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Old 10-25-2015, 07:59 PM   #1
Steve S
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Wind power

I'm talking to a Wind power company about becoming a distributor for them and here's how it goes.
It's about 45 grand to buy the products needed to set up and there's no territory rights in B.C which really scares me off
I'm looking at the profit margins and I would have to sell a hell of alot of products to make a living.
The other thing is that they never answer emails till like 8pm and they'll only return my calls in the evening.
So the question is would you'd ever consider wind power over solar panels?
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Old 10-25-2015, 08:09 PM   #2
bsmith0404
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My experience with wind power is that it is unreliable. We had some wind power generators at a base I was stationed at, they were broke more often that they operated and required way too much maintenance. Solar is more reliable, less maintenance, and needs less space..my opinion.
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Old 10-25-2015, 08:12 PM   #3
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I don't know about B.C. but here in the states many municipalities still have ordinances banning wind turbines and towers.Most of them cite noise and appearance for the reason. I think this will change some day but you may starve to death till then. Just something to check into before taking the leap, Hank
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Old 10-25-2015, 08:31 PM   #4
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Can't say a thing about wind power over solar, but the way you describe the company, it sounds down right scary. I'd sure not sign on the dotted line without knowing a lot more about them.
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Old 10-26-2015, 02:43 AM   #5
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Sounds to me like somebody (THEM) has a day job! That alone would scare me off. That's an awful lot of money.
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Old 10-26-2015, 06:04 AM   #6
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The "alternative energy" industry is in its "infancy". There is a tremendous opportunity to "get in on the ground floor" and establish yourself as a "first in the area leader" or, on the other side, to spend $45K and wonder "what did I do wrong??"

There are growing pains, local ordinances/laws, company failures, technology changes, equipment upgrades and a host of other "reasons" why current technology won't be around "tomorrow"...

As volatile as "wind power" is today, I'd be very cautious with any investment. (think Solyndra and others)

That said, with the "right circumstances" this could be a "ticket to financial independence" or it could be "a donation to someone else's independence."

This is one "investment" that would require a a lot more "parent company support" than most. I don't think most buyers would accept your answer of "I can't call the company until later tonight" when their system that you're selling/installing/repairing goes down.
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Old 10-26-2015, 08:29 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
The "alternative energy" industry is in its "infancy". There is a tremendous opportunity to "get in on the ground floor" and establish yourself as a "first in the area leader" or, on the other side, to spend $45K and wonder "what did I do wrong??"

There are growing pains, local ordinances/laws, company failures, technology changes, equipment upgrades and a host of other "reasons" why current technology won't be around "tomorrow"...

As volatile as "wind power" is today, I'd be very cautious with any investment. (think Solyndra and others)

That said, with the "right circumstances" this could be a "ticket to financial independence" or it could be "a donation to someone else's independence."

This is one "investment" that would require a a lot more "parent company support" than most. I don't think most buyers would accept your answer of "I can't call the company until later tonight" when their system that you're selling/installing/repairing goes down.
John when I talked to them he really was reading from a script as everything was pre-rehearsed. I would stop him and throw in questions that he was making up the answers to. Like asking about the territory rights he said that it's not set up yet but yet there's a big market in Canada. So I asked him to send me all the stats and facts of who inquires and who actually buys.
He really pushed for me to buy a shipping container of the products as that way I would have alot of stock.
After doing all the math this morning it looks more like 60 k.
If a company was so sure of their product then shouldn't they set me up with their product with just a small deposit?
The other thing is the wind.....it's not always windy when camping but usually the sun is out.
I really wanted to get in to this as a side business but there's nothing that he said that rang a bell in my head saying that I could actually make a profit.
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Old 10-26-2015, 08:36 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by Pull Toy View Post
Sounds to me like somebody (THEM) has a day job! That alone would scare me off. That's an awful lot of money.
Yeah the day job thing is what I always thought.
They would take about a week to answer emails and phone calls were sporadic.
I'm not going to invest in this as I see myself being in a situation where they control everything and me just making money for them.
From owning 3 businesses all at once for 25 yrs the one thing that I learned was it took 3 yrs too actually see a paycheck as everything for that first 3 yrs goes straight back into the companies.
Also the other thing is if you're not having fun doing what you're doing then you'll be broke and in debt within 2 yrs
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Old 10-26-2015, 01:55 PM   #9
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Steve,

Seems like you've already answered your dilemma....
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Old 10-26-2015, 06:19 PM   #10
Steve S
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Steve,

Seems like you've already answered your dilemma....
You're very right John, I guess I was venting a little as I thought this would be a great product (which it is) for dry camping.
If I owned a product that would sell itself I would set the distributor up with a small deposit.
Back when Lada Canada brought in the Russian cars I had 20 of them on my lot for 5 grand but that's a different story
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Old 10-26-2015, 07:10 PM   #11
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California has had wind power for years. I remember the first 3 blade in the Altamont pass back in the 70's.

Massive wind farm there now, and down south of the Tehachapi pass is another huge farm. Would I be a "dealer"? Probably not, as has been stated. Ordinances limiting height, and noise. And current argument is number of bird deaths.

If your interested, here's a link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altamont_Pass_Wind_Farm
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