I managed to snag some a pair of 30s. The server was responsive, and the whole process was trouble-free. I guess I lucked out.

I hope you find the wheels in the near future.

I want to sell my services to them as a consultant.
"Guys we are going to raise prices until we sell stuff at the same rate that we make stuff"

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

I guess you could buy their FLO30 rims and just build up a pair.

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Ian

I got my FLO30 as well. You gotta be quick and efficient going through the buying process (Just like an Ironman on Active!) On their FB page, they said it was their quickest sale to date. They had some wheels for weeks after their December sale.

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Proud Member of Chris McDonald's 2018 Big Sexy Race Team "That which doesn't kill me, will only make me stronger"
Blog-Twitter-Instagram-Race Reports - 2018 Races: IM Florida 70.3, IM Raleigh 70.3, IM 70.3 World Championships - South Africa, IM North Carolina 70.3

 
what is the game? this is the third time i've planned to order their stuff, only to discover they do some kind of instant lottery.

You are right in econs 101 sense.

The thing is.. they would lose the hype that they have now "MUST BUY FAST OR IT SELL OUT"

If they were always available.. but a flo disc was $899 or $999... how many would sell?

The question is not "how many would sell?" (The answer, BTW, is "exactly what the demand is' ). The question is "how much more profit could they generate?"

One could make a case that they would still sell the same amount as they sell now (demand greatly out strips supply)....so for argument's sake, let's go with that assumption (since this is Econ 101, you always make assumptions!!)

For easy, round numbers, let's say they sell 1,000 wheelsets in each sale. Further, let's assume that they make $100 in profit for each wheelset. (totally making that up....have zero idea what their profitability is). So for each sale, they are making $100,000 in profit.

Now, for grins & giggles, let's assume they raise the price to $1500 and demand stays the same, but their sell-through rate slows slightly (sell out in a few days vs. minutes). Their overhead remains largely the same, so their profitability just went up by 50%, or $50,000. No extra work, no additional promotional cost, nothing....just adjusting the pricing to correctly reflect market demand.

The guys at FLO have been pretty open about not taking in outside investments, but also being somewhat cash-strapped. I respect trying to hold to their ideals, but access to cash to invest in their company is sitting right in front of them.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Raising the price might actually increase the hype, since plenty of people

1. don't want to deal with rushing in on Flo day

2. assume flos are horrible because they are so cheap

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

That's a big assumption on demand if they raised prices 50%. You can get the Swiss Side Hadron for <$1k and it's lighter than a set of 60's. Or a complete set of carbon clinchers from Boyd, November etc. for $1500. A ~$500 custom built Kinlin 31t wheelset makes a compelling alternative to the Flo 30. I've never understood the Flo sales model. Especially given they've been around too long at this point to be playing the "little guy startup" card.

No game. CC number typed in word so you can copy and paste. Shipping and billing addresses saved in your Flo account.... Hit the refresh button a couple seconds before the timer gets to 0. I was in and out and the clock still said 12:00. I got a 60/90 combo no problem.

 
but that's ridiculous.

That's what I did.

One thing I will say about FLO is that they bend over backwards to help out people on the back end. I spent an hour last night on facetime with one of the owners who was walking me through some troubleshooting ideas for my back wheel (it just needs to be trued) Really, really great people.

You saw the part where I said "for big, easy numbers", right? I don't think they can raise their prices 50% overnight and maintain demand.....but it makes illustrative purposes easier.

And they are still very much a "little guy startup".....just because they have sold a fair amount of wheels doesn't mean that they have made a lot of money or have huge resources now....which further illustrates the point Jack and I are making.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

I'd like to see them on Shark Tank

I dont understand their model at all. I don't understand why they don't take 100% cash up front for shipments and everything is shipped in the order in which it is ordered. That gives them operating cash-flow and means you don't have to deal with the lottery type ordering situation that we have now.

It also seems that they could adjust their prices to manage demand appropriately, or do some combination of both - have greater operating cash flow from running a waiting list whilst also increasing prices for margin.

I'd have ordered some, but could not be dealing with ordering wheels like I'm on ticket master, so I went with an alternative and paid more, but it was more straightforward and that was worth the difference in cost.

Yep, that's what I did too. Missed out on the last one because I was travelling, but got my 60/90 clydesdale set today. Logged in to my existing account before the sale and I had my CC # ready to paste.

Just for fun I also refreshed shortly before the timer hit 0 and it let me in.

Woo-hoo!

Ditto on shark tank

I think Jack's point was well made. When using hard numbers in a hypothetical, though, you shouldn't be surprised when people bring up points that touch on elasticity of demand and whether those numbers seem reasonable to them.

Exactly. Got my front 60 order in just fine, though I must admit the ardrenaline was pumping a little.

They may have some sort of stochastic and unpredictable arrangement with the manufacturer in order to keep costs lower.

Like the factory makes their wheels when they have spare capacity.

I dunno

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

I've wondered about that - part of the deal with changing that relationship would be having steady predictable demand which this lottery does not accommodate.

Again, I'm not price sensitive - at least to the extent that I have options between Flo and Zipp's that allow me to purchase on my terms. i'm betting that that applies to far more of their customers and if I were sat on a business where there's clearly demand which is not reducing, i'd re-examine my sales methodology

I've a custom bike on order - the particular builder has a long weight and has won the usual national custom builder awards - I paid 50% up front to hold a place in the queue and I now wait.

Vanilla is, I'm guessing still shut for orders and an alternative is speedvagen - thats not a lottery. It seems when there's demand - there would be other ways of structuring the ordering process

Well then you also have to question their reading comprehension when you clearly point out that the numbers are "big, easy" numbers and based on assumptions to illustrate a point.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

I finally gave up on FLO and ended up getting a HED jet Plus disc for less the $500 and a Jet 4 for $375 on e-bay. Both brand new and perfect. After trying several orders, I just decide to try another venue and it worked out over the winter vs. waiting on another FLO order attempt and disappointment.