The Framers Forum

There's an interesting idea been mentioned on the Grumble. It's being discussed as a promotion idea for having a sale. The offer is to give a trade-in discount off a new frame or framing in return for the customers old frame.

It is intended to let customers think that they got more for the old frame than they think it's really worth. In reality you've just given them the discount and probably will throw the old frame away.

Has anyone ever tried something like this?

Is it worth a try?

I did try this a few years ago and decided to end the promotion after one "lady" went berserk at me because I would not give her a trade in allowance which "allowed for the growth in value of the "gold" on her frames"

Don't you just love the customers?

penfold wrote:I did try this a few years ago and decided to end the promotion after one "lady" went berserk at me because I would not give her a trade in allowance which "allowed for the growth in value of the "gold" on her frames"

Don't you just love the customers?

Methinks we might be using different dictionary definitions, Penfold!

penfold wrote:I did try this a few years ago and decided to end the promotion after one "lady" went berserk at me because I would not give her a trade in allowance which "allowed for the growth in value of the "gold" on her frames"

Don't you just love the customers?

Wouldn't you just love to wind the lady up just a little?

Would Madam like her gold put onto the new frame?

Or would she like to trade the gold in for bank shares. (After all, it's a good time to buy!)

penfold wrote:I did try this a few years ago and decided to end the promotion after one "lady" went berserk at me because I would not give her a trade in allowance which "allowed for the growth in value of the "gold" on her frames"

Don't you just love the customers?

That's a good one. Assuming that the 'gold' was real gold there would be so little actual weight of that the scrap value would probably be something like .001p and cost a fortune to remove. If she had about a thousand such frames you might just manage an modest earring

I have a shed full of old frames. All useful moulding waiting patiently for reincarnation.

just donated another batch of frames to a local group.
tried to get other local framers to contribute by donating theirs to 'help a local banker' but we couldn't get enough together to make a good pyre

Mind you with the news that bankers will be encouraged to become teachers maybe they haven't got off that lightly.

Who knows what dubious practices they will be imparting on our little darlings ....anyhooo back to work!

my eldest has just finished a business degree - thank goodness he wasn't tutored by any bankers.... i hope.
anyway he's into marketing.
And whats he been doing for work - SEO.... which gets alluded to in another post.
Personally I dont think bankers (or anyone else) should get an easy ticket into the teaching profession. I think we want teachers committed to teaching as a vocation, not just because they happen to have lost their job and would never have even considered teaching had they not f***ed up the entire economy for everyone else. Perhaps they'll be in for a shock when they find that it isn't actually a cushy 9-5 job with lots of holidays.
Its perhaps an example where the tie-wearing section of society demonstrates (again) that they think the world owes them a living.... Well, matey, the world might, but I dont. More taxpayers money spent on bankers, its bonkers, innit.

Back to OP - trading in frames is an intiguing idea, but we just ask people if they want them back or not, if they dont mostly we pass them on to art students or other customers as "free to a good home" if they can use them. Its the local way.

kev@frames wrote:... trading in frames is an intiguing idea, but we just ask people if they want them back or not, if they dont mostly we pass them on to art students or other customers as "free to a good home" if they can use them. Its the local way.

Sounds like your trade-ins are better than what some of my punters order from new, Kev.

I really like the "free to a good home." The framer doesn't have the hassle of disposal, and someone gets an unexpected freebie. A nice win-win!

I love it, free to a good home is a lovely philosophy

The road where our shop is (on the corner) is residential. the local residents have seemed to have taken to the free to a good home principle, there is always something outside somewhere with "free to a good home" on it! When the local council charge you £30 to take away a sofa, its heartwarming to see one being lugged off down the road by its happy new owners who found it in the street begging to be taken home.

Ive just got rid of five old computers and four CRT monitors that way

John who helps me out saturdays picked up his sons motorcycle from the garage for him today. They had replaced a 7" long cable. £3 in parts...... plus 3.50 "environmental charge" for disposing of the old cable.

Its funny how £3.50 can turn a green to the core liberal into a foaming at the mouth loon - he declared that he wanted the cable back and a refund, as he would rather eat it than pay 3.50 to have it disposed of.
They had to go and "find it".
It was in their bin....

It strikes me that we could be onto a winner here, soldering old cables together into one big cable and getting rid of the lot for one £3.50 "environmental charge".
Or "free to a good home"

kev@frames wrote: "environmental charge".

My workshop is on an old wharf down by the waterfront I'm surrounded by garages, come Friday anything metal that isn't attached to a car mysteriously vanishes as soon as the pykies.... sorry I mean travelers come round. God blessem'

kev@frames wrote:£3.50 "environmental charge" for disposing of.......

It strikes me that we could be onto a winner here....

Mmm, I'm getting a warm feeling about this already. I wonder how many £3.50's that would be a week?

It could be extra for frames with signs of woodworm, as they would need to be re-homed in the interest of bio-diversity.

Not your average framer wrote:
It could be extra for frames with signs of woodworm, as they would need to be re-homed in the interest of bio-diversity.

Too right - if a customer brought in a woodwormy frame I'd be charging them for jeopardising my entire stock, livelihood, and sanity - that's gonna cost them a bit more than £3.50