In my area of Automotive after-market for example, every time an automotive manufacturer reckons he’s designed a car with consumables that are locked into him, the prices for those parts go crazy. In a normal financial situation, this tendency is tempered by the smaller suppliers developing alternatives at much more reasonable prices. This time around, however, the boot is well and truly on the foot of the Multi-Nationals, and from what I’ve seen and heard, they are, to put it extremely mildly, taking full advantage of the situation.

This has largely happened because so much of our manufacturing has moved from relatively local production to China and other parts of the Far East. These long distances to the consumer, mean that any-one wanting to compete against the big companies has to purchase relatively big quantities per order. Additionally, it’s always been the case that orders placed in that part of the world need to be paid for at the time of ordering. In the new difficult economic times, fewer small to medium companies are ready or able to do that. This is critically depressing the competition

A friend of mine has a people carrier made by one of the leading automotive manufacturers. He needed new Wiper Blades, and the Wiper Blades on his car were 2 different lengths.

He went to the main dealer who quoted him an outrageous price for traditional metal-framed Wiper Blades with rubber blades, however the outrageous price was not the end of the abuse. They then informed him that they only sold Wiper Blades in packs of 2 of the same length. He was given the same story at the Big Brand Original Equipment Wiper Blade Manufacturer, and more unexpectedly from one of the UK’s leading Wiper Blade retailers.

So, to get a pair of original Wiper Blades for his vehicle, he would have to buy 2 pairs! That seems bad enough already, but remember, rubber Wiper Blades degrade without even being used. That’s why the manufacturers warn you that you will have to replace them within six to twelve months. So it’s quite probable that the “extra” Wiper Blades would be little better than the first set when they wore out.

I managed to sort out my friend with a pair of Silicone Retrofit Flat Wiper Blades for much less than he would have paid for the dealers old fashioned metal framed rubber bladed Wiper Blades. Typically, Silicone Wiper Blades come with a 12 month warranty and in reality they last three to five times longer than rubber Wiper Blades. Silicone Wiper Blades are the Best Wiper Blades for performance and longlife, but they often cost less than the OEM items. In addition, the supplier was more than prepared to sell 1 wiper blade of each size. In fact that’s the only way he sold them.

So the lesson is: Shop around the Downturn is pushing out smaller competitors and the big brands are already Downturntaking advantage.