Would you buy a Pandora on a monthly pay scheme?

[craigix]

To spin off from the other thread, would you pay, say, a deposit then 12 monthly payments rather than pay all at once?


Could this scheme work?

 

[Ian J]

Would I get the Pandora straight away?


I'm thinking 1ghz model.

 

[TrashyMG]

I kind of do that already, I do pay my credit card monthly.

 

[sepp256]

I think PayPal offers their own credit, so you could even do it through there. (Is OPT currently accepting PayPal or only Google's service?)


For OPT to offer this directly, it seems kind of risky... unless OPT can use another service that handles the credit/payments.

 

[Mr_Loon]

Could this scheme work?

It could do, but it throws up a few questions :


1) What would you do if the customer stopped paying?


2) What total amount would the customer end up paying compared to a normal purchase?


3) How difficult would it be to administer the scheme?


4) Why not just let the customer get a loan from a 3rd party?


My gut feeling is that such a scheme may create more problems than it solves.

 

[dgame]

No.


And if you try this you may have a hard time collecting the payments. h34r:


Unless you used a finance company that would pay you upfront and take care of the collections. h34r:


But not for me. Like TrashyMG I have a credit card for that.

 

[sepp256]

It'd make more sense to have a layaway scheme... sort of how the new orders are currently handled... a new pre-orderer can put down however much now and then pay the balance as soon as his unit is ready. (or once his unit is ready and he has saved enough money to pay.)

 

[renegadechic]

Though I appreciate the idea I think the situation would lead to more problems than solutions. It would be difficult to challenge any abuse of the system i.e. if a customer decided to move or simply cancel payments. They could effectively take the pandora and run. If you could cut off services or remotely lock a phone much like a mobile network it would be understandable and a safe, decent idea but I think the business would just get screwed.


Have you considered selling bulk batches of pandoras to distributors at a smaller profit margin to then have more reliable immediate profit and place some seller risk upon them? I don't know how well that would work but rather than supplying to a demand as it comes in, selling small bulk orders could maybe give you a secondary avenue? I must admit i do not know the pit falls of this arrangement

 

[Grench]

Not to offend anyone, but reality is what it is. Keep in mind that the same people who would be the most interested in this kind of offering are those who have the worst financial control and behavior. They tend not to have $1,000 in liquid net worth - let alone a rainy day fund. Unable to put save or set aside money on their own, they will often finance purchases through 'rent to own' or installment, leasing or pre-paycheck cashing services. Although people who use those types of methods wind up paying much more in the end, they see it as 'cheaper' since they pay in smaller chunks. I have never quite understood the mentality.


Beyond the can of worms noted by others above - it would essentially get you into the business of credit offerings. You would be extending the purchaser several hundred dollars worth of unsecured credit. If you're going to do that, then you need to estimate the default rate and price the interest/premium over standard pricing accordingly. You might quickly find yourself in a paycheck cashing service type world where you have to charge 100%+ interest in order to cover defaults.


Another option would be a layaway installment plan - let them pay monthly until the total is paid and THEN send the Pandora. This is useful for people who are bad about saving/retaining money on their own. Kind of pointless for those who can manage their money. They could do, effectively, the same thing by opening a bank account and putting money in it every month until they have the total and then buy on a debit card from that bank.


Just my humble opinion of course - you run your business as you see fit.

 

[craigix]

Oh I'd certainly look to using an agency to do this, the same types who do mobile phone contacts.


They don't take you on unless you have a good credit history.

 

[renegadechic]

Hmm that might not be so bad then. You would have to limit customer issues on your side before taking a deposit i.e. only charging once the physical pandora is made, so as to avoid any issues with perceived miss selling or lack of delivery but otherwise it could be promising. I think people would perhaps not be dead against the scheme if the ultimate cost was less than they would have paid after a year of interest on a credit card. Also, you might have to allow the facility to settle up early and pay off in a voluntary lump sum.

 

[Pickle]

No


I my opinion this is used as a marketing scheme to make it appear to the buyer that the product is less then what it would cost overall. $200 down with 12 payments of $40 looks better than $700. it also a risk from the OP side if payments are missed.


Whos gonna be the pandora repo man?

 

[Prometheus]

Whos gonna be the pandora repo man?

milkshake.

 

[Pickle]

Whos gonna be the pandora repo man?

milkshake.

lol, took me a couple seconds to get that one ;-)

 

[Askarus]

To spin off from the other thread, would you pay, say, a deposit then 12 monthly payments rather than pay all at once?


Could this scheme work?

NO NO NO NO NO


Verry bad isea.


This will make the Pandora to one of those "don't have money but buy it" products.


It will destroy the good image of the company, the product and everything related to OpenPandora.


I want a product that's sold for a fair price, not sold to someone who actually can't buy it but thinks he can.


This is not why I invested. I don't like that way of thinking.

 

[milkshake]

I could kick peoples doors down if they miss payments for sure !

 

[quartercast]

Kick in the door wavin' the .44?

 

[sepp256]

To spin off from the other thread, would you pay, say, a deposit then 12 monthly payments rather than pay all at once?


Could this scheme work?

NO NO NO NO NO


Verry bad isea.


This will make the Pandora to one of those "don't have money but buy it" products.


It will destroy the good image of the company, the product and everything related to OpenPandora.


I want a product that's sold for a fair price, not sold to someone who actually can't buy it but thinks he can.


This is not why I invested. I don't like that way of thinking.

I agree that there is an ethical/moral problem with offering easy credit for a Pandora. Layaway at least makes people save up the whole sum before buying the product. (Of course, they can use a credit card, but then the moral problem is caused by the bank, not by OPT.)

 

[Link]

I see this as more of a problem creator than solver. I think once we have 250 Pandora a week being produced by Global Components at a $600 price tag with remaining OMAP 3530s at $400 with Refurbed 3530s @ $300, we will create a market within ourselves. Combine that with upgrades, refurbishing, and case swaps and I think we'll be plenty busy. Or so I hope.

 

[sebt3]

I could kick peoples doors down if they miss payments for sure !

worldwide ?