"Bill Rubenstein" wrote in message
. net...
Wow -- a lot of questions which I will try to answer.

You will find that the price of the lathe at the retail level is much the
same regardless of
where you are -- with some caviats. The major difference has to do with
the value of your
native currency. The value of the US dollar is down 30% against the
Australian dollar in the
last two years; that is a major difference and one which we hope will
change. The Canadian
dollar is also weak on the international market which helps another lathe
manufacturer we all
know. When the dollar gets stronger (if?) we will readjust US pricing. As
to the percentages
made by the factory, the distributor and the dealers... clearly we are
not going to be
specific here. On the other hand, when I order a large batch of machines
and pay for them up
front, I'm going to get a better price than the buyer of one machine.
Further, that allows a
certain economy of scale at the manufacturer level which helps to hold the
cost down. That
said, the markup is not very good and if I were not retired with other
assets and income, I
could not afford to be involved in this venture. I hope that this
addresses your money-
related questions.

As to who owns the lathe during shipping -- since it is paid for, my
company (Stubby Lathe
USA, Inc.) owns it. During shipping from MO to the retail customer in the
US, we still own
it. Title passes when it is delivered to the customer. For all practical
purposes, though,
this is just a formality which is necessary since we operate out of
Missouri. If title
passes on MO soil, MO sales tax is due.

As to advance payments made by the retail customer -- he is dealing with
people who have been
around the turning community for many years and nobody has had any trouble
with any of us so
far.

Now, if there is trouble with the machine...

Initial help setting up the machine, if necessary, will be provided by the
selling dealer.
These are all folks with a good knowledge of lathes in general and the
Stubby in particular
otherwise they wouldn't be dealers. If I've sold the machine directly,
then I'm the dealer.

If the dealer cannot resolve a problem then Stubby Lathe USA jumps in. I
(I mean S L USA)
have (will have as of my first shipment) spare parts and direct access to
Omega.

For replacement lathe parts, motors, controllers during warrantee, you get
what you need and
I worry about who has to pay for it which will not be you. For motors and
controllers we are
passing on the manufacturer's warrantee but we will deal with it. What
could be more fair
than that? The one thing which is unclear is exactly the length of the
warrantee on
individual items and we know that we must get more specific about that.
For instance, the
Cutler Hammer controllers we are supplying come with a 1 year in service
or a 1 1/2 year from
ship, whichever is shorter. But, I've been told that they have so little
trouble with them
that they tend to be much less rigid than that. I have direct access to
the engineers
responsible for the controller and have met with the product manager. The
feeling I get when
dealing with them is comfortable.

As to how quickly a problem is resolved... A lot depends on your ability
to help us with
diagnosis -- report symptoms accurately etc. We've done some things to
help that. In the US
the controller will now be accessable. These things have an amazing
ability to self-diagnose
these days and you can see what it is telling you. Further, if you really
must change a
parameter because of your work style or specific situation, it is easy to
do and we will help
you through it. My belief is that the purchasers of Stubby lathes are
honest and
trustworthy. John Jordan in the past has operated this way and I will
continue to operate
this way -- send what you need now and worry about the money later. If I
get stung I'll
rethink it but not until then. You will get what you need to get up and
running.

So, to recap -- initially you will be dealing with the dealer. Long
run -- S L USA.

Now, as to all of the above -- the Stubby is a really trouble-free
machine -- join the Stubby
group and find out. And if you have a question or a problem, there are
tons of people in the
group willing and able to help you. It is a community of people who love
their machines and,
if you are in the market for one (or for any top-of-the-line machine),
will be willing to let
you take a test drive. That is how many of them ended up with a Stubby.

I hope that answers the questions, at least for the US. I'm told that the
European
arrangement will be much the same.

Bill
==========================
Bill,
I'm not sure what the US/AU exchange rate is, but the price for the S500
(on the Omega web site) was much lower than I expected for a Stubby. What is
the current price for that lathe in US dollars?? It may be more affordable
than I thought!

Ken Moon
Webberville,TX