what kind of profit are they making

[Jenkins]

Having seen clothing coming in from China with the "SALE: reduced from £... to £..." labels already attached (even for the major chains), I've taken any claims of price reduction or discount with a very large fistful of salt.

 

[screenman]

First they are not making a profit until all the bills are paid, my own business has 23 individual costs involved with each sale.

Second to the person who said the big boys can give discounts and afford it, would they please explain why they fo bankrupt sometimes.

As for buying a Zafira well you might think you have it cheap, but you will lose a lot because it is fast depreciating vehicle, as you would get less of your so called good deal on a vehicle that was less so fast in dropping £££££ each day.

 

[GrasB]

As for buying a Zafira well you might think you have it cheap, but you will lose a lot because it is fast depreciating vehicle, as you would get less of your so called good deal on a vehicle that was less so fast in dropping £££££ each day.

Depends how long you keep the car. Say I bought a new Astra 10 years ago it'll be worth about £300, had I bought an Audi A3 or VW Golf I'd be looking at £600. A whole £300 more when moving the car on... that's worth paying a several £1000 premium for when new.

 

[Nebulous]

As for buying a Zafira well you might think you have it cheap, but you will lose a lot because it is fast depreciating vehicle, as you would get less of your so called good deal on a vehicle that was less so fast in dropping £££££ each day.

I know exactly what I'm letting myself in for with the car. We need a bigger car and I've done my homework, as I usually do. There is really nothing of its size comes close. Yes it will depreciate a lot in percentage terms, but not in £££s. Many of its competitors will depreciate more in 4-5 years than I'm paying for it- even the premium brands.

 

[Risex4]

Second to the person who said the big boys can give discounts and afford it, would they please explain why they fo bankrupt sometimes.

Poor commercial or cost management. Cash-flow stalls and supplier credit being revoked. Failure to adapt to an ever changing market in terms of products and buying habits... why does any business go pop?

"Afford" as in they can generally absorb loses on some key product lines if the rest of the business is robust enough to carry said losses and capitilise on what is - when boiled down - essentially another avenue of marketing expenditure. When businesses are beached, its never purely down to the fact that they've been selling some products at negative margin.

 

[screenman]

Depends how long you keep the car. Say I bought a new Astra 10 years ago it'll be worth about £300, had I bought an Audi A3 or VW Golf I'd be looking at £600. A whole £300 more when moving the car on... that's worth paying a several £1000 premium for when new.

I know which I would rather spend 10 years driving. I also think your numbers may be a tad wide of the mark.

Remember these very wise words " Nobody ever regrets buying quality"

 

[screenman]

Poor commercial or cost management. Cash-flow stalls and supplier credit being revoked. Failure to adapt to an ever changing market in terms of products and buying habits... why does any business go pop?

"Afford" as in they can generally absorb loses on some key product lines if the rest of the business is robust enough to carry said losses and capitilise on what is - when boiled down - essentially another avenue of marketing expenditure. When businesses are beached, its never purely down to the fact that they've been selling some products at negative margin.

I agree it is because they were not making enough money, or in other words did not have the margins needed to sustain the business.

 

[GrasB]

I also think your numbers may be a tad wide of the mark.

I searched for 10 year old Astras, A3s & Golfs on autotrader within 30 miles of work & looked at the prices on the first few pages.