Business, Economics, and Taxes: Capitalism. Yay? >=(

[Slap Shot]

Perhaps this has already been discussed, but when my company sends any communication to more than a dozen emails (I don't know actual cut-off count) you can't even do a "reply-all".

 

[St. Clown]

Perhaps this has already been discussed, but when my company sends any communication to more than a dozen emails (I don't know actual cut-off count) you can't even do a "reply-all".

I know people in my office would just copy and paste the district group into the new reply. A few of them are just barely cleverer than a snail.

My favorite emails are when the customer-facing employees forward the back office employees’ emails to the customers. Because internal logistics and DB structures should always be shared with clients. *roll eyes here*

 

[Kepler]

because, you know, the attrition rate among new employees was a few basis points above be the optimal value for shareholders

My god if this isn't the perfect summary of our industry.

Whenever we get a "guidance" email, or worse a "personal thoughts" email, from Mahogany Row, it's entertaining to reconstruct the cynical causal chain. My favorite example was the year we had PD goals and constant retraining on ethics after our CEO was exposed for plagiarizing his best seller management book.

 

[geezer]

Is there any organized effort to list advertisers on Fox News? I'm already boycotting Fox, but I'd like to go next level. I can't find a reference.

 

[Kepler]

Is there any organized effort to list advertisers on Fox News? I'm already boycotting Fox, but I'd like to go next level. I can't find a reference.

There are verified boycott lists which you can subscribe to and apps which then trigger a warning on their products at point of sale. This is essential if you are boycotting somebody like Proctor & Gamble where you'd never know whether a product is theirs. It's also helpful identifying slave labor products beyond Nike.

The free market. Use it to kill Nazis.

 

[Kepler]

Here were Fox News major sponsors in 2019:

Leading advertisers as of July 26, 2019:

Allstate

GM

Procter & Gamble

Bayer

Trivago.com (Expedia)

Progressive

Ancestry.com

Roman Pharmacy

IHOP

Bowflex

Proactiv

Subaru

Sheex

Sandals Hotel/Resort

Safelite Auto Glass Co

Nutrisystem

USAA

MyPillowUSA

LifeLock

StarKist

Booking.com

WeatherTech

Fiat Chrysler

HomeToGo

ClearChoice Dental

WellsFargo

JennyCraig

Tecovas

AstraZeneca

Prevagen

CarFax

Elite Singles Dating Service

GlaxoSmithKline

SoClean

Mint Mobile

Eli Lilly

Norwegian Cruise Line

Novo Nordisk

Voya

ADT

Nestle

Liberty Mutual

Angie's List

Home Advisor

Our Time Dating

Match.com

TripAdvisor

Ford

PODS

Hulu

Esurance

Indeed

AC Hotels by Marriott

Carvana

Geico

Toyota

Sleep Number

Acura

Volvo

 

[geezer]

****. Start small, I guess? Write letters?

 

[mookie1995]

If one has nothing better to do on a Saturday, go to a Subaru and spend an hour + buying a car..... then just before the final signature do the “oh wait, you support Fox News. Think I’ll go buy a car from another manufacturer “ and get up and leave

 

[Kepler]

****. Start small, I guess? Write letters?

In order of effectiveness:

1. Never, ever, ever vote R again, no matter what, no matter which office.

2. Convince every person you can of the same.

3. Raise your kids to do the same.

4. To the extent you can, boycott any company that enables / does business with R.


We're a free country so we are free to deprive the Nazis of oxygen. But here's the thing: I work for a company that funds Nazis, is highly instrumental in Nazi policies, and employs, by a large majority, Nazis. I haven't quit my job. So I think what I'm asking people is: be better than I am. I'm choosing my self over the good of others, including my loves ones, because if I had the courage of my conviction I'd quit today, join a non-profit, and use all my energy from now on to ensure that no Republican every gets near political office ever again.

I suck.

Don't suck.

 

[Kepler]

If one has nothing better to do on a Saturday, go to a Subaru and spend an hour + buying a car..... then just before the final signature do the “oh wait, you support Fox News. Think I’ll go buy a car from another manufacturer “ and get up and leave

On the one hand that mostly jams the poor dope salesman who lives on commissions.

On the other hand, demographically, ...

 

[aparch]

If one has nothing better to do on a Saturday, go to a Subaru and spend an hour + buying a car..... then just before the final signature do the “oh wait, you support Fox News. Think I’ll go buy a car from another manufacturer “ and get up and leave

Unless that specific dealership is a direct sponsor of Fox/FoxNews, that doesn't hurt Subaru Inc. one bit. That just hurts the dealership itself.

 

[rufus]

Screw Subaru. Buy a Mazda instead. More fun to drive, and their head gasket won't explode on you like a Subie.

And they're making a lot of all wheel drive models now, so there goes your only reason for wanting a Subie in the first place.

 

[Kepler]

Unless that specific dealership is a direct sponsor of Fox/FoxNews, that doesn't hurt Subaru Inc. one bit. That just hurts the dealership itself.

Is that true? If the dealership can't move the unit it's all their loss? Like, they buy their inventory from the auto manufacturer and then the latter is out of the picture?

Huh. I never realized that. No wonder dealers are such sleazeballs -- that's terrifying for them.

 

[aparch]

Is that true? If the dealership can't move the unit it's all their loss? Like, they buy their inventory from the auto manufacturer and then the latter is out of the picture?

Huh. I never realized that. No wonder dealers are such sleazeballs -- that's terrifying for them.

Yep. Dealers actually buy their inventory straight from the manufacturer and then turn around and sell them to us. Some vehicles they know they can make a profit on (ie: high volume cars, limited edition vehicles) and others they'll sell at a loss to get a sale.

Kinda like how gas stations make their profit on convenience store sales, dealerships make their profit on accessories and maintenance.

Some dealers will mark down their vehicles at the end of the quarter just to make a sale and clear their books so they can purchase new inventory. One dealership near me says if they don't sell a vehicle in 90 days, they send it to an auto auction.

Small town dealerships will sometimes purchase inventory from these auto auctions because they can get "new" vehicles on their lot cheaper than buying through the manufacturer.

 

[Kepler]

Small town dealerships will sometimes purchase inventory from these auto auctions because they can get "new" vehicles on their lot cheaper than buying through the manufacturer.

Where do they offload their unsold inventory?

 

[rufus]

Is that true? If the dealership can't move the unit it's all their loss? Like, they buy their inventory from the auto manufacturer and then the latter is out of the picture?

Huh. I never realized that. No wonder dealers are such sleazeballs -- that's terrifying for them.

No, dealerships don't 'buy' their product from the manufacturer. It's sorta like a lease. They get the cars, they pay the manufacturer a fee each month the vehicle remains on their lot, once they sell it, they pay the cost of the vehicle to the manufacturer, and pocket the profit. That's why they don't like holding on to inventory for a long time. The longer it stays, the lower their profit margin, which is why they mark down cars that have been there for a while, just so they can maybe break even on it.

 

[rufus]

Where do they offload their unsold inventory?

Auction houses. Or the dealer offers them more money upfront so they can afford to sell them for less.

Not sure if it still works this way, but used to be, the manufacturers had a thing called "dealer holdback" which was like 2-3% of the car's wholesale cost. Dealer sells the car, pays off the manufacturer, but gets that 2-3% back for every vehicle they sell. Usually was only for American manufacturers, like Ford and Chevy, don't think the foreign guys did that. Or at least not as much.

That, and other incentives like I mentioned above, are how dealers can sell "under invoice" and still make a profit on each car. Also helps you when buying. If you know the car's wholesale cost(places like Edmunds or Consumer Reports can give you that info) and know that the dealer already has a profit of 3% coming, even if he sells the car to you at cost, you can bargain harder for the best price.

 

[aparch]

Auction houses. Or the dealer offers them more money upfront so they can afford to sell them for less.

Not sure if it still works this way, but used to be, the manufacturers had a thing called "dealer holdback" which was like 2-3% of the car's wholesale cost. Dealer sells the car, pays off the manufacturer, but gets that 2-3% back for every vehicle they sell. Usually was only for American manufacturers, like Ford and Chevy, don't think the foreign guys did that. Or at least not as much.

That, and other incentives like I mentioned above, are how dealers can sell "under invoice" and still make a profit on each car. Also helps you when buying. If you know the car's wholesale cost(places like Edmunds or Consumer Reports can give you that info) and know that the dealer already has a profit of 3% coming, even if he sells the car to you at cost, you can bargain harder for the best price.

I'm sure it was 3000% theatrics, but the sales guy at the dealership my wife and I bought our last three vehicles from showed us the cost the vehicle was to them and explained a little about the profit margin. They had the lowest price on the vehicles we bought with the option package we wanted.


Where they tried to get us everytime was on the "additional" items to be tacked on before the final price (like 'da tru-cooaaat' from Fargo). And they d*cked around with the financing, but we made it work. (Funny the things they'll do to cut the price an hour and a half *after* closing at the end of the quarter when they need to make one more sale...)

 

[rufus]

Absolutely theatrics.

The last new car I bought, while I was at the desk negotiating, they had the car driven up and parked right outside the showroom windows where I couldn't help but see it. Then, the salesman got a phone call, "Yep, we have one, but I have a guy right here looking to buy it right now", which was either his manager or no one on the other end.

At first, I was like, oh crap, someone else wants to buy it, I have to hurry and get it, but a second later, I thought, no, this is the game they play to make me think if I don't do everything I can to buy this, pay whatever I have to, I'll lose it.

Crooks, every one of them.

 

[aparch]

Absolutely theatrics.

The last new car I bought, while I was at the desk negotiating, they had the car driven up and parked right outside the showroom windows where I couldn't help but see it. Then, the salesman got a phone call, "Yep, we have one, but I have a guy right here looking to buy it right now", which was either his manager or no one on the other end.

At first, I was like, oh crap, someone else wants to buy it, I have to hurry and get it, but a second later, I thought, no, this is the game they play to make me think if I don't do everything I can to buy this, pay whatever I have to, I'll lose it.

Crooks, every one of them.

You're not wrong.

The newest car, the one that was done an hour and a half after close, my wife and I both, repeatedly, offered to come back the next day to finish the financing (the payoff of her old car was in question and the bank (that this dealership financed her through) only discussed payoff over the phone during business hours).

The finance guy, exasperated, finally went "do you remember how much is left? Even if you say there's less, I'll eat up to $1500 over what you say is left just to get this done."

I looked at my wife and told her to get that in writing; but they were good for their word, and did wind up eating almost a grand.


Every time we've bought a car through them, they're always 2-3k lower than other dealers when we compare. But they also do *way* more volume than the other dealers so they can cut their profits a little thinner every so often.