Seda has been fortunate in that our business model has worked well over the past 36 years. While other companies merged or folded we have remained independent. We offer our customers real value for their hard earned cash. Our aim has never been to be the largest in our industry, but to deliver quality and performance to experienced paddlers who know what they are doing and appreciate well-made functional designs at reasonable prices. We have seen quite a few of our competitors who entered the paddlesports business go broke in a few years while trying to conquer the market with expensive advertising campaigns and flashy color catalogs. We watch our overhead and build our customer base on word of mouth referrals rather then spending huge amounts on advertising and expensive catalogs. We pass the savings on to our customers in the form of reasonable prices.
We still get questions of why are our prices of
our boats so reasonable when compared to other manufacturers in
this industry. Perhaps the best
clarification is the unsolicited word for word copy of
the first paragraph from the brochure of Mariner Kayaks, a loyal Seda dealer,
and long time manufacturer as well.
“SEDA’S low, low prices have many manufacturers and retailers shaking in their booties. Some have resorted to hearsay and innuendo, hoping to scare paddlers away from SEDA kayaks. They hope you will then spend $500 to $900 more for a kayak they sell, which may be of similar construction but often without outside fiberglass seams that is not as well designed. Several customers have made us aware of these scare tactics. At Mariner Kayaks we would like to help you better distinguish cheap shoddy construction from superior products because we believe the evidence will show that in most instances SEDA’S construction quality is as good or better then the competitions even in the lowest priced of the several lay-up options SEDA offers. SEDA keeps prices low in several ways. None of them are at the cost of a quality of product. Tell us what the competition has said about SEDA and we will give you truthful answers as best as we know them. We promise to be up front about how SEDA compare in quality and performance with just about any kayak you wish to know about. We have been a dealer for SEDA KAYAKS since 1990. Our customers have been overwhelmingly happy with them. They are generally amazed at how little they paid for such a great kayak. We hear comments like: “You know I bought this kayak because it was the least expensive I could find, but now that I’ve tried all my friends kayaks, you know, I got a better kayak then they did.”
We have become over the years selective in choosing our dealers. Years ago we sold to large sporting goods stores when they had only one location. Since then few of them have grown into giant chain stores with 50 or more outlets from coast to coast. Our company size became out of proportion to theirs. We have also noticed the more they grew, the more the paddling expertise and knowledge of the sales personnel diminished.
We decided finally to focus on paddlesports shops rather than chain stores. We produce performance kayaks, canoes and accessories, and can'tt afford to have our reputation tarnished by a part time sales person selling the wrong boat to a customer. Kayaks must be sold to fit body size, anticipated use, and the skills of the potential customer rather then just getting rid of an unsold inventory by someone who has never paddled one.Small individually owned paddle shops do a better job of putting a person into the right boat. Besides, the owners of small shops live and breathe paddling and often will let you try kayak or canoe on the water before you spend your money. We may not have a dealer in every large town, but it is likely worth a drive to obtain knowledgeable advice, friendly service and the right kind of boat. We are proud of our dealers and the job they are doing educating customers in the field of paddle sports.
We sell factory direct to our dealers, eliminating middlemen, sales reps or distributors. Most big businesses in our paddlesports industry rely on commissioned sales representatives. They peddle instead of paddle their kayaks and canoes to general sporting goods and chain stores. Our dealers know their customers and our products and order directly from us what they need for their market. Eliminating the middleman saves you between 10-20% of the price you pay for a SEDA kayak or canoe. That is another straight answer for those who wonder why are our SEDA boats less expensive than those of our competitors.
Our aim always has been to encourage intellectual curiosity of our customers, be fair, and tell them the truth. Recently one of our newest dealers commented on the fact how easy it is to sell kayaks and canoes. He just retired from his own electronic business and could not believe how happy people are when they buy kayak or canoe from him. “It is so easy to sell to people fun when I compare it to my old business” he commented.
We conclude this essay with the notion that we have enjoyed selling paddling fun to our customers for over three decades. We hope that you will enjoy paddling our kayaks and canoes as well. Thanks to all our past and present dealers and customers for keeping us in the happy business for such a long time. We all at SEDA greatly appreciate your patronage.