Re: [Utah-astronomy] Retail Astronomy in Utah
On 7/8/2013 5:27 PM, Larry Holmes wrote:
On 7/8/2013 12:46 PM, jcarman6@q.com wrote:
I always had a bad attitude about Scoop City. (Old SLAS joke, but based on real event). For a number a years a group of SLAS members attended the Riverside Telescope Makers Convention in Big Bear, California in mass. Back then (80s) all the dealers would set up booths and you could get all kinds of accessories or scopes at bargain basement prices - not to mention the swap meet (opps I mentioned it). Worth the trip in and of it self. Got my 10X50 binos from Celestron for $30. Well, one year one of the dealers had a hugh selection of eyes pieces for incredible prices, but before anyone could get to the booth, Scope City bought EVERYTHING and turned around and tried to sell it to the attendees at twice the price. The situation spread like wildfire through the attendees and Scoop City ended up taking a lot of accessories back to their stores. I know that was ages ago, but always had a bad feeling about the company ever since. The fact they have failed to send the final scope today just bolsters the history.
Hate to see Meade going in the same direction, but that's what happens when it is just business for profit.
Joan, I agree with most of what you posted, except the last sentence. Pretty hard to operate a not-for-profit business. I just watched a video on a 179 employee family owened (many years) manufacturing company close their doors because the governmental driven cost of operating outgrew their income. I doubt the Meade owners want to see it go down the tubes, either. 73
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I agree with you on profit being a major driver of any business, Larry, but even more so than regulation killing a lot of businesses these days, is the outrageous level that executive compensation has risen to. Some companies now pay their top people a majority of what the company makes, while at the same time driving down the wages of those who actually made the money for them, as well as not reinvesting in infrastructure. When the owners are also the operators, it can become almost sinful. Once they've amassed a sufficiently large personal fortune, they no longer need to keep the business going and close the doors when the cash cow's been beaten to death. I've seen it happen first hand a number of times. Executives used to make 4 or 5 times the salary of the rank-and-file. Totally fair. Today it can be more like 100 times the average salary, or even higher. It's a cash grab by those who can, at the expense of the working man and woman. History has a nasty habit of repeating itself if lessons of unbridled greed aren't learned. Torches and pitchforks still work well on the monster in the castle. On Wed, Jul 17, 2013 at 2:31 PM, Larry Holmes <larry@kijoda.com> wrote:
On 7/8/2013 5:27 PM, Larry Holmes wrote:
Joan, I agree with most of what you posted, except the last sentence.
Pretty hard to operate a not-for-profit business. I just watched a video on a 179 employee family owened (many years) manufacturing company close their doors because the governmental driven cost of operating outgrew their income. I doubt the Meade owners want to see it go down the tubes, either. 73
participants (2)
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Chuck Hards -
Larry Holmes