There are NO = NONE = NADA ham radio equipment dealers in Alaska. Sooooo - ordering equipment is either On-Line or by Land-Line (telephone), according to one's preference.
Of course our "Local Dealer" is only 2400 miles away in Seattle! No problem 12-days RT drive (or $500 air-fare) and only $540 worth of gasoline later you are supporting the tax-base of Washington (and communities in Canada) instead of your home town. Oh, better add hotel and meal costs in there. BTW there is no state sales or state income tax in AK. Schools are financed thru property tax, so buy your home locally and not thru the internet! HA! Oh, senior's are forgiven property tax up to $250K valuation. I guess 45-years of taxes raising a family is adequate. Regarding dealers: The whole deal of stocking inventory is to get a "wholesale" price which gives the retailer a mark up (called gross profit). Some manufacturers subscribe to "Fair-Trade" which means the price is fixed by the manufacturer so it will not vary from dealer or direct. I particularly dislike this practise since it is anti-competitive. (sort of like all gas stations having the same price on their pumps). The buyer "votes" with his dollars! Why should he pay more than need to? POS outfits offer immediate gratification - at a price. Certainly one should weigh custom's duty and shipping when doing competitive pricing. ALL (successful) businesses do! Is this hard on local businesses? It can be. But this is reality - no getting around it. Support your local businesses but be smart with your money, too! The new merchandising model is direct-sales via internet....better believe it! 20-years ago it was catalog sales. 100-years ago it was local sales. 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 ====================================== BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com EME: 50-1.1kw?, 144-1.4kw, 432-QRT, 1296-?, 3400-? DUBUS Magazine USA Rep [email protected] "Kits made by KL7UW" http://www.kl7uw.com/kits.htm ====================================== ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
