am about the most easy-going person I know--my feathers just don't get ruffled over small stuff, and it's all small stuff! I also truly like people and I genuinely care for their well-being, even when I've only known them for five minutes. I honestly appreciated him for coming out so late in the evening rather than cancelling. I can't think of any reason why I wouldn't let him use the bathroom--what am I gonna do, make him drive half an hour to the nearest gas station, or worse yet, make him hold it in? I know when I gotta go, I gotta go! And I really was scared when he was out there getting drenched and putting a metal pole in the ground with lightning and thunder! I'd like a cuppa in that situation, so I figured he would too. That's how I'd treat anyone else. I already knew what kind of router I wanted; I just hadn't had time to run up to a Bi-Mart to pick one up before he came. I knew that $60 was a reasonable price; the same one at Bi-Mart is $57.99. So when he showed me what he had at various price points, I knew I wanted the $60 one. All I had to do was look at my daughter and say, this is the one we should get, but...we've spent a lot of money this month...and Ben jumped right in and said, hey, you ladies have been so nice, I'm going to only charge you $50 for this one if you want it. So in one sense that negotiation took 30 seconds, but in another sense it was carried out over two days. When Ben left, he felt heroic for putting our satellite up in a thunder storm, he felt he was appreciated for who he is and for his skill, and he had a warm fuzzy for helping two ladies out. I was happy to save nine bucks, but also to have had a really enjoyable interaction with a very nice young man. Win-win. I also had done my homework and thus knew exactly which router I wanted and how much it should cost. ALWAYS do your homework BEFORE you enter a negotiation! A great way to become a knowledgeable buyer and negotiator is to read as much of this forum as possible! Grissim's book is great, and there are a few other good websites dedicated to manufactured homes. I'll be happy to post links if you want me to. I know this post is really, really long, but I hope at least part of it will prove useful. Good luck! :-) ,...See MoreArmageddon
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