we got to give old willem credit where it is clearly due
he is a master at self promotion on one hand and also very self destructive on the other hand.
he does nice web site's, and is pretty good at making youtube clips
where he falls flat is doing his own narrations, something akin to an atty representing himself as having a fool for a client.
he also uses some really good marketing strategies that attract those that have more money than sense or time to do their own research.
he runs about waving the cnc flag, which impresses those that don't understand what cnc really is. please allow me to explain to those that might be less informed than others...
there is nothing in a listeroid that requires the use of a cnc machine, there is nothing in listeroid that a manual machine operated by a competent machinist can't do as well as a cnc operator on a cnc machine, save for one thing...
that being mass production of parts in less time, which for the purposes of building one off parts for an engine or two really turns out to take more time than the same process on a manual machine with a qualified machinist, and/or
the ability to use an off the street kid to stand there and change out parts as the cnc machine wants them changed. this of course is good if you are making hundreds of parts.
cnc also means anything from a laptop connected to a taig mini mill costing a few hundred dollars all the way up to those which are used by folks like Boeing, GM, and others and costing millions of dollars and that are operated by robots.
i will leave it to the reader as to which end of the spectrum willem's cnc capabilities fall.
then there is the use of pricing, and customer perception. an uninformed guy might conclude that because an engine that costs 10k dollars from a company, is superior to one costing a quarter as much from a diy'ers garage. this of course generally is the case "if" the company is a legitimate one with a history of quality production that clearly would indicate that you would actually get the added quality the additional price would indicate, however
there are many examples of home shop products being far superior to company built products and at a lower cost..
there is an old adage, "price has nothing to do with cost" this is very important and everyone should carve this into their brains deeply!
cost is easy to understand, it is the total of all parts, labor, shipping, etc that makes up the product,
price is what the market will bear, and has no relation to cost!
as a businessman it is my job to determine what price the market will bear
for a particular product, and then also my job to drive the cost of the product
down through the floor if possible... the difference between the two is my profit...
so the attraction is to sell carbon at diamond prices if possible. the trick is to be
able to do so and stay in business keeping enough happy customers to get repeat business. the carbon @ diamond prices was an extreme example, used for illustrative purposes only, and i am not suggesting willem is guilty of sinking that low.
so in theory, one with a slick webpage, a good presentation, pretty paint, etc conceivably could simply import a sand filled engine, assemble by the cheapest supplier in india, of the cheapest rejected parts, receive it and clean it up, paint it nicely, add some chrome bits, pack the valve cover with some sort of grease and then market it for 10k dollars.... that would be the price! now the cost might well be under a thousand dollars! so... what about warrantee issues?
if you charge a high enough price and keep your costs low enough, you can simply afford to replace the engine should something happen to it. you can also be creative with small print and void the warrantee if the owner removes the crankcase cover, and also make him pay shipping to and fro... all sorts of things can be done in the fine print.
folks will miss a lot of fine print if the ad copy is slick enough, the claims bold enough, and the presentation personable.
again i am not suggesting that willem has sunk to that low a level, i will take him at his word that he has installed a few better parts, valve seats and rotators (which in my opinion are unnecessary) and a few other things of arguable necessity. all of which increase his costs, however again there is no relationship between cost and price of the finished product.
i could go on and on when it comes to the business side of things, i have lectured on the business angle for years on other forums relating to business.
so like i stated, i gotta give willem credit for his ability to self promote.
then there is "product differentiation" and "barriers to entry"
while he has tried to establish the former, the epa has the upper hand the the latter.
bottom line is this, anyone thinking of buying anything ought to develop some critical thinking skills if they don't already have them. remember just because something looks good and priced more does not necessarily mean it is superior quality to something that may not be presented as well or is priced much lower.
bob g