And they want me to shop locally....
I have need of an older style A/C cover. On-line I find new at $130.00 from Amazon and used for $40 thru an E Bay seller. Here at home..I am just off the phone to the local RV dealer/robber...$240.00...
Forum Discussion
FWIW- the shroud that is pictured has a retail cost of between $100 and $130 ($100 if the it doesn't have the add on strip at the bottom, $128 if it does), but... if I order that from Dometic, I pay around $80 plus shipping for the $100 one (big honkin' markup that), and shipping is $50 via UPS. If I buy it from a different wholesaler, I pay a bit more but they pay the shipping. At some point they will figure that out, and raise the price.
That said- there is a huge range of prices for A/C shrouds- that particular one is the cheapest, but prices do go way up- an old Dometic/Emerson will be near $300, as will an old Armstrong shroud, or any of the Intertherm or Instamatic will be the same, though they are fiberglass, and not ABS or other plastic.
But- there are a bunch of items that I can find online for less than I pay wholesale, then if a customer has shopped around online, they automatically think I am a crook for needing a 30% markup from what I pay. On the other hand, people get upset when I don't have something in stock that you can buy much cheaper at a big box store-I really have to make a profit to keep the lights on and the cats fed.
That said- there is a huge range of prices for A/C shrouds- that particular one is the cheapest, but prices do go way up- an old Dometic/Emerson will be near $300, as will an old Armstrong shroud, or any of the Intertherm or Instamatic will be the same, though they are fiberglass, and not ABS or other plastic.
But- there are a bunch of items that I can find online for less than I pay wholesale, then if a customer has shopped around online, they automatically think I am a crook for needing a 30% markup from what I pay. On the other hand, people get upset when I don't have something in stock that you can buy much cheaper at a big box store-I really have to make a profit to keep the lights on and the cats fed.
