Sherdog Supplements vs The Rest??

[RG7]

Just to get a serious idea here.

I remember talking to Jeff (Sherwood) a while back and a few products were carried here as I recall. I mentioned 'why not sell a full selection of supplements' I think at the time it was too much of a headache.

But a lot of growth and settling in has taken place since then. How many of you would honestly buy from here if the prices were competitive?

I personally right now go to nutricraze.net, they have prices as good or better than bb.com but what puts them over the edge is the fact that everytime you post something, they pay you 10 cents which you use towards buying products, each and every post pays, they also pay out for purchaes inviting friends etc. So personally, I post a lot so I have like $25 in credit right now, I just save up then order and pretty much get what im ordering for free less shipping.

(read more: http://www.nutricraze.com/reward_program.php its pretty cool)


I've also gone to bb.com to buy something called white blood since I couldn't find it anywhere else. BB.com is really cool since they have a huge selection and good forums, I think some pros even post there for bodybuilding reasons (but thats not my main reason for working out, I dont really find hardcore bodybuilding all that cool but its forums.bodybuilding.com for those interested in finding out more.)

But like with anything, if Sherdog has an offering, I try to always keep loyal (mma gloves, tapes, shirts anything I can get even if its a buck or two more here.

I did a project on Sherdog back in school and this was one of the avenues I explored with respects to increasing profits etc. It got tricky with product sourcing though. But im sure if Jeff & Garrett saw some legit interest that they'd look into it.

If not check out the places I go to, I think they're really pretty good.

 

[RG7]

ttt 4 me

 

[Rjkd12]

Just so you get an answer, I personally, would not buy anything. I don't really buy many supps, and the very few that I do I normally get them from the local GNC or grocery store. There has been a few debates about the best places to buy (thanks madmick) and with the interest that I have seen in those I bet if you had good prices and good products people would buy from here. Have a deal like bb.com has, and award discounts to high posts and I'm even more sure people would. But, I"m speaking on behalf of everyone else here, so what do you guys think?

 

[grapling101]

Just so you get an answer, I personally, would not buy anything. I don't really buy many supps, and the very few that I do I normally get them from the local GNC or grocery store. There has been a few debates about the best places to buy (thanks madmick) and with the interest that I have seen in those I bet if you had good prices and good products people would buy from here. Have a deal like bb.com has, and award discounts to high posts and I'm even more sure people would. But, I"m speaking on behalf of everyone else here, so what do you guys think?

You must be freaking rich to go to GNC to buy anything. That place is such a ripoff. Way Way over priced.

 

[RG7]

You must be freaking rich to go to GNC to buy anything. That place is such a ripoff. Way Way over priced.

Ya thats the thing. I mean I respect that some people arent comfortable buying online or just dont buy that much so they prefer to walk in and get something. I was like that for a long time but these days ebay is something I use a great deal. I still do walk ins.

But GNC is just sooo expensive, its outrageous. Like creatine will go for 75-95 dollars no problem. Whey is like 35-50 for good stuff. As I recall anyhow.

 

[David Sullivan]

Depends on cost, wether its reasonable or not.

i supose thats what it comes down too.

can you guys reasonable compete with bodybuilding.com or bulknutrition.com?

if you can then to support mma id probably give some of my bussiness here if not, well im not rich and i can't afford GNC soo i probably won't be able to afford over priced supplements here.

 

[Madmick]

You must be freaking rich to go to GNC to buy anything. That place is such a ripoff. Way Way over priced.

GNC has specials and discounts all the time (one guy at my gym got a bottle of Pinnacle Esterified Creatine and a bottle of Pinnacle NO for $59...these two things at DPS, the cheapest online retailer, retail for $66 together).

 

[Madmick]

I buy my supplements wherever they're cheapest.

 

[Rjkd12]

You must be freaking rich to go to GNC to buy anything. That place is such a ripoff. Way Way over priced.

I don't buy much at all, like I said. Once in a while I will get some protein and I"ll only buy it if its on sale and going to expire soon. I also like to get valarian tea and they have some competitive prices on the loose tea. Multivitamins and fish oils I just get from the local grocery store and they have good prices, especially when they go on sale. I worked at GNC for a year and a half and yes, they are expensive to go once a month to stock up, but you can find some nice deals there, especially on expiring products.

 

[RG7]

I buy my supplements wherever they're cheapest.

You're right GNC has some decent deals from time to time and going where you save money is important.

But you also wanna rely on a company. I ordered from BB.com a while back August 29th they said 3-4 days, I normally go with Nutricraze who say 4-6 days....thing is I actually get it in that long.

I've sent NUMEROUS emails to Bodybuilding.com its now Sept 13th and I dont have a DAMN THING.

I got a reply from someone named "six pack Sarah" who did absolutely nothing to help me. I explained its my second time dealing with them and 2nd time facing BS. Anyhow, they should send me something free.

Also someone said can Sherdog compete? Definitely. I mean I go with nutricraze because I post there and you get paid 10 cents per post towards supplements so its stupid not to go with them since they have prices that rival and sometimes beat (sometimes lose by a bit) bodybuilding.com & others...and thats BEFORE i knock off he credits I get for posting. I get stuff for free from posting there pretty much (depends on how much I post etc).

But Sherdog can DEFINITELY compete. See all of these places share a few common suppliers. They way that it works is based on your GROSS sales, the suppliers put you into different pricing tiers.

Bodybuilding is an example, they're in the BEST tier and get top pricing. A place like Nutritionhouse or whatever or nutricraze dont get as good pricing so they cut off a big chunk of their own profit to give us all good pricing. A lot A LOT of places could easily beat bodybuilding.com if they grew and some of the higher tier priced places actually do cause they dont take as big a profit as bodybuilding.com (which is the measuring stick for supplement sites).

Sherdog is HUGE, it would NOT take long to get into a really good tier. There would be some awesome pricing here.

Question is, where do you go? For me, a place like Sherdog is perfect, im friends with them they're cool. I know anything from Sherdog is quality because the owner (Jeff) is a man of his word and runs his business that way (Garrett too). Of course I like nutricraze too since they are the same.

Bodybuilding I love reading at and prices are great but...they're so big that you get 1 lousy email which just pisses you off more when you complain and orders can be hit and miss. But dont ask on their forums cause complaints get you into trouble, they have a lot of hardcores that support them and go nuts or flame etc. Thats how it goes when companies get really big.

 

[my big toe]

I'm not a supplement expert, but I do know e-commerce pretty well. The problem is that supps are just another commodity, and as a general rule the margin on widely available commodities gets squeezed down to pennies. Also, there's a big initial cost to duplicating what others have already setup, bb.com, 1fast400, etc. Jeff would be playing catch-up, and trying to compete on cost and service. And service is expensive for volume businesses (software, development, CS Reps, phone lines, etc.), and nobody's perfect. One bad experience for someone like yourself can cost a lot of business. IMO, the key is develop a niche that isn't so easy to duplicate, because you have a unique approach, source, product, talent, etc. You're not going to make any money selling multi-vitamins, but if you found an ergogenic product that actually worked and wasn't sold by everyone else, then you may be able to make a little money. Just my .02.

 

[RG7]

I'm not a supplement expert, but I do know e-commerce pretty well. The problem is that supps are just another commodity, and as a general rule the margin on widely available commodities gets squeezed down to pennies. Also, there's a big initial cost to duplicating what others have already setup, bb.com, 1fast400, etc. Jeff would be playing catch-up, and trying to compete on cost and service. And service is expensive for volume businesses (software, development, CS Reps, phone lines, etc.), and nobody's perfect. One bad experience for someone like yourself can cost a lot of business. IMO, the key is develop a niche that isn't so easy to duplicate, because you have a unique approach, source, product, talent, etc. You're not going to make any money selling multi-vitamins, but if you found an ergogenic product that actually worked and wasn't sold by everyone else, then you may be able to make a little money. Just my .02.

You make a lot of sense and you're right. It is definitely a nickle and dimed business. I like the edge www.nutricraze.net has taken with paying out 10 cents per post. I'm sure that will be duplicated in time. I think that Sherdog has 1 step up because of the audience we have here. This is pretty much your target demograph if you're selling supplements. A bunch of young - middle aged men who are into fightsports. I mean...cmon lol.

Upselling other products is where the money will flow. You know E-commerce so you know an obstable and problem for lot of people is shipping. Packaging a few products together (an MMA DVD, some gloves, creatine and some why) will significanly drop that cost when you adjust your cost base.

It will also make it easier for a lot of people to go ahead and order those MMA prodcuts they've always thought about but never gotten.

imo anyhow.


Also ya BODYBUILDING.COM horrible on shipping times. Its a scam and this is twice in a row, I always let 1 time slide if things correct themselves in the end.

Ordered - August 29th

Today = Sept. 13th

no word, nobody cares...no order. So earliest will be Sept 14th. Ya thats really helpful when im following a time sensitive workout routine.

 

[my big toe]

Good observations. Shipping physical product can be a nightmare, look how long and how much money it took for Amazon to get profitable. That's an interesting twist with nutricraze, I haven't seen that one. I guess if you had to boil it down you would, develop a niche with unique branding and service, become the leader in that niche, and build slow and steady. Sherdog has a great brand/image potential, just got roadmap it in great detail, tap the funds, and roll the dice. If it were me, I would seriously look at electronic delivery in addition to physical. :wink:

 

[Leviathan333]

You should get 5cents credit for everything posted by somebody you refer, and 2cents for anybody they refer!

 

[Tkdmmafighter**]

like madmick said, "wherever is cheaper"

 

[RG7]

You should get 5cents credit for everything posted by somebody you refer, and 2cents for anybody they refer!

ya, you get paid for referrals too. You get paid for purchases too. So like you post 10 times thats worth $1.00 then say you buy a product worth $20.00 you get another few dollars in credit.

You get paid for posting, reviewing products (on the forums, its a post but is worth more) and referrals (im pretty sure) and buying.



"my big toe" I agree & its good to hear from people who have a good understanding of business details.

 

[RG7]

I wish we had the same thing here for MMA gear !!! same as nutricraze.net lol. I'd love to cash in my 8186 posts lol.

 

[RG7]

I guess anyone who would supply Xsience products would have an inside edge with the MMA community.