Example of Microsoft keeping the "little guy" down

[jho]

Hello everyone I just thought people should know about the BS that goes
on behind the scenes at MS.

I tried to acquire the keyboard/mice displays that you see at the big
chain stores. You know the black rectangular things that sit on the
product shelves where the mice and keyboards sit and are tied up to the
thin piece of metal. I am trying to get these for my new retail store
that I am opening soon so that I can display my products with
sufficient credibility. Unfortunately you need these displays to gain
the necessary credibility to sell these products.

So I called Ingram Micro 5 months ago and my rep said that they will
call their rep at MS. She replied and said that MS does not have these
available. So I called MS directly and tried to speak to their
Merchandising dept. To my chagrin the Voice Mail was full... can you
believe that? Anyway I called a random MS department and spoke to a rep
and explained to her my situation and she was very helpful. She told me
that she would find an answer for me and email me back. She did so
after 48 hours and told me that a rep would contact me with in 48
hours. So I waited and still received no call. I contacted her again
and she said that she would try again. I finally received a call from a
rep and for some reason he asked me if I was with the staples team and
I said that I was not. I explained to him that in order to receive the
credibility necessary to have a successful retail computer components
business I need the demo displays. He said that they only "develop"
these individually with senior level partners. I was kind of surprised
because all of these displays are exactly the same and it would make
sense to me that these are probably sitting in a warehouse somewhere.
But he tried to convince me that they were all individually developed.
Anyway I said that I would pay top dollar for these items and he said
that he would call me back some time later in the week. No Call. How is
a "little guy" supposed to sell when he doesn't have the proper tools
to succeed?

 

[Guest]

Welcome to the "real world".....Every mfg,distributor,associate dealer,etc
have those regulations in place.You simply need to go thru some back doors
and all would be available..Ever go to college.....Locating the right
distributor
for a mfg,who has programs set up for retailers to market,display the
murchandise
will be youre best bet....Microsoft gives tons away free.........poor example

 

[HeyBub]

Hello everyone I just thought people should know about the BS that
goes on behind the scenes at MS.

I tried to acquire the keyboard/mice displays that you see at the big
chain stores. You know the black rectangular things that sit on the
product shelves where the mice and keyboards sit and are tied up to
the thin piece of metal. I am trying to get these for my new retail
store that I am opening soon so that I can display my products with
sufficient credibility. Unfortunately you need these displays to gain
the necessary credibility to sell these products.

So I called Ingram Micro 5 months ago and my rep said that they will
call their rep at MS. She replied and said that MS does not have these
available. So I called MS directly and tried to speak to their
Merchandising dept. To my chagrin the Voice Mail was full... can you
believe that? Anyway I called a random MS department and spoke to a
rep and explained to her my situation and she was very helpful. She
told me that she would find an answer for me and email me back. She
did so after 48 hours and told me that a rep would contact me with in
48 hours. So I waited and still received no call. I contacted her
again and she said that she would try again. I finally received a
call from a rep and for some reason he asked me if I was with the
staples team and I said that I was not. I explained to him that in
order to receive the credibility necessary to have a successful
retail computer components business I need the demo displays. He said
that they only "develop" these individually with senior level
partners. I was kind of surprised because all of these displays are
exactly the same and it would make sense to me that these are
probably sitting in a warehouse somewhere. But he tried to convince
me that they were all individually developed. Anyway I said that I
would pay top dollar for these items and he said that he would call
me back some time later in the week. No Call. How is a "little guy"
supposed to sell when he doesn't have the proper tools to succeed?

So, don't sell Micros~1 products. That'll teach 'em!

 

[Baloo]

jho wrote:

Unfortunately you need these displays to gain
the necessary credibility to sell these products.

Not really, no. The computer stores I visit do bang-up business using your
average Metro baker's racks for shelving. If your business model depends
on fancy, high end displays, perhaps you're selling the wrong products.
Good products backed up with decent service sells itself, shelving be
damned.