I see there is a list of sponsoring vendors...
But do not see what the benefit is to us for each vendor?
Is there a percentage off something?
Or is it just the satisfaction of knowing we ordered from someone that is supporting this forum?

 

Both... kind of.

It is nice to know that were supporting the forum sponsors who pay for us to use this thing for free. That way youre not paying a yearly or monthly fee like other forums.

Most sponsors will give you some sort of break on the price and it can pay off. But you'll have to talk to them to get the deal.

 

Is there a connection to the mention of Northridge at the bottom of many signatures?

 

Totally?!?
I've noticed the pattern and thought that was odd as well.

 

It was with a contest they ran a long time ago for some give aways and a lot of people kept it in the signature because Northridge is an awesome company to purchase from.

 

Northridge 4x4 has done a handful of giveaways on the forum and to enter them putting them in your signature was a condition of the giveaway. I'll just assume most people were too lazy to take it off or they really really like Northridge 4x4.

 

There is absolutely a connection to the "Northridge" link in many of the forum user signatures. many of us are loyal to the vendors for all kinds of reasons. Northridge is one of the best examples of not only great prices, but probably the example of what customer service is about. My signature has links directly to Off Road Evolution. 1- because Mel Wade, the owner is a friend. 2- They are a great shop with cutting edge stuff and stand behind their fabrication and products and do more for our community than most manufacturers.

You may not think there is a direct correlation to the Forum vendors, links in signatures, etc., but if you spend money on your rig why would you not want a more personalized buying experience??

 

I just had a great experience with discount tire...they delivered and installed goods on time and for the price agreed upon...
They fulfilled our purchase agreement with a smile and some good customer service...
But it's still just a contract.

You'd have to do more than complete a sale for me to support your business and offer advertising for free.
I will recommend discount tire and explain my positive experience if I hear of friends looking to purchase tires but not beyond that.

As you said...you have a friend who owns a related business...absolutely a great reason to help promote his business.

And great guerrilla marketing on Northridge's part! Way to go!

Also...I'm looking to order a few parts (that's why I started this thread)...I checked both quadratec and northridge...quadratec did have a better price...
Maybe northridge can offer a better price through forum deals...but I'm only gonna put in so much effort (cuz maybe another sponsored vendor can beat THAT deal).

Either way...I'm certainly not going to put Quadratec on my Jeep cuz they offered me a good price and shipped it to me within the allotted time period.
Is good customer service REALLY that unique?
:-/

Edit - I should add...I don't mean to start a fight...people can put anything they like in their signature. I usually access this site on my phone and have signatures turned off...haha.

And finally...
I appreciate this got moved...I wasn't sure if I should post it in the sponsor section cuz it wasn't really 'business'...
But shouldn't this be addressed on the initial sponsorship thread ("please contact individual vendors for special pricing")?

 

I tried dealing w/a local sponsor and he was full bop retail and wouldnt compete, plus had to charge sales tax.

Some vendors just don't realize you only get one chance to gain a customer and screw someone over 1X and he'll never be back for seconds.

Oh well!!

I'd prefer to pay a subscription and know I'd get 25% off anything from all sponsored vendors - sams club or costco internet style.

Plus it would keep the riff-raff from posting because they aren't old enough to have a credit card and would help keep them in school where they belong.

$100/year sounds pretty good, perhaps the site could pay vendors even, rather than the other way around!!

Who knows, it's bound to happen, nobody is making any money on the net with a couple exceptions, some groups are gonna figure it out eventually.

 

I placed a couple of orders today...
One at Vector Off Road, and one at Quadratec...

From the advice that I have received on this thread...I called both retailers directly...
Travis at Vector said he didn't need to discount the products I was ordering as they were their best sellers...fair enough...when I told him I was ordering from Canada he told me I couldn't order online anyways and would send me a PayPal PO tomorrow...and he said he will includes $10 off.

The Quadratec rep told me that he was unaware of discounts through forums and all of that would have to be handled through the forum rep...I would have to place my order through him...
For a $37.99 part I was charged $20 shipping and received no discount.

Both orders were placed anyways as its not really worth my time to try and save a few bucks hunting down the right people...

After asking the question and then following up with orders I still do not believe there is much point in purchasing products from sponsored vendors.

I did make sure to click through this site's link to the vendors so Wayoflife gets the click credit. Doing my part in supporting this site, I guess.

I hope HE spends HIS sponsorship money wisely...I still had to pay full retail.

:-/

RJ