It’s been brought to my attention that a certain distributor is featuring a 15” Cimex by itself for $450 under the suggested list price. I also recently heard about another distributor who actually resorted to placing a brand new Cimex on an E-Bay Auction (unbelievable).

All of the Cimex distributors are directed to maintain their prices within a percentage of the manufacturers suggested list price. And these distributor’s pricing ploys are out of line with Cimex pricing and the sales terms for the US market.

The importer (Cimex USA) is interested in seeing that all the dealers maintain fair pricing policies and that they're not engaged in price warring. I've been told that Cimex will not support distributors who engage in these unauthorized sales tactics.

So a word of caution... before you get excited about a deal that sounds to good to be true, consider this... perhaps it is too good to be true.

Here's an example of a deal that is not a deal at all. In the case of the 15” machine that I mentioned above – the importer won’t supply a machine for that price. Todd Jordan of Cimex USA told me earlier today that he will no longer honor any pricing that is outside of the stated price structure. So if a person ordered one of those units - they would not likely receive a machine (that stinks).

Cimex is a quality brand. And frankly, Cimex doesn't see the need to retain dealers whose sales are so sluggish that they try to jump-start their sales with unsubstantiated discounts. According to Todd Jordan, this is not what Cimex and its parent company Truvox have in mind for the Cimex line.

Realistically, the Cimex is worth more than the current prices - not less. Anyone who owns one can attest to that.

Personally speaking Excellent Supply will continue to offer the deepest discounts that Cimex USA will permit us to offer. In doing so we will uphold the brand and honor our agreement to sell according to the standards set forth by Truvox and Cimex USA.

As the United States Master Cimex Distributor, I'm certainly not pleased to see distributors blowing prices around that aren't even real. I’ve personally worked hard to make the industry aware of this fine piece of equipment. And I’ve demonstrated (even to the skeptics) that the Cimex is an awesome machine for commercial carpet care – especially for encapsulation cleaning. I have brought this machine to the light of the industry. And I continue to do as much as I can to assist the cleaners who are using these machines to become proficient and make good money in the commercial carpet cleaning market.

The bottom line is this: I’m not going to sit back and allow a goof ball distributor to run amuck with the Cimex line. So if it comes down to an issue of pricing here’s what I will personally do. I will eat the difference between the real price and the “discounted” price, in order to make the deal work for the customer. I have already trimmed our prices as low as we’re permitted to go. However if a distributor is stating “too good to be true” discounted pricing – just let me know and I will see to it that the price will be honored for you. After you have received the machine at the advertised unauthorized price, Cimex will follow up and decide whether or not to pull the line from that distributor.

It’s unfortunate that some dealers don’t have enough sense to adhere to the guidelines that the manufacturer has established. Cimex USA is working to rectify the situation and take care of the public. And I will assist you guys any way that I can too.





Rick Gelinas

i have had the misfortune to buy a Cimex from a "distributor" with very poor business ethics. i wont name the business since i havent received it yet and dont want to jeapordize that. here is what happened to me....

i called a place recommended to me by a fellow CC'er. he recommended it to me cause i was asking around for used Cimex's. they didnt have any, so i asked how much for a 19" new one. the father / owner of the company said "$1500". i almost fell over. i didnt have the arrangements at that point to make the transaction, so i called back the next day. this time i got ahold of the son. he gives me a price including shipping, of "$1645". i was a little irked by the price increase obviously, but i figure heck that is alot cheaper than i had seen elsewhere, so i give him my card # and all is well.

several days later, i call to ask for a tracking # and get the son on the line. he tells me, "i was just gonna call you. i dunno if you are still interested or not, but i just got off the phone from Cimex and they looked thru my computer and see that i was charging $1600 and set me straight. this was the price i charged the last time i sold a Cimex back in November 2002. since then Cimex has been bought out and prices have gone up. we buy them for $1700 so the because i quoted you a price so low, the bare minimum we can sell it to you now for is $1900." i said forget it and hung up.

he calls me back a few minutes later and said, "i just got off the phone from Cimex and when i told them to cancel your order, they asked why and i told them the story. they said that Cimex's should be sold for $2495. i told them i had given you a price of $1600 and your budget didnt allow for that much. so they told me to sell it for $1850." i agreed but was still rankled.

after all is said and done (i gotta buy all the extras i think), i wont have saved much $$$ from going with Rick's deal. and with Rick, at least i woulda known who i was dealing with and coulda had great customer service.

the biggest irritant is that this schmuck tells me that he is buying it for $1700 and would sell it to me for $1900. this moron, if he was a GOOD businessman, woulda at the LEAST, sold it to me for his price of $1700 and ate the profit. what a noob.

so bottom line, in hindsight, i would recommend dealing with Rick or any reputable dealer. if it sounds to good to be true, IT IS.

learning lessons the hard way --- Derek.

Rick.
thanks for the great service and product line. you are to be commended.
They could offer free products and i would still be glad to pay you more than you already charge.
Maybe Sutley and Ladwig will get off your a$$ and on the Cimex kick too. But probably not. lol
good luck and thanks again.
I personally look forward to meeting you and doing business with you for many years to come. Thanks for helping my biz grow and for just another awesome tool in my arsenal.
I hope someday i can repay you for how how you have helped me.

Steve

Steve Dobson
ProFloor
Custom Cleaning Solutions

Steve,
You wrote "I hope someday i can repay you for how how you have helped me."

I can't begin to tell you how much satisfaction I get out of working with cleaners - introducing them to this system of cleaning. Turning the fellows on to something that's going to WORK and make them money is really a reward all to itself. And hearing that you appreciated that effort is really cool. A lot of the guys have been FUN to work with - you Steve are certainly one of them. So I guess I'm the one who should be thanking YOU (thanks to all of you).




Rick Gelinas

I believe it is Illegal to do Price Fixing.

Might want to tell Cimex to check in to that.

While fixing a price may or may not be legal, allowing a distibutor to ADVERTISE a price less then retail is something that they can insist upon --to my knowledge.


Tony

The importer is NOT attempting to set up "price fixing". Cimex distributors have freedom to discount within a percentage of the list price, and we do this. However Cimex USA is not obliged to continue to provide the product line to dealers who are not keeping their pricing within the stated price range. Understandably, they don't want to see the value of their product line go down the toilet. It is their prerogative to remove any dealer that they want to. And it's my understanding from conversations that I've had this week with Cimex USA - that the price warring of a couple of indiscriminate distributors has reached its end.





Rick Gelinas

my post wasnt meant to slam Cimex USA. i was just relaying my experience of trying to save a few bucks and how it didnt really save me anything in the end other than irritation for feeling like i got took by a so called "distributer", not the importers fault.

my fault and i admit it. only way i ever learn things----the hard way

respectfully --- Derek.

Derek I didn't think your post was a slam to anyone, aside from the distributor who was giving you a song and dance.Thanks for sharing your experience.


Wanna hear something crazy?

I received the following e-mail from another cleaner who was also given bogus pricing.

"Rick:
I just read your post, "Off the Wall". Is this the same distributor I dealt with?"

It turns out that this customer was having price games played with him by yet a totally different dealer. Yikes!





Rick Gelinas

I guess I was soooo lucky that I found Rick right up front to deal with. I have learned from similar experiences that you will be happier in the end to forget about lowest price and go with someone like Rick whose voice drips with competence, expecially with CC distributers and doubly when shipping is involved. Since I bought my Cimex and chemical package from Rick I have yet to see a much better deal and I would never buy from someone else to save 10% when there is an honest, organized and impeccably reputable dealer you already know. In the end bargain hunting will cost you money and waste time. I hope to have clients that think this way too.

When I bought my first new truck mount, I already knew from past experience managing other companies, it wasn't as important which brand of truck mount you bought as was the mechanic who worked on it. In my area there was two distributors and I had nothing but delays and bad experiences with service from one of them, so I went to the other one and said, "Look, give me a fair deal on these two truck mounts with complete set ups and I won't argue the price, only I want one thing... When something breaks I call you to let you know I am on my way and when I pull up I want your mechanic standing there with the bay door open, ready to work on my truck." My trucks at that time were bringing in $600 per day and a couple day's lost earnings were greater than I could save by bargain hunting. CRS in Portland Oregon honored my deal and I got good service, so I always bought everything I possibly could through them, never went elsewhere, except once when I wanted to try a protectant they would not carry.

In order for you to flourish, your distributer has to flourish and this is the kind of loyalty we must exibit in our partnerships for all to do well.

Good luck, I hope you manage to get your machine or your money back.

great post Jim.

i ordered the Cimex special on monday from Rick. tracking info tells me it will arrive tomorrow

thanx --- Derek.