Rick Archie's 84' FC35 SB gets parted out

[M Thomas Eastham]

Mike and all,
I appreciate the candor and feedback about my Bird parts prices. I
have Lucas Willemse here from California right now and he is pulling
the retarder and some other parts to take back home for his FC. We
are working together to get him the parts he needs and I think he
will tell you that he is very satisfied with the transaction.

I have owned my FC35 since August but prior to that I have no Bird
experience. So that means that I often have no idea what parts are
worth. This is bad from a seller's prospective. Imagine trying to
negotiate with a buyer when you don't have any pricing data and can't
afford to research(time wise) the value of every piece. I purchased
this Bird as a viable business investment.... I"m not a multi-million
dollar company but just one guy who is trying to make a living at
something I enjoy.

I see the Bird parting process in two stages:
Big ticket items.... the engine, trans, wheels, diff, retarder,
gen, etc. These are the items that I sell to recover my initial
capital investment. Right now I am just starting this stage. Once
I get through this process the pressure from a financial prospective
will be off and I can have more fun with the project.
All the other pieces.... This is where most of you hope to get
that one or two small pieces that you need for your coach. Please
try to remember that when I sell a piece, I have to pay someone to
take the item off or out, package it up, ship it, collect payment,
and handle the accounting. Since I am a small business, most of
these tasks are accomplished by me or a part-time mechanic that helps
me.

Let's say you want to buy a door knob from me... ask me what I
will sell it for and you might be surprised when I say $50. Now
think about how long it takes me to accomplish the tasks associated
with selling you that door knob. I am not a volume operation so I
lack the economies of scale that other door knob suppliers should have.
Another scenario is the one with Lucas. I gave him a killer deal
on the retarder and some other pieces for two reasons. A: They are
parts that are on my big ticket list.... ie, they most be sold to
recover my investment. B: He came over to my shop and pulled the
parts himself with his own tools and handed me payment in person.
Can you see how this scenario allows me to be more accommodating?

I don't plan to leave this forum and I hope you guys will be patient
with me while I learn "Bird Parting 101". If you pass through
Houston or live near here please come by and pull the parts you are
looking for. I am looking to sell all parts at 50% of retail
price. You may have to educate me on what retail price is. Also
keep in mind that I have my own FC Bird so I may decide to keep some
parts that I need for myself (ie, aluminum outside trim). I am an
honest and fair, young (turned 32 today :-) businessman. I will do
everything I can to support this forum, my customers, and my business.

Now that I am through ranting.... WHO WANTS A CAT 3208 250HP TURBO
for $3300? Wheels / Tires for $250 each (tires are ~4 yrs old),
Trans for $3000, Gas Gen for $2000, Fridge for $500 (like new).
Bring cash and your work clothes... these prices include "sweat
equity". I need to sell these parts ASAP so that my wife doesn't
further question my judgement in embarking on this project! :-)

Also, those of you who have emailed about parts: Please be patient
with me while I get the big ticket items sold. I have saved all your
emails (more than 50 of them) and will get back to you eventually.

Sincerely,
Thomas Eastham
Houston, TX
83' FC35 SB
84' FC33 SB (sans retarder, hvac, bumpers)



M Thomas Eastham
http://www.houstonheavy.com
713-851-9693
thomase@...





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Mike Hohnstein]

The engine is priced right, the trans should be $1500, the tires $150 unless
$250 includes wheels, the gen set $1250, reefer depends on year of manufacture.
MH
----- Original Message -----
From: M Thomas Eastham
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 5:49 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Rick Archie's 84' FC35 SB gets parted out


Mike and all,
I appreciate the candor and feedback about my Bird parts prices. I
have Lucas Willemse here from California right now and he is pulling
the retarder and some other parts to take back home for his FC. We
are working together to get him the parts he needs and I think he
will tell you that he is very satisfied with the transaction.

I have owned my FC35 since August but prior to that I have no Bird
experience. So that means that I often have no idea what parts are
worth. This is bad from a seller's prospective. Imagine trying to
negotiate with a buyer when you don't have any pricing data and can't
afford to research(time wise) the value of every piece. I purchased
this Bird as a viable business investment.... I"m not a multi-million
dollar company but just one guy who is trying to make a living at
something I enjoy.

I see the Bird parting process in two stages:
Big ticket items.... the engine, trans, wheels, diff, retarder,
gen, etc. These are the items that I sell to recover my initial
capital investment. Right now I am just starting this stage. Once
I get through this process the pressure from a financial prospective
will be off and I can have more fun with the project.
All the other pieces.... This is where most of you hope to get
that one or two small pieces that you need for your coach. Please
try to remember that when I sell a piece, I have to pay someone to
take the item off or out, package it up, ship it, collect payment,
and handle the accounting. Since I am a small business, most of
these tasks are accomplished by me or a part-time mechanic that helps
me.

Let's say you want to buy a door knob from me... ask me what I
will sell it for and you might be surprised when I say $50. Now
think about how long it takes me to accomplish the tasks associated
with selling you that door knob. I am not a volume operation so I
lack the economies of scale that other door knob suppliers should have.
Another scenario is the one with Lucas. I gave him a killer deal
on the retarder and some other pieces for two reasons. A: They are
parts that are on my big ticket list.... ie, they most be sold to
recover my investment. B: He came over to my shop and pulled the
parts himself with his own tools and handed me payment in person.
Can you see how this scenario allows me to be more accommodating?

I don't plan to leave this forum and I hope you guys will be patient
with me while I learn "Bird Parting 101". If you pass through
Houston or live near here please come by and pull the parts you are
looking for. I am looking to sell all parts at 50% of retail
price. You may have to educate me on what retail price is. Also
keep in mind that I have my own FC Bird so I may decide to keep some
parts that I need for myself (ie, aluminum outside trim). I am an
honest and fair, young (turned 32 today :-) businessman. I will do
everything I can to support this forum, my customers, and my business.

Now that I am through ranting.... WHO WANTS A CAT 3208 250HP TURBO
for $3300? Wheels / Tires for $250 each (tires are ~4 yrs old),
Trans for $3000, Gas Gen for $2000, Fridge for $500 (like new).
Bring cash and your work clothes... these prices include "sweat
equity". I need to sell these parts ASAP so that my wife doesn't
further question my judgement in embarking on this project! :-)

Also, those of you who have emailed about parts: Please be patient
with me while I get the big ticket items sold. I have saved all your
emails (more than 50 of them) and will get back to you eventually.

Sincerely,
Thomas Eastham
Houston, TX
83' FC35 SB
84' FC33 SB (sans retarder, hvac, bumpers)

M Thomas Eastham
http://www.houstonheavy.com
713-851-9693
thomase@...

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]