Forms of payment accepted by MidNite Solar, Inc.

[Free Energy Freak]

This is a question I feel would be a good one. Please correct me if I am mistaken here.

But, what forms of payment does the company accept?

Credit Card?
Money Order?
Personal / Business Check?
PayPal?
Western Union?
MoneyGram?
Other?

Just a thought I had a bit ago, while browsing the main site.

[TomW]

This is a question I feel would be a good one. Please correct me if I am mistaken here.

But, what forms of payment does the company accept?

Credit Card?
Money Order?
Personal / Business Check?
PayPal?
Western Union?
MoneyGram?
Other?

Just a thought I had a bit ago, while browsing the main site.

Freak;

Other than these Beta Kids they "sold" for a nominal fee for testing, I am pretty sure Midnite does not sell direct to the public?

I could be wrong but will tag Ryan on this to see if he can respond.

Tom

[Vic]

There has been a rumor for some time that MidNite has been planning on setting up an e-bay store.   Have not asked recently the status on this lately.   Almost never go to e-bay,   and have not looked for a few months.   FWIW,  no guarantees,     Vic

[dgd]

I look into Ebay quite often but I have never found a Midnite store
I'm sure that since the garage sale area on this forum closed there must be more MN controllers and stuff available that has been repaired, serviced or just returns.  I would be very happy to see the garage sale area reopen 
dgd

[Vic]

OH,   and I should have added in the above post,  that one of the motivations was to allow customers to buy widgets and thingies -- accessories like the HydroVolt Hydrometer --  which many resellers simply will not want to stock.

Believe that this would have been/will be intended yet another move by MN to deliver the truly superior customer support,  that we have grown accustomed to.

It appears that this e-bay store was NOT intended to compete with resellers or distributors.

Just my interpretations of what someone had mentioned some time ago.   Further FWIW,  YMMV,  etc,     Vic

[Free Energy Freak]

Forgive my ignorance, then.

But, if they do not intend to sell direct, why would a price list be available to the public? Is it a list of the retail prices expected to be paid through dealers?

Sorry for the confusion here.

[Vic]

Hi F E F,

Generally,  the model for   manufacturers in the US,  Distributors and Dealers/Resellers are a very important part of getting products in the hands of consumers.

To the extent that the above is true,   then manufacturers cannot sell very much product to end-users,  (at a price below retail)  without making the Distributors and resellers feel that a manufacturer is taking their business,  and potentially leaving them stuck with inventory that is/may be difficult to sell,  because they might be trying to compete with a company that has cost and other advantages,   and so on.

So,  in my opinion,   the prices that one sees from MidNite (and most other manufacturers)  IS  the Suggested Retail Price (or whatever it may be called in today's market).

One of the advantages that resellers/dealers bring to the table for manufacturers,   is that their businesses are designed to deal with many,  many customers who generally want a small quantity of a number of different items.   While manufacturer's businesses are generally designed to deal with cartons/cases full of a single model of certain items,  going to a single address.

Sorry if this is too basic.   I am just another very satisfied customer MidNite products.   I have nothing to do with the company,  other than loving what this great group of very experienced folks are designing and producing.    The above is just the way that these types of businesses have worked in the USA  for many years.

For MidNite,  in the case of Kid Beta units,  MN has been able to take several different forms of payment,  as these units are not Production units,  and the Kid CCs are in this special class.  There is a benefit to both MidNire to be close to the customer and get a lot direct feedback,  and for the Beta tester who gets a needed product before the Kid is in production,  have some influence on function/features,   and be a part of a community,  etc -- again just my opinions.

Thanks MidNite for caring about your customers,  and treating us very well,  indeed,   Vic

[boB]

Forgive my ignorance, then.

But, if they do not intend to sell direct, why would a price list be available to the public? Is it a list of the retail prices expected to be paid through dealers?

Sorry for the confusion here.

That is a MSRP or "List" price list.  That is the reference for people buying our products.
In the US anyway, these are probably the absolute highest prices you will ever see !

Most of our stuff can usually be found for a less $ Street price.

Once in a while you may see something sold by us directly but usually things like beta products.

This is not to be confused with the occasional extra nut, bolt, screw, cable or hole plug (etc.) we may
give away for free because it is more convenient for all. 

The problem with selling direct is that is messes up the distributors, dealers, wholesalers, installers and
the marketing aspect of doing business in general.  I wish we could sell direct and not have that
issue but you have to be careful on the extent of that and prices etc.

boB

[Free Energy Freak]

Fair enough. Thanks for the replies.

[b4solar]

We at Belmont Solar are one of the Distributors as mentioned. We try hard to provide not only the MidNite Solar product, but also what it takes for an entire off-grid or power-backup system. Including the tech support, correct components, & service availability for the life of the system.

There's a lot more to a neat, reliable solar system than just the inverter & charge controller... A good example is, when we want a vehicle, it doesn't do much good to just buy the engine & transmission as a starting point.

As far as pricing: The MSRP provides a wonderful reference point, But on larger items it is a bit high for practical purposes, just as some of the street prices out there are a bit too low to try to match. Providing good long term service behind everything is our goal, and is sometimes the customer's utmost need.

With over 600 off-grid customers there is usually at least one service call needed somewhere in a week's time. Sometimes we end up fixing up a system where a real mess was made out of purchasing individual components one at a time.

Many customers have told me it is well worth having it designed right by an installer with the correct components & knowledge from the very beginning.

[boB]

Hey Ben !  Great to see you on here !

There's a lot more to a neat, reliable solar system than just the inverter & charge controller... A good example is, when we want a vehicle, it doesn't do much good to just buy the engine & transmission as a starting point.

Reminds me...  Have you ever looked at how much it would cost to actually make a car out of all the parts like the engine, body, steering wheel, driveline, transmission, battery, (on and on and on...)   separately

Unaffordable !

Sorry for the side-trip there...

Anyway, we appreciate you guys !

boB

[b4solar]

Thank You boB

To the eBay store questions.

I put a lot of work into getting something like a MidNite Solar store on eBay.

Here it is. It is always work in progress. Please let me know what you think.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/belmont_solar/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3692

[TomW]

Thank You boB

To the eBay store questions.

I put a lot of work into getting something like a MidNite Solar store on eBay.

Here it is. It is always work in progress. Please let me know what you think.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/belmont_solar/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3692

Ben;

Nice to see someone on FeeBay not playing the insane shipping charges  game!

Just wanted to say that.

Looks nice as well!

Tom

[Robin]

We would like to get the garage sale back on track. Everyone is busy so it has not been a priority. All we need to do is to find somebody at MidNite that will make the time to manage the garage sale store. We will end up having all sorts of neat stuff on it, but it takes time. My job is to find someone to set it up and stick with it. Ryan would do it, but someone at the factory in Washington will have to do a lot of legwork. that has always been the issue. I will try to find that special person.

[dgd]

Now thats a great idea - the garage sale will be very welcome.
Perhaps it could include all those little items that dealers/distributors do not sell without a special order?  For example those little plastic red or green covers for the fuses on a KID/
Also service parts for Classics/Kids.
I thinking of parts like fans and that little rubber keyboard thingy. I have a KID and a Classic that work perfectly but have been attacked by an opossum that gnawed down the rubber keys level with the alloy lid. Now I need to use a matchstick to use the keys.

dgd