hey all
i need some input

We are at cross roads at http://cnctoybox.com/
bottom line is it was designed to offer decent quality tools at a low price , over the years i have seen too many people on a budget asking where to get tools cheap or where to get tools period especially the Canadian hobby guys . this is why the company was dreamed up and though we've just started in the summer we've blazed through some tooling but to my surprise the majority was not either Canadian or hobby , plus the quality tooling has lead us into a whole other territory "industry" , and we are now seeking out more high quality tooling to distrubute once they meet my satisfaction

this is what brings me to make a decision , do we continue to depleat the remainder of our "hobby tooling" , and focus mearly on industry or do we continue to provide both services

the bottom line is do you guys want a place to buy low budget tooling

well i for one is highly interested in your product as they from what you told me seem really decent and at a highly competitive price but i think the major problem currently is that most canadian buyer are not aware that some store like yours offer decently price tool for them without having to deal south of the border.
how often have i seen people going to grizzly or hf to buy there machine or to buy tooling? the answer to often.
i do think that you have a market for you highly inexpensive tooling but its simply that people are not aware of it.
i for one before finding garant machinery was positive that if i wanted a machine with similar capacity to a x3 or sx3 would have to buy one south of the border why is that because company here, i guess, dont think that there is really a market for it, in your case you tought there is, and you are right, only problem is that since most of the people come to place like here where most user are american they get informed about places in the states and not in canada.
but then your current situation seems to be offering you oportunity to tap into a more profitable market, the industry, wich could then lead you to make more money and in turn come back after a while to grab the hobby market with a bigger advertising campaign to grab that part of the market, currently i see most of the canadian buyer getting there info from mouth to ear but never from advertising... see any busybee tool add in cnczone... no, see any house of tool advertising here no... see any syil.ca add no... see any garant machinery here, and again the answer is no i think the problem is there people are not made aware of the availability of those product in canada so they buy where they are made aware of it and where is that... south of the border
so to answer or more to give you my point of view as long as a company will no make a move to show that similar product to those available in the state are available at the same price or better then what is offered in the state people will buy south of the border

so what are your solution
1- drop the hobby market and go for the industry
2- keep a limited supply to keep the current hobby market you have and go for the industry
3- go for the industry and dont bother with the hobby market edit: i guess thats the same as 1
4- go on like you are hopping that the buyer will discover your product and eventualy start to buy in mass
but in all of the above i think that as long as whe dont see some more advertising in places like here by canadian dealer the road will be long

on a final note i would really like to congratulate you on your highly competitive pricing hobby wise and wish you the best in your venture

ps: currently i operate a small shop wich does mostly prototype and was bless in having alot of help from my current boss in starting my own shop but tool do get broken and used and eventualy ill have to buy my own as i learn to fly on my own and its sources like yours that i am looking at.

is that since most of the people come to place like here where most user are american they get informed about places in the states and not in canada.
but then your current situation seems to be offering you oportunity to tap into a more profitable market, the industry, wich could then lead you to make more money and in turn come back after a while to grab the hobby market with a bigger advertising campaign to grab that part of the market, currently i see most of the canadian buyer getting there info from mouth to ear but never from advertising... see any busybee tool add in cnczone... no, see any house of tool advertising here no... see any syil.ca add no... see any garant machinery here, and again the answer is no i think the problem is there people are not made aware of the availability of those product in canada so they buy where they are made aware of it and where is that... south of the border
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interesting points but it's as I had meantioned before most of my sales have gone out of the country , the US guys get a great advantage because of our low dollar , i can sell an endmill for $20CAD and if you can find a company in the US selling the same tool for $20 , who's got the cheaper tool ,

I think for the most part I am trying to find the right direction and I've looked at the direction my hobby sales have gone and its apparent that it may be worth keeping my tools outside of the country , rather than importing then exporting them again , the taxes and cross boarder fees are brutal to say the least , and its easy enough to hold my stock elsewhere ,
its an interesting predicament because i started this to subsidize my hobby

well like i said i think, no actualy i am sure, there is a market for hobbiest tool in canada its just not exploited well, not pointing at your business but at the market in general.

I have been looking for a Canadian online store, but only found you today!!

Better marketing?

Better marketing?

suppose so
but the funny thing is the sales are there and people are buying but i still see very little in in the Great White North , I'll continue doing what i'm doing , I'm loking for a good number of other products to offer , i plan to continue bringing things in , the company is in its early stage and we struggled with the direction we were going to move in , I've decided we dont need a direction , we will sell whatever tools we can put out at a decent price to who ever wants them , hobby , industry or the guy who wants a carbide for a toothpick