Post
by Lavoy » Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:49 pm
Demand is the great unknown. A few years ago, I was tying up thousands of dollars in pins and bushings because I was buying them when I could get them, and insure I had inventory. Never fails, when you have inventory, nobody wants anything, when you don't, everybody does. After a few years of paying interest on slow moving inventory, I learned my lesson, and now no longer stock large quantites of pins and bushings, and now here we are. I am about out of stock, and no short term product coming. It is just not cost effective for me to stock quantities of slow moving parts when I could be putting that money in things that I sell hundreds or thousands of per year.
As to spec, hardness can be tested easily, composition is a little harder and costlier. I would be hesitant to sell something that is okay on the hardness, but we have no idea of longevity, and no one to go back on as far as warranty if the product fails, or does not stand up.
For example, if you had pins and bushings manufactured for your crawler, and brought them to me to install, and they do not stand up, that has nothing to do with me. If I have them made, and they do not stand up, now I have to warranty them.
I would have no problem talking to them, that never hurts. I can get them at least some specs, and samples that should allow them to reverse engineer them enough to get an idea on cost.
Lavoy