The mistake is granting sole distributorship to one company in oz. Stern have done the same thing and there is no competition as a result.
Agree 1 million percent - these guys have ZERO competition and therefore dont budge a cent on price.
They would be clueless how to SELL a product IF there was some actual competition.
Currently they are basically like "thats the price , take it or leave it- seeya"
What about promotion and marketing ? The game was behind a curtain, and only buyers with deposits could play it. The game should be "front and center" to attempt to create a talking point to encourage sales. But no, it was hidden out the back. JJP will need several distributors in Australia to survive. They cannot rely on "one" that does not promote their products. This is very obvious.
Stern is a little bit different. A decent distribution chain, but zero marketing and promotion. I had a guy pick up an eBay item yesterday and he looked into my garage. He was an AC/DC fan and was surprised when I told him that he could BUY his own AC/DC pinball. The unfortunate thing is - there's no distributor showroom - nowhere this potential buyer can go to see the three models, or any other Stern. He mentioned that he found out about the pinball at the local Pub, but the AC/DC was "out of order" and has been for weeks. That's a snapshot of Stern's sales model in Melbourne.
ALL manufacturers need to lift their game, but they rely on distributors who are not taking the product to market. People know where to go when they want to buy other commodities, but buying a new pinball is next to impossible. It is really frustrating to speak to potential NIB buyers, and they don't know where to start.
... JJP will be dead in Australia with the current marketing strategy..... hide the product... dont let anyone play the product... dont display the price.
..Funny thing is that this attitude is aimed to collectors... the very potential buyers the distributor should be selling to.. no chance of Joe Bloggs even attempting to buy one
