MOTM

Paul S. said in part...

Sadly, it's a *business* decision, pure and simple. The orders for
kits are in *severe decline* and I think the main reason is most MOTM
users have all the "regular" modules they need and want cool new
stuff. As far as new customers coming on board: it's true that every
year about 30 new MOTMers sign on. But, and this is the frustrating
but.....about 40 people "drop off" never to be heard from again. The
most sobering statistic: only 22% of the first *300* MOTM customers
have bought a module from me in the last 18 months.

----snip----

When I first bought MOTM kits, gasoline was $1.43 a gallon.  Today,
the same gas costs me $3.18 per gallon.  For me, MOTM products were
purchased with discretionary dollars.  Those dollars have been eroded
by many factors beyond the scope of what I am willing to say for the
sake of brevity.  The kit business is what put SynthTech on the map. 
The death of Larry Hendry and the demise of "Stooge Industries" were
major "hits" as both comprised the best MOTM sales/support machine you
could have ever had.  The "lifetime" point system died an early death
and kit prices climbed 35% since I came on board.  Now, the kits are
on their last leg.  The "main" reason kit sales are on the decline, in
my opinion, has little to do with a need for "cool new stuff" and much
to do with other factors.  For your sake Paul, I hope I am dead wrong.

I can appreciate the necessity for profit-centric business decisions,
for which I have no complaint.  Maybe kits really are dead.  Maybe kit
prices have risen to the point that the size of the market has shrunk
to unsustainable levels.  Finding the sweet spot is the holy grail of
business and I understand that.

On the other hand, I think that the DIY spirit is still alive.  I
think that if boards and proper documentation were made available at
inexpensive prices, people would buy them even if they had to get
Front Panel Express panels and buy their own parts.  If you believe
that the kit business is of no further value, let me have copies of
the PC board Gerber files for the through-hole boards and I'll get
them made at my own expense.  I have no business aspirations and if I
shipped out boards at a break-even price that would be okay by me. 
For about $25 each any MOTM PC board could be shipped anywhere in the
US and not lose money.  I would do this in the spirit of Electronotes,
back in the days when they would sell essential components at very
little margin.  The buyers of assembled units would be unfazed and you
would get a market segment in-waiting for the really cool,
assembled-only modules with which I could not help them.

This is just an idea I am floating out there, and I could easily be
out of my mind.  (My wife knows I am out of my mind.  Still, she has
hung around for 30 years so she must be crazy too!)

Peace.
Tom Farrand
<engage lurk mode & duck>