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I was contempleting the other day, HOughy, just how much is bought and sold through IIS. It must run into the hundreds of thousands by now. That is quite astonishing, when you think about. I think it would be more that fair if Mike and Terry charged a small transaction fee on the site...maybe 2%, or something. That would be a good way to refund them for the enormous time, expertise, talent and $ that they put into the site.
As for the health of astro retailers, the rise of seconds sales through IIS and similar forums might not be so harmful for retailers as one might first think. For every second hand purchase, sure, there is one less new purchase, but, at the other end of the equation, often the sale is prompted by the vendor wanting some ready cash to purchase a new item from a retailer. The net effect is that there is a constant on-flow of seconds, freeing up the big spenders in the astro-community to keep buying the latest model.
With the ready-availability of credit in our mass-mediated consumer society, there is more disposable cash floating around than ever to spend on kids, dogs and telescopic gadgetry. I can only see that phenomenon gaining momentum. At the same time, the maturing seconds market, and the ready availability of offshore suppliers through the medium of the internet has created a pressure on retailers in Australia to keep their prices down.
Bintel have these things sussed, from what I can gather. They are differentiating themselves from their competitors by their post-sale support, they vie with other sources by an excellent website listing and pricing a comprehensive range of products, and they are very cost-sensitive, such as in the recent reduction in Televue EPs, so as to compete against the large offshore dealers like Opt Corp.
And the rise of the Big Dobs.....now that is a phenomenon which is sure to bring a steady flow of $$$ to those involved in that industry. Imagine how many 16" Lightbridges Bintel stand to sell in the next 2 years?!
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