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September 2008 |
Price and Commission Changes to start in 2009SWEP is well known for its stable and competitive pricing - the cost of our Standard soil test has not changed for 15 years! Unfortunately, time marches on and costs increase all the while, so a price increase is at some point inevitable for all businesses, and SWEP is no exception. However, even though a price increase is unavoidable, that is no reason why it has to be a big "Crunch". We have been working hard to find a way of easing it in as painlessly as possible, so read through these notes carefully and please do call us with any questions or concerns you may have. Only small changes:Most of our prices will be going up on January 12, 2009 - still 4 months away! So there is plenty of time for your customers to get samples in for testing at the current price levels. The price increase of the Standard soil test and Standard plant tissue test will be $15/sample, with other tests increasing by about 10%. Apart from the Complete and Organic tests, which will not change. From January 12, 2009, the Standard soil test will cost $115/sample (+GST) and the Standard plant tissue test will be $110/sample (+GST). More details will be available later in the year, when we release the 2009 pricelist. Now for the good news:SWEP is still the cheapest soil test of its type on the market! When compared with other comparable soil tests - those that include about the same range of tests - our competitors generally charge $130 or $140 per sample and often have other add-on charges as well. In fact, if you were to include everything on a SWEP soil test (that are mostly options elsewhere), the real cost would be $170/sample or more! We continue to provide more information, more support and maintain the 5-day turnaround standard (10 days for Complete soil testing) that most others only claim to match, while still being as much as $75/sample cheaper than our competitors. And commissions will change for the better!Firstly commissions will be increasing to $25.00/sample for Standard soil tests and Plant tissue tests and $40.00/sample for Complete soil and Organic tests, however only part of this commission will be payable (explained below) - unless you submit a minimum of 50 samples in any calendar year. From 12th January 2009 all agents will receive a $15.00 commission on Standard soil and Plant tests, and $20.00 commission on Complete soil and Organic tests, regardless of how many samples are received during the year. For those agents whose customers pay us directly, the commission will be calculated and paid following the end of each month. Then - at the end of each Calender year - 'catch up' commissions will be paid to agents who have submitted 50 samples or more in the previous 12 months. These will be $10.00/sample for Standard soil and Plant tests and $20.00/sample for Complete soil and Organic tests. Kits will change immediatelyOne of the problems we have in implementing these changes is that the prices are printed on all our sample information forms and price lists that go into kits. To overcome this problem, we have issued a revised Sample information form, which you can download from the Agent Update page on our website. Kits will no longer include a price list. Instead, customers will be directed to access prices on our website, or call us for the information. To avoid any confusion, we are asking all agents to return any Sample information forms and price lists they have - to be replaced by new ones. Of course, your should keep a few price lists for your own reference, but please do not hand out kits or price lists to customers until you have the new versions. Obviously, we cannot pay the new commissions on tests done at the old price, so we need to clear as many of the old kits, sample information forms and price lists out of the system as we can before the price rise takes effect. If you cannot access the PDF files on our website, we will continue to send you printed forms and price lists as you need them. Test Report ChangesAnother change that will take effect from 15 September 2008 is that soil colour and texture is now an optional extra, rather than a standard inclusion. This has come about because of the test being so highly labour intensive and the majority of customers and agents having no practical use for it. However, those who do like to know the colour and texture can order it as an optional test for $20/sample (+GST). Please see our revised 2008 price list for all details. Send us your comments & suggestionsWe love to hear from you, so please let us know what you like, what we can do better, or what topics you would like to see more about. |
Please return old kitsPrice lists and Sample information forms have changed. Please return the existing ones that you have, to be replaced by the new versions. These can be accessed from the Agent Update page on our website, or we can send you printed copies. Let us know when you need more supplies, and don't be afraid to ask for a few more than you need right now. Its better to have too many than not enough. Agent Update ArchiveAgent Updates are now archived on our website. Use this link if you are looking for a previous edition. |
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Our mailing address is: PO Box 583, Noble Park, VIC, 3174, Australia |
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