Idea for ABU's stocking situation

PaddedBrony said:
Another thing to consider, which was brought up in that reddit thread, is there are people who buy very large amounts at a given time, several cases, usually. Now, I get money’s money no matter who it’s coming from, but when you’re buying several cases or several dozen packs all at one, that’s a decent percentage of inventory all going to one place. Maybe for some of the items that’s harder to keep in stock, try and institute a cap as to how much of something you can buy in a given order.
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I think that would Alienate a lot of people that can even afford to buy that kind of quantity at one time, and of course them being that popular in the 1st place is why some order that kind of Quantity; because they know it can be several months between 1 restock and another of the size and model of Diaper they want.

If they had enough space to order 2 or 3 times what they already do, they would be in stock a little longer, and people probably wouldn't feel they need to order 5 cases at a time so they dont run out of their Favorite Diaper in their size anymore.

I have been ordering from ABU almost exclusively for the last 2 or 3 years and the only time I have had problems being unable to order what I wanted due to lack of stock was with Size Large PeekABU (I could have ordered X-Large but after trying a sample wanted Large) and that is probably their most popular Diaper as it's the one I have heard people order 5 cases of at a time (and that's nearly $1000 on Diapers)
 
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BabyTyrant said:
I think that would Alienate a lot of people that can even afford to buy that kind of quantity at one time, and of course them being that popular in the 1st place is why some order that kind of Quantity; because they know it can be several months between 1 restock and another of the size and model of Diaper they want.

If they had enough space to order 2 or 3 times what they already do, they would be in stock a little longer, and people probably wouldn't feel they need to order 5 cases at a time so they dont run out of their Favorite Diaper in their size anymore.

I have been ordering from ABU almost exclusively for the last 2 or 3 years and the only time I have had problems being unable to order what I wanted due to lack of stock was with Size Large PeekABU (I could have ordered X-Large but after trying a sample wanted Large) and that is probably their most popular Diaper as it's the one I have heard people order 5 cases of at a time (and that's nearly $1000 on Diapers)
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Here’s a thought: what if ABU offered a subscription service to eliminate the need to buy so much at once? Think about it, getting a monthly diaper delivery would help normalize stock levels and reduce the need to buy so many in one sitting. It may be a bit more costly at the beginning, but it would be very beneficial for both sides.
 
Without scaling up warehousing and fronting a whole diaper pile of money to stock it full with diapers, there’s really no simple way to alleviate the stock issues

Yes it sucks, but deal with it. The only way it’s going to get better would be to pass on the expense of larger warehousing, more staff, more overhead,etc. Then everyone would complain about the price increase 🙄
 
PaddedBrony said:
Here’s a thought: what if ABU offered a subscription service to eliminate the need to buy so much at once? Think about it, getting a monthly diaper delivery would help normalize stock levels and reduce the need to buy so many in one sitting. It may be a bit more costly at the beginning, but it would be very beneficial for both sides.
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That could only work if they could keep stock of what people want at all times (both the size they need and their preferred diaper; I bet some probably stick to only a few different Diapers) and if those people that usually buy huge amounts always have money to spend.

I know at some places work picks up in certain seasons (more hours worked = more money), and when someone is an Artist (such as the ones I always see on Twitter offering to do Commissions in exchange for money) they probably get a lot of business based around the times that the Conventions go on (whether it is a Furry convention, ABDL Convention, etc) so they probably have lots of extra money around those times and other times not so much

So I know in cases such as that a subscription service might not work; but it could be something for people that have a consistent work/pay schedule.
 
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Casey, a lot of us understand that manufacturing, shipment, customs, intake, and then sending out orders isn't something that gets done quickly. We know that most of these products are manufactured in China, and getting product designed, prototypes checked, and then having a manufacturer able to do runs of product where lines aren't going 24/7 either costs more to get priority or takes time for them to get machines tweaked for your product. You've taken ABU and turned it around MASSIVELY from where it used to be. You've got some great products (obvious from how quickly they sell out), and people are happy with your service overall. Take your time to grow the business properly, please. I'd hate to see things go wild and then crash for some ridiculous reason. You've shown you're smart enough so far, I'll trust you to go forward the right way from here.
 
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Slomo said:
I also read a chunk of those comments. The vast majority are pointing out the always out of stock issue. That isn't entitlement on the customer, it's the failing of ABU. Casey points out they get several (meaning 3) containers per week, but they just sell out that fast. Well.... if 3 always sells out, then why aren't they ordering 4 or 5 containers per week??? It's simple supply and demand, and they aren't meeting the supply per the demand. And this has been going on for years, seemingly without getting much better for the end customer.

Like I pointed out before, Casey/ABU just needs to be ordering more diapers further in advance. Yeah this creats more overhead, but it also creats more sales and happier/loyal customers. Northshore had this figured out in their first few months, and you know ABU is suffering from their inability to follow suit. Reasoning and excuses aside they need to step up, even IF it is to appease one or two entitled customers.
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You clearly didn't read it, as they state there is no more capacity.

So what's a solution to that? They could offer the factories more money to do their runs instead of the other orders they have, get more warehouses, prices double to support this and everyone's on here moaning.

Maybe he should just buy his own factory? I'm sure he has some spare change to do that lying around (/s)
 
PaddedBrony said:
The number one rule of business: you have to spend money to make money. It sounds to me that what they have is a scaling issue, in that the business and production has not grown with the demand. It’s clear the market and the money is out there, but the business needs to be scaled up more to keep up with it.
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Where are they supposed to magic this extra capacity on the production lines and warehouses from?

Some of you seem to think Casey just sit's there doing nothing all day and isn't aware of these issues. There's more to business than what you learnt at school.
 
blob said:
You clearly didn't read it, as they state there is no more capacity.

So what's a solution to that? They could offer the factories more money to do their runs instead of the other orders they have, get more warehouses, prices double to support this and everyone's on here moaning.

Maybe he should just buy his own factory? I'm sure he has some spare change to do that lying around (/s)
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And you clearly didn't read Casey's responses. Or did you just miss where they are continuing to streamline their processing and are looking into expanding vertical storage. So clearly there is still yet untapped storage and capacity.

And as mentioned so many times now, a larger warehouse or better yet a second distribution facility, would provide ample ability to more than double their capacity.
 
Casey must be absolutely rolling on the floor reading this thread, raving about all the "armchair quarterbacks" we have here in the channel!
 
bambinod said:
Casey must be absolutely rolling on the floor reading this thread, raving about all the "armchair quarterbacks" we have here in the channel!
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Undoubtedly so. "Lucky" me I once partnered up with someone to start up a business. I know first hand the difficulty of keeping items in stock, (and the tax forms, oh gods the tax forms), especially given we started in his garage. I chose to get out when I could, took my share and moved to Florida. He chose to relocate to a bigger warehouse.
 
I'm sure they will expand at just the right rate; moving along too fast will be bad, but so would be not expanding at all.

It's just a matter of waiting and it's not like it is literally impossible to catch what you want in stock

It's just a matter of having the money and checking back often enough.
 
bambinod said:
Casey must be absolutely rolling on the floor reading this thread, raving about all the "armchair quarterbacks" we have here in the channel!
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It's beyond ridiculous.....
 
PaddedBrony said:
Here’s a thought: what if ABU offered a subscription service to eliminate the need to buy so much at once? Think about it, getting a monthly diaper delivery would help normalize stock levels and reduce the need to buy so many in one sitting. It may be a bit more costly at the beginning, but it would be very beneficial for both sides.
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That could work. Not meaning to assume, but it's possible that people get excited, buy several cases of diapers, and end up not using a large percentage of them. I see threads on abdl forums quite regularily saying something like "I have way too many diapers and need to sell some. Pm me for details."

Also I'm pretty sure the owner(s) of Crinklz/Betterdry have their own factory (in Germany, I think?), so I would think it's not *that* far off for ABU to have their own factory. But then again, I'm sure there's a lot more involved than the average person realizes.
 
SorcerorElf said:
That could work. Not meaning to assume, but it's possible that people get excited, buy several cases of diapers, and end up not using a large percentage of them. I see threads on abdl forums quite regularily saying something like "I have way too many diapers and need to sell some. Pm me for details."

Also I'm pretty sure the owner(s) of Crinklz/Betterdry have their own factory (in Germany, I think?), so I would think it's not *that* far off for ABU to have their own factory. But then again, I'm sure there's a lot more involved than the average person realizes.
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I think most people that order multiple cases at a time either like wearing 24/7, like wearing very frequently, or otherwise need Diapers and dont have a choice (but they could still choose to buy Diapers that look cute and feel better about it than just using Medical Style Diapers or Plain White Diapers).

I think where people sell their extras comes into the picture is if they have limited space and/or they are still trying to keep a secret.

I know I try to keep to 3 cases at the most, but at the same time if I have been waiting months for a restock of a certain model of Diaper and I end up with more than can fit in my storage area; then I will offer Diapers for sale as I mostly wear (and therefore use) on the weekend - but if nobody buys I dont mind having too many diapers.

As for getting their own factory, that would cost millions of dollars to start up; whereas the warehouse spaces they already have are a lot less costly.

If they spent Millions to make their own factories; where do you suppose they would recover the cost from? Not to mention higher wages than China
 
Vertical storage?

Like with forklifts and all that? *raises a paw*

I VOLUNTEER TO STACK THE TOWERS.

(I really would if I lived closer to their warehouses!)
 
PaddedBrony said:
Another thing to consider, which was brought up in that reddit thread, is there are people who buy very large amounts at a given time, several cases, usually. Now, I get money’s money no matter who it’s coming from, but when you’re buying several cases or several dozen packs all at one, that’s a decent percentage of inventory all going to one place. Maybe for some of the items that’s harder to keep in stock, try and institute a cap as to how much of something you can buy in a given order.
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I like the idea of a cap on orders. For most medical needs, two cases is more than sufficient for a high-quality product. This is my opinion, and my opinion only. But I do feel that maybe ABUniverse could require a doctor's prescription for their diapers that sell out most frequently. Please don't throw tomatoes at me. I am only voicing an opinion. Yes, the cap on orders would be the best option.
 
Honeywell6180 said:
I like the idea of a cap on orders. For most medical needs, two cases is more than sufficient for a high-quality product. This is my opinion, and my opinion only. But I do feel that maybe ABUniverse could require a doctor's prescription for their diapers that sell out most frequently. Please don't throw tomatoes at me. I am only voicing an opinion. Yes, the cap on orders would be the best option.
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I agree that a cap could make sense, but not for those reasons. Lots of companies that have fast selling products (especially during holiday seasons) tend to institute some kind of limit on the number of a specific item you can buy. Specific to this case, because of the cost I'd be surprised if people could afford ABU diapers if wearing for medical reasons and I feel like the whole doctor's note idea is something that could be easily faked and a terrible hassle when you're looking at people ordering internationally and maybe need incontinence products but don't tell their doctor for various reasons. (I also really don't think you should really speak particularly to other people's medical needs, just sayin' is all.)

I feel like you could simply put a cap on some of these products, however ultimately there are a number of different channels to order ABU products from and if people aren't there to buy soon after they restock that does come down to them. In the end a cap is a good idea imo and could be useful (I'm not sure how it would impact their business model but with how much gets snatched up quickly my guess as a non-econ. person would be that it probably wouldn't) but ultimately I don't think it is really necessary
 
You would be surprised at how many wear these for medical reasons. In fact, Tykables has an auto delivery program because the need is so great, and the medical supply companies are not capable of producing the needed grade of products. I have a doctor's note for mine, so I get to keep more of my benefits.
 
Honeywell6180 said:
I like the idea of a cap on orders. For most medical needs, two cases is more than sufficient for a high-quality product.
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While that would make sense for a purely "luxury" product, it doesn't make sense for one that may be a need. Several IC folks here have discussed placing what almost all of us would consider an extremely large order when there's a sale. When DiaperBuys had that bogo sale on xplus, there were at least two here that placed orders over $2,000. For them, that money's already as good as spent, they're going to go through them, so spending $2,000 now to not have to spend the otherwise unavoidable $4,000 later is a no-brainer. (as long as you have the cash to spare at the moment) That led to followup posts regarding how they had cases delivered on pallets and stacked up like a warehouse in their garage ;)
 
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