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Why Should Pacific Seacraft Support EY.c?

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Arkiebar

New Member
Why PSC should want to keep up the site.

Marketing. If you want to sell new boats, take care of the owners of your present boats, including your predessor in interest.

The present owners are the best sales force for the company, or its worst nightmare.

Jim Holmberg
 

Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
A few years ago I paid PSC about $500, as I recall, for new aluminum rubrails. This site is filled with inquiries about finding replacement parts. It seems to me that there are a number of parts unique to Ericsons where PSC could make some money, at least enough to offset the cost of the site (which seems to be self-generating, in any event). For example, I have been scrounging for replacement parts for the Navtec rigging. I found one part at SailRite but am stymied for the others. Torresen Marine has figured out that the future is in parts.
 
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cawinter

Member III
a simple business case?

Like many other owners expressed in this thread, I, too, was delighted that PSC stepped forward to 'maintain the site's existence'. A reputable company with a strong historical connection to Ericsons, what could be better... I am sure PSC thought about cross-selling opportunities, upcoming product replacement, pre-qualified lead gathering and a plethora of other marketing catch words when the decision was made. Therfore I hope the question is not to justify the value of the site to PSC. Other companies run owner loyalty programs at great expense, and the hosting of a site will hardly qualify as a tremendous expense to anyone in this business. Sean's proposal of a user/owner group maintaining the site under the umbrella of the PSC 'angel' must sound like a win-win proposal to everyone involved. With the operational costs and efforts offset, PSC is ideally positioned to reap the benefits of brand value and recognition and to continue to be viewed as a company that does not abandon sizable groups of its owners. The alternative, and I have difficulty to consider the consequences, of 'we now own it, we can let it fade away' has hardly any upside, certainly not for PSC.

Dr. Christoph A. Winter
Owner Ericson 34 'Dangriga', #267 (1988)
Atlantic Highlands, NJ
 

Razz

Member I
Why should PSC have anything to do with Ericson?

First of all, we all have to live by our decisions, and FWIW, I think PSC's purchase of Ericson and the subsequent demise of Ericson was a poor decision on PSC's part. The end result is that Ericson owners have been alienated there is no up-sell potential for PSC.

PSC builds a fine boat, let there be no confusion about it. Ericson owners will eventually sell their boats and if they buy a new one, it probably won't be a PSC due to price, competitor's boats, customer service, and trust. I don't know how PSC stays in business when they do so many things wrong when it comes to their market.

Sean has done a wonderful job pulling together Ericson owners. I personally have learned a lot from this community and I've tried to share my learnings. Remember, however, that the use of the internet to build communities is simple, inexpensive, and powerful by the very nature of the community created.

You know, this site is slick, but it can also be accomplished setting up a FREE group on Yahoo or other provider. WE don't need PSC. Why would we want to continue to be dependent on PSC? Hell's bells, I can't even buy spare parts from PSC nor can they tell me anything about my boat. The Ericson marque is gone my friends. We need to fend for ourselves.

Gene, with all due respect, we don't need you or PSC. I'd fund this site myself if necessary. It just isn't worth being jacked around any more.

If anyone is interested in setting up an alternate group, contact me at nickhandres@earthlink.net
 

rvivian

Member I
Why Should Pacific Seacraft Support EY.c

Other than maintaining good relationships with a group of Ericson boat owners orphaned by PSC's purchase and destruction of Ericson Yachts, the only reason I see for Pacific Seacraft support is because they own the web site , the logo, and the name and those Ericson owners will become a vocal negative "word of mouth advertising" machine for PSC if the site is lost.

If an Ericson Owner's Association could buy back the rights to the site, logo, and name I see little or no benefit for Ericon owners of further association with PSC or benefit to PSC in supporting the Ericson group.
 

Tom Prince

Junior Member
My purchase of an Ericson was in no small part a result of this website. The great job that Sean has done in maintaining and upgrading the site has made it a unique resource for all Ericson owners. We are a large community of people who talk endlessly with other boat owners and spend money on old and new boats. Good will is priceless.


Tom Prince
E27 Holomoku
 

CaptDan

Member III
PSC said:
Pacific Seacraft bought EY.c to maintain the sites existence. The seller needed to sell it.

I would appreciate any thoughts about how PSC can make EY.c beneficial to PSC as well as Ericson owners.

Gene

Gene,

Thanks for the invitation to submit ideas. I have little more to add to Sean's, Loren's, and the other contributor's eloquent posts, other than to say this Ericson database is second to none. Virtually nothing like it exists to assist current Ericson owners, as well as those seeking to buy an Ericson.

I moderate a sailing forum at SF Sailing.com, and over the past three years have suggested prospective Ericson owners visit this site for information. After all, the best source of advice IS from the source itself. I can say in numerous cases, this site not only helped answer an array of questions, but was instrumental in leading to successful Ericson purchases.

I realize PSC's primary concern is to support currently manufactured boats - an understandable position for an ongoing company. Yet the quality and stellar reputation of the Ericson name speaks volumes about the marque, which in my opinion, can do no harm to a trusted name like PSC.

I've pledged my support to Sean and this site in hopes in it can continue to flourish, and I appreciate anything you may be able to do to assist in that end as well.

Regards,

Capt Dan G>E35II "Kunu"
 
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rob m

Junior Member
Why? Because . . .

Thanks for joining the forum and asking for input on your business decision to discontinue support for the site. Obviously, the easy course of action would be to ignore this group, live with your choice and move on.

Why should you support this group and the Ericson brand in general?

Revenue -- there is a limited area for revenue in supporting older boats. While inventory will be a challenge, it is possible to sell to this audience if they are maintained as a group, and might well not be possible if they are scattered to the winds and not maintained as a community. Other than the obvious parts, there is the possibility to sell knick knacks -- beer steins, coffee mugs, logo-ware, t-shirts, etc. etc. This may balance the cost side of maintaining the site. It may be possible to 'outsource' this. It appears Catalina has done this, for example.

Good will. As a corporation, PSC bought the name and rights to the Ericson line. You also bought this site. To buy something to kill it is generally frowned upon in the consumer community, and if it can be maintained at a low cost it should be simply for the good will in engenders. This also supports my next point below;

Brand equity. You obviously percieved that the Ericson brand had exisiting equity when you bought it. It has equity today (although that is probably diminished) should the Ericson brand maintain some cohesion on the web, the equity will be maintained and there may be future value in serving that community with subsequent models. Should the brand not be supported in a reasonable way, the value will drop quickly. This would severly reduce or eliminate the potential to realize any subsequent value from your aquisition either through your own actions or divestment.

Dealer support. Your existing PSC dealers would probably love to have the Ericson owners included in their mailings, events, rendezvous, etc. Owners of older boats are most likely to buy their next boat, or sell their exisiting boat, via a dealer they know. They can get to know this group via the community you have supported here.

How to support this?

Perhaps a local business school could provide a student or group of students to assist at low or no cost, or as a co-op placement. This could allow you to keep exisiting resources focused on the PSC line and not 'drop' this ball. as the revenue is small in any case, I cannot see a case to commit large resources in time and or money to keeping this site and group alive, but hope you will see a way to do so in the margins of your mainline business.

Thanks for asking, and I do hope you find a reasonable way to maintain this site.

Rob
 

ADSHRIV

Member I
Arthur D. Shriver, Teetotum, A Rhodes Continental

Dear Gene,

Piper Aircraft has benefited from the formation and prosperity of the International Commanche Society.....after they elected to discontinue production and support of a very fine aircraft in the mid-1970's. ICS filled the void for customer support, information and ultimately became the recognized authority of technical and operational information. ICS is a world wide organization of dues paying members, publishes a monthly magazine, and have regional meetings all of which enable owner planes to remain operational while providing revenue to service organizations. They have even spawned the creation of a few businesses which produce specialized parts specific to these aircraft.

Piper abandoned this business segment in the mid-1970's.

EY.c appears to have established itself to fulfill the needs of the Ericson/Olsen owner. Of the boating sites with which I'm familiar, EY.c and the Ericson SailNet site have done an outstanding job attempting to satisfy Ericson/Olsen support, operational and technical information. I'd have hoped that the leader of a company Fortune Magazine once recognized as one of the world's finest product manufacturing concerns (Pacific Sea Craft) would have the foresight to take advantage of this opportunity to continue marketing a great product, a name and a reputation especially when the cost is tiny.

Beech Aircraft eagerly embraced a users group: especially when they encountered some serious accidents and litigation. Today, the Beech Bonanza Society is the premiere aircraft owners group (still receiving factory support for out of production equipment) and it is now owned by Raytheon.

Beech had a vision......Piper did not. Beech, and its predecessor have grown and prospered. Piper has/does struggle.

Gene, if you and PSC have no vision: I would like you to give the Ericson/Olsen owners the blessings and help which others before me have articulated to well; that a formal organization might be put into place which will permit current and future owners to receive all the support which they need to ensure their boating experience.

Like Piper, I would like to see PSC provide access to detailed technical/construction information, manuals and other information which this "NEW support organization could use to further its aims and in addition even provide an avenue for dialogue between both organizations for sharing information.

Gene, what is your vision?

I'd be happy to discuss the Piper/ICS experience with you since I was an early President of ICS and was the Piper/ICS interface for several years.

I have been actively looking at 30-32 foot Ericson's for the past year. I think I am getting closer.

Thanks for listening, and thinking.

Arthur D. Shriver

814-742-7357
 

rob m

Junior Member
another thought for Gene . . .

you are standing at a boat show, talking to a prospective buyer for a PSC 40 ($250K, give or take) he asks you, "what about support?"

you answer 'a' or 'b':

a) there is a limited one year manufacturers warranty, we stand behind everything we sell.

b) there is a limited one year manufacturers warranty, and as you would expect, we stand behind everything we sell. But we go further -- we took over Ericson in 199X, and the last Ericson rolled off the production line in 199X, but they and we had been building yachts under that name since the 1960's. Even today we maintain a site for owners to exchange information and track down parts -- from us, from other suppliers, even from each other. they also exchange information with each other, can access many documents and manuals online and attend our rendezvous with our dealers. We take our family of owners very seriously.

is 'b' better than 'a'? what's it worth to be able to say that?
 

Stuart

Member II
Should PSC support EY.c

Gene, I hope you have the time to read this, I am sure we all look forward to mutual support.

Last year when I organized the Ericson Rendezvous, PSC gave us some prizes, ball caps, decals and Ericson stuff, it was murder to contact them, I finally gave up with unanswered email and phoned, once I made contact it was great, they were friendly, supportive and helpful.

I feel the EY.c site benefits PSC in many ways, some immeasurable. It does create a lot of good will between Ericson owners and PSC. I drool over their most beautiful boats on line when I visit to look up Ericson specs or brochures on the PSC site.
The EY.c site and continued Ericson support’s value to PSC will be dependent on how they use it, us, and how they treat us. If all the Ericson owners support PSC, that is a lot of goodwill, cheap! Valuable if you chose answer "b" on the last post.
PSC’s web knowledge shows up with their own site, I looked for dealers in my area, using their dealer search, I got nothing, just a blank response. I then emailed a question on cost about a 31, 34 and 37; I have still not got a response. They maybe closed for holiday but one would think at least an automated answer or something. Maybe it was an oversite or maybe it’s a bigger thing. In todays world, not getting a promt response makes one wonder, whats going on with them? Anybody home? Anybody care?
It would be nice if an agreement could be made with Sean to maintain the EY.c site, if Sean is willing, a cost many of us would contribute to. They might even ask him to look at their own site.

The question I keep asking myself is why does PSC buy all things Ericson and then do nothing? Maybe Gene could shed some light on this.
It would be nice to see a new Ericson 33 introduced to take some of the market away from the Hunterbenilinias. With the great name Ericson has, I am sure it would be a success, assuming the design was modern and not just re introducing an old boat with no new technology. I don’t think it would be hard to come up with some new design, stronger than current production boats but a costal sailor, not a blue water boat like the PSC. All of us happy Ericson owners would gladly give our input.

I might even consider becoming a dealer in BC, as we all know; PSC and Ericson……RULE THE OCEANS!

My. .02
Stuart MacKenzie
E-31 Independence
Vancouver BC
stuartm@pureresults.com
 

bigtyme805

Member III
Feedback

Nick I would definitely be with you on your idea, excellent idea. Also, Rob posed a very interesting question to Gene. I am sure we all know the answer to this (a)!

PSC must be in terrible financial trouble, because it does not cost very much to maintain this site and having this site supported by them would help their sales.

Gene can we get an honest answer on why PSC would not want to continue with the financial support of the EY website?

Don Anderson
E-27
Channel Islands/Santa Barbara
 

scourge

Member II
Gene and all.
I too express many of the same sentiments that are reflected in the many posts. I love my Ericson and was disappointed when PSC decided to stop making the boats. I have many times longingly looked at PSC sailboats, and someday I may buy one. However, that longing would definately be tempered by the apparent lack of support of a website such as this. Right now, I am not in the market for a new boat, but as I said, PSC ranks up there as one of the narrow 'first choice' boats. A place to discuss problems, support one another and generally 'talk up' the Ericson line to potential buyers is a win/win situation for all. Potential buyers, knowing that they are not 'bastard children' and there is some level of support from a parent company will be more comfortable in their decision making process.
This is beneficial for both of us, PSC and the Ericson community.

Len Buchanan
WindShadow E 32
 

Cary Diehl

Moderator
Gene,

I've been with this website since the begining... I also had my own website before this one called "ericson library". I have been helping people out with their questions for a long time now just about general information and repair information. I do this while going to college full time for a Mech. Engineering degree (with the hope of one day design/engineering new ericsons :egrin: ), 30 hours a week of work, and everything else college students do. Why? Because, that is what Ericson owners do... they help one another out and promote the sale of built boats to keep the brand from becoming forgotten.

So like everyone else with vested intrest in it, I don't want to see it go down. Is PS the one who should maintain it? It is your call... I really do not care as I realize you probably won't make another Ericson Sailboat... and if you do it won't be the ericsons that filled the market segment we bought from...

So if I was PS, what would I do? Well... I'd offer the URL, websites... basicly everything that is up and running, to a group of people who are willing to start a non-profit national class association who use dues and sale of merchandise to support the class website and maybe even rendevous, races, and the cost of making tooling for replacement parts someday (like those window gaskets a bunch of people got together to buy.) I'd be really friendly and make sure the transition goes smoothly.

Why this option? Well... it has initial costs of time and little money, looks like good PR as you are helping the class start off, and at the end of the day it isn't your worry of what happens.

If you let the site die, the owners will find another website and have to start from scratch. Most likely, I'll work to get the library updated and running again with help from other owners this time to make it a great site. I'll probably contact you and ask if we can use the logo.

If you maintain the site, thats cool too and will cost you a few hundred bucks a year... but would be great PR at every boat show you go to. Just make sure to stick with it if you decide to maintain the website yourselves.


Thanks,

Cary
 

Sean Engle

Your Friendly Administrator
Administrator
Founder
Closing Off This Thread

With the closing of this issue, I am locking off this thread from further posts. If anyone has an issue with it, please email me.

//sse
 
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