Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

[Slicked]

Hi everyone,

My online supplier sells Meguires and Dodo Juice products, but for some reason he seems to completely misunderstand how Meguiars products work and he keeps pushing the Dodo products. I've been struggling for some time to explain to him how Meguiars products work, but he continues to spread misinformation on a major Australian forum that he sponsors. The pattern is the same. First he criticises Meguiars products, and then recommends a Dodo product.

For example, in a thread about Dodo Lime Prime vs Scratch X, he said:

"ScratchX is full of fillers and light chemical cleaning agents. It will remove some light marks but will only fill scratches. It is designed to be locked in with a synthetic product over the top (think Tech wax). In my opinion it’s useless and I wouldn’t use it if you gave it to me."

Then he said this:

"The funny thing is, Meguiar’s are releasing ScratchX-2 and SwirlX here in Aus on the 1/7/09 (it’s already available in the USA). Now what does scratchX-2 do that scratchX does not? If it already removes scratches why does it need to be superseded? And if it removes scratches why release a product to remove swirls which are lighter marks and would be removed in the same process…? With enough marketing budget you can sell anything"

Then the conversation tuned to Ultimate Compound:

"Why do they sell all their other similar products if this truly the ultimate??? In fact this retails cheaper than Meg's ScratchX 2.0 in the USA ($9.95 v $10.99) so why would they sell scratchX? It simply doesn't make sense. It smells like a lot of marketing hype and inferior products to me but at the end of the day, you are the consumer!"

Its really starting to frustrate me because the detailing section of this forum was previously not sponsored and people could share information without fearing being reprimanded by a heavy-handed sponsor.

Why is he allowed to sell Meguiars products if he is actively criticising them on a major automotive forum in australia (probably THE largest auto forum in australia)?

[yalerd]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

Maybe because Dodo makes him more money but that doesn't give him the right to talk about a brand that you represent....that's low

[Bunky]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

This is just selling is all about....bashing one product to promote another. My guess is makes more money off the other products since he probably has less competition (fewer selling the boutique brands). Thanks to the internet age we actually get to see this in writing more than what would have been communicated one to one. It is frustrating when mis-information is spread on anyone's products.

[akimel]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

Hmmm, sounds like bad business practice to me. It seems pretty basic to me: do not criticize or bad-mouth products you are selling. If you think a line of products is inferior and not worth the money, then drop it and replace it with a better line.

I do not know what legal freedom Meguiar's has in selling to re-sellers, but they certainly should investigate the matter. No point in selling one's products to a re-seller who goes out of his way to speak negatively about them. Clearly this guy is not interested in selling Meguiar's products. He only carries them as a foil by which to promote the products of a different manufacturer.

[MDetail]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

I don't know if the questions is why is he allowed to, but why would he want to after that kind of mouth, it would sound like he doesn't even want to be associated with the M.

[Tuck91]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

Pretty rude of this guy to just bash Meguiars. He dosent really know what he is talking about. He thinks it is wrong to have multiple products at your disposal at different levels of aggression for correcting different types of paint. Either way, it dosent give him the right to just bash Meguiars

[Nappers]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

Sounds like he wasn't listening when being schooled from the Meguiar's representitives upon setting up for shop.

When I was in Reno, I like to cruise PBE stores for old/new stuff. They did not have M105 yet and I mentioned the product to him. This one guy at the store, I mentioned to check out Meguiarsonline and he said he would check it out. He had 3M so, I couldn't bash them .

Most stores go through a Distributor and are not taught about the products from the distributor, maybe the distributor knows about them, but they are trying to make money.....

This guy doesn't seem to know about the Diminshing Abrasives or the new Super Micro Abrasive Technology.

Seems you should try to find a Meguiar's rep and have him schooled maybe to correct his ways.

[draperd]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

Pretty sure somewhere in Business 101 they talk about believing in the product you sell. He must have missed that day...

[3Fitty]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

Sounds like it's all about the bottom line to me.

Look at this way...

NXT 2.0 is about 15 bucks for 18oz (I think - I'm just guessing).

Dodo Supernatural is about 200 bucks for 8oz.

How much markup does he get from selling NXT 2.0 vs. Supernatural?

Lets assume all things equal and he has a 30% margin on both products. 30% of $15 is a meager 5 bucks as compared to $60 for Supernatural.

Considering this fictional example, one SN sale puts 12 times the money in his pocket. 12 times the money will make people say the strangest things. That is why I wouldn't rely too much on the words of others, rather your own personal experience. I learned pretty early on when picking juries that personal bias makes people do the wildest things so I think there is no greater influence on most people than the all mighty dollar. I would be willing to bet that is what is driving this guy's opinion.

[Nappers]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

Good point 3Fitty. The all mighty dollar. I've only done 3 cars for cash and offered a ton of advise for free. I charge the same for a car and either got one done in a day or the Explorer done in two days. One day, I did better by the hour, two dayer, not as good. But, I gained a future customer and the Explorer will be done when weather is better and now that the paint is better, it won't be as hard to do.

I tell people, of all the exotics, although I'm sure they are a good product, for the money and this forum educating people, you can't beat them. I've only tried Meguiar's since learning the right way and can't comment on other products, although Mothers Carnuba wax looks good, but I can't bring myself to kick NXT, M21, M26, GC, ColorX, et al aside to try something new that I may or may not like. Not saying it's not good, it's just what I like and learned on.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

Thanks for bringing this to our attention Slicked. I'll make sure the proper individuals take a look at this and decide what is the best course of action.

[mb911]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

I mean, to say it's for marketing reasons probably isn't completely wrong. Those of us on here use these products for specific needs.

However, someone just walking into a store, you might not mind to have a product that says swirl x, scratch x, or ultimate compound, to grab attention of whatever they are looking to get.

Nevertheless, who cares, what isn't sold that way, and they are different products, so those of us who knows the difference can choose the right one for our particular application.

[3Fitty]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

Good point 3Fitty. The all mighty dollar. I've only done 3 cars for cash and offered a ton of advise for free. I charge the same for a car and either got one done in a day or the Explorer done in two days. One day, I did better by the hour, two dayer, not as good. But, I gained a future customer and the Explorer will be done when weather is better and now that the paint is better, it won't be as hard to do.

I tell people, of all the exotics, although I'm sure they are a good product, for the money and this forum educating people, you can't beat them. I've only tried Meguiar's since learning the right way and can't comment on other products, although Mothers Carnuba wax looks good, but I can't bring myself to kick NXT, M21, M26, GC, ColorX, et al aside to try something new that I may or may not like. Not saying it's not good, it's just what I like and learned on.

This also goes along with the idea of it all being in the prep. A well prepared surface (washed, clayed, polished et...) is what gets you where you want to be. Bottom line is that a poorly prepared surface with a $2,000 LSP won't look ast good as a perfectly prepped surface and a $10 LSP.

I think one area (in particular) where this guy is way off the mark is his neglect (maybe purposeful) of products like M105 & M205. Even the biggest Meguiars naysayers have conceded how great this combo is, and these two items lead you to that perfect prepped surface. Hard to argue with this combo and a Megs LSP for a better finish.

[Slicked]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

Thanks guys,

The problem I'm having is that this Australian car forum, probably the most popular in Australia, had a detailing section that was not sponsored. That meant that everyone could discuss their favourite detailing products freely, so people inevitably discussed the most effective and best value-for-money products. Occassionally there'd be a thread by a genuine enthousiast discussing the merits of various boutique brands, and that was fine.

Now its difficult to discuss non-Dodo products, even though the sponsor sells almost 100 different Meguiars products. Its as though he is using the Meguiars line to initially hook people in and then trying to move them onto the much more expensive Dodo products.

Its just a shame that people can't talk freely about the non-Dodo products they enjoy using.

[angeloabbattista]

Re: Why is my online supplier allowed to sell Meguiars if he criticises the products?

Are they located in NSW by any chance? I think I know who you're talking about.
Would love to see the thread you mentioned.
Only thing I suggest is to try Rare Spares in Vic as they stock a lot of products n the retail, Mirror Glaze and Detailer range.