Playthings of the Past

[electra225]

Doc posted about Radio Daze, which brought this outfit to mind. I won't call out names here, but a member of the big forum bought Playthings of the Past which had a decent reputation. The new owner got truck loads of stuff, and my guess is he was/is simply overwhelmed. My opinion also is that he is not optimizing his opportunity, as far as customer service is concerned. He told me three years ago he'd send a set of transparencies for my TV Analyzer and I still don't have them. He promised a certain VTVM almost that long ago, still don't have it. He doesn't return promised correspondence. He sends an email saying to remind him in X days, you do, then he doesn't respond. I see he has about a thousand output transformers for sale in a lot. Who needs that many output transformers and why doesn't he have them cataloged and priced to sell? The owner is a nice guy, personable and all that. Most of us would patronize a small vendor and will realize that many are one-man operations and that patience is a virtue. Working together is a two-way street.

[Conelrad]

Yep, he has the goods but not the drive to succeed in the biz.

Not that I need more like what he sells.

D

[electra225]

We need the small vendors to help keep this hobby alive. The money is not there for bigger business to get involved in a niche business. We should encourage small vendors by using them when we all, all we can. Sal made a go of the capacitor business by giving stellar service. Gary sells record player parts, does a fantastic job, is a major player in keeping our record players and stereos going. I don't know why the vendor in this post can't get his act more together. Trying to sell half a semi-load of output transformers in one lump sum seems plain lazy to me. Why not say he'd sell for $5 apiece, discounts for quantity? At least has some inkling of what is there. He is probably in a Catch 22. He doesn't have enough business to be able to hire help, but if he doesn't hire help, he is going to annoy somebody on the big forum, then he is gonna be really screwed. He needs to decide whether to fish or cut bait.....