01-06-2013, 09:03 PM
Now that I have had a chance to catch up, and the holidays are behind us, I thought it was time to discuss the future of Design 1 Racing. I've been giving this one a lot of thought lately. The company has been around for 25 years. It has gone into hiatus twice before, as life pulled me in other directions, but I always managed to come back to it. I guess I'm just a gearhead at heart. So, I'll never likely give up on it entirely. That being said, I still need to keep in mind that this was a hobby that got way out of control, and not let that happen again.
As could be predicted, the announced "shutdown" of production of the Design 1 Racing product line caught some people off guard and resulted in a number of people feeling that they missed the boat. Many did not prioritize their car, and consequently missed out on getting the things they wanted for it when the end came around. That happens. As I said when I announced the shutdown, I cannot continue to operate essentially as a retail outlet. That being said, I still wanted to find a way to provide the things people want.
I have considered carefully a number of options, including licensing out the designs, selling them off outright, letting somebody arrange group buys, and even using a fulfillment house. The problem is that none of these provided me the quality control I want to maintain, and the level of customer service people have come to expect. Also, none of them really gave me the ability to step away enough, and I was still going to have to spend quite a bit of time, spread out over a long period.
What I have decided to do is to provide 1 or 2 runs a year, of whatever I have advanced orders for. This will allow me to condense the amount of time I have to spend on having things made, packaging them up, and shipping them. It will also allow people the opportunity to get most of what they want.
Some of the items require too many to be made in a batch, or are just too difficult to deal with, and consequently will likely not be available. If I do make those available, you can bet the cost of them will go up significantly, due to these reasons. Things like Clutch Lines require too many in a batch, and I don't think we will ever build up enough orders to do another run of those. The Supercharger Kits are just too hard to deal with. I'm afraid we've seen the last ones of those made. The ones that are in stock now are the last ones.
Those items that will be available will be shown on the Design 1 Racing website as "backordered", but you will be able to order them. Only the number of items ordered will be produced though. There will be no extras. I will not be stocking anything whatsoever. I'm still very focused on not being a retail outlet.
Items that I am pretty sure will be available are:
Strut Tower Brace
Firewall Brace
Lower Suspension Brace
Short Shifter
Heat Shield
Splitter
Future projects:
I had a lot of projects on the books, with some of them in process, and some still in the design phase. While I still have some of these projects in process, there are no specific plans to complete them on any sort of timeline at this time. Basically, if I get around to one and knock it out, that may change. I'm taking my time right now though.
Schedule:
The production schedule of these runs is not yet determined. I'll have to watch and see what I think makes sense. If I set it too early, we won't have enough orders to make a run. If I set it too late, some people may do something different, or prioritize things differently. Ordering for each of these runs will begin on a particular date, which will always be a Monday, run for about 30 days, and be accepted up until 8am Pacific time of the closing dates. By keeping the ordering window short like that, it helps with the bookkeeping, and prevents people's money from sitting somewhere for months. Orders that come in after those dates will be cancelled and refunded, and you will have to wait until the next run. Orders that come in that do not meet the minimums for a run will also be cancelled and refunded. These orders can then be placed again at the next run. I do not want to keep money, or hold things on the books. This will all allow me to streamline the process, and not require people to have their money sitting somewhere for 6 months or more.
Ordering:
The way it will work, is that you go to the Design 1 Racing website, and place your order. No orders will be accepted outside the website. It is just too hard to try to keep track of things without the proper paper trail. This assures you of getting what you want. I'm sorry, but emails saying that you are "interested" or "put me on the list" will be ignored. Only orders actually placed and prepaid will be honored. I just can't keep track of stuff like that for that long. So, you need to pay attention to 968Forums.com for announcements, and act in a timely manner. An announcement will also be placed on the front page of the Design 1 Racing website.
Payment:
Payment will be made directly on the website, using PayPal. This PayPal account accepts credit cards. No reduced amount invoices will be issued. I really need to stay clear of crazy paperwork.
Shipping:
UPS shipping is the ONLY method that will be used. No special shipping will be allowed.
Fulfillment:
Once the ordering window is closed, and the orders are called in, it should take about 4 weeks to get everything made, boxed and ready to ship.
A brief summary of this will be on the Design 1 Racing website soon.
I hope this will somehow provide what people need, while still allowing me to focus on the things I need to.
As could be predicted, the announced "shutdown" of production of the Design 1 Racing product line caught some people off guard and resulted in a number of people feeling that they missed the boat. Many did not prioritize their car, and consequently missed out on getting the things they wanted for it when the end came around. That happens. As I said when I announced the shutdown, I cannot continue to operate essentially as a retail outlet. That being said, I still wanted to find a way to provide the things people want.
I have considered carefully a number of options, including licensing out the designs, selling them off outright, letting somebody arrange group buys, and even using a fulfillment house. The problem is that none of these provided me the quality control I want to maintain, and the level of customer service people have come to expect. Also, none of them really gave me the ability to step away enough, and I was still going to have to spend quite a bit of time, spread out over a long period.
What I have decided to do is to provide 1 or 2 runs a year, of whatever I have advanced orders for. This will allow me to condense the amount of time I have to spend on having things made, packaging them up, and shipping them. It will also allow people the opportunity to get most of what they want.
Some of the items require too many to be made in a batch, or are just too difficult to deal with, and consequently will likely not be available. If I do make those available, you can bet the cost of them will go up significantly, due to these reasons. Things like Clutch Lines require too many in a batch, and I don't think we will ever build up enough orders to do another run of those. The Supercharger Kits are just too hard to deal with. I'm afraid we've seen the last ones of those made. The ones that are in stock now are the last ones.
Those items that will be available will be shown on the Design 1 Racing website as "backordered", but you will be able to order them. Only the number of items ordered will be produced though. There will be no extras. I will not be stocking anything whatsoever. I'm still very focused on not being a retail outlet.
Items that I am pretty sure will be available are:
Strut Tower Brace
Firewall Brace
Lower Suspension Brace
Short Shifter
Heat Shield
Splitter
Future projects:
I had a lot of projects on the books, with some of them in process, and some still in the design phase. While I still have some of these projects in process, there are no specific plans to complete them on any sort of timeline at this time. Basically, if I get around to one and knock it out, that may change. I'm taking my time right now though.
Schedule:
The production schedule of these runs is not yet determined. I'll have to watch and see what I think makes sense. If I set it too early, we won't have enough orders to make a run. If I set it too late, some people may do something different, or prioritize things differently. Ordering for each of these runs will begin on a particular date, which will always be a Monday, run for about 30 days, and be accepted up until 8am Pacific time of the closing dates. By keeping the ordering window short like that, it helps with the bookkeeping, and prevents people's money from sitting somewhere for months. Orders that come in after those dates will be cancelled and refunded, and you will have to wait until the next run. Orders that come in that do not meet the minimums for a run will also be cancelled and refunded. These orders can then be placed again at the next run. I do not want to keep money, or hold things on the books. This will all allow me to streamline the process, and not require people to have their money sitting somewhere for 6 months or more.
Ordering:
The way it will work, is that you go to the Design 1 Racing website, and place your order. No orders will be accepted outside the website. It is just too hard to try to keep track of things without the proper paper trail. This assures you of getting what you want. I'm sorry, but emails saying that you are "interested" or "put me on the list" will be ignored. Only orders actually placed and prepaid will be honored. I just can't keep track of stuff like that for that long. So, you need to pay attention to 968Forums.com for announcements, and act in a timely manner. An announcement will also be placed on the front page of the Design 1 Racing website.
Payment:
Payment will be made directly on the website, using PayPal. This PayPal account accepts credit cards. No reduced amount invoices will be issued. I really need to stay clear of crazy paperwork.
Shipping:
UPS shipping is the ONLY method that will be used. No special shipping will be allowed.
Fulfillment:
Once the ordering window is closed, and the orders are called in, it should take about 4 weeks to get everything made, boxed and ready to ship.
A brief summary of this will be on the Design 1 Racing website soon.
I hope this will somehow provide what people need, while still allowing me to focus on the things I need to.
94 Midnight Metallic Blue Cab Porsche 968 w/deviating cashmere/black interior and WAY too many mods to list - thanks to eric for creating www.968forums.com
"It isn't nearly as expensive to do it right as it is to do it wrong."
(This post was last modified: 01-06-2013, 09:03 PM by flash.)
