Cathe- why are your tapes gone from Collage?
- Thread starter Clare*
- Start date
Cathe Friedrich
Administrator
Collage
Hi Clare!
I had a feeling that we might possibly get a question of this
nature once Collage released their latest catalog. I'll try not to get too technical and explain the situation as clearly as possible.
Collage has had a change in their business policy and several months ago they contacted us with some new rules that we would have to agree with, if they were to continue to carry our videos in their catalog. These new rules included: 1) We would have to remove any reference to our website from the beginning of our videos. 2) We would have to either discontinue our quantity discounts or significantly reduce the value savings to our customers. 3) We would have to remove any references to our quantity discounts from our "Home" page.
Then over a period of time, Collage changed its demands slightly. They no longer demanded that we discontinue our quantity discounts, but insisted that if we didn't, they wanted to buy our videos at an even further reduced price. After some "in house" discussion, we not only felt that the math just wouldn't justify changing our policy or prices, but also that the remaining demands would be limiting our overall growth and, therefore, detrimental to us as a company.
Let me summarize and conclude by saying this: Though we respect Collage's right to establish their own policies, we're not going to make any changes that go against our basic business philosophy
of growing our business through the Internet and offering quantity discounts. We have no ill feelings toward Collage. We just see the future differently than they do.
That's it in a nutshell.If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.
Hi Clare!
I had a feeling that we might possibly get a question of this
nature once Collage released their latest catalog. I'll try not to get too technical and explain the situation as clearly as possible.
Collage has had a change in their business policy and several months ago they contacted us with some new rules that we would have to agree with, if they were to continue to carry our videos in their catalog. These new rules included: 1) We would have to remove any reference to our website from the beginning of our videos. 2) We would have to either discontinue our quantity discounts or significantly reduce the value savings to our customers. 3) We would have to remove any references to our quantity discounts from our "Home" page.
Then over a period of time, Collage changed its demands slightly. They no longer demanded that we discontinue our quantity discounts, but insisted that if we didn't, they wanted to buy our videos at an even further reduced price. After some "in house" discussion, we not only felt that the math just wouldn't justify changing our policy or prices, but also that the remaining demands would be limiting our overall growth and, therefore, detrimental to us as a company.
Let me summarize and conclude by saying this: Though we respect Collage's right to establish their own policies, we're not going to make any changes that go against our basic business philosophy
of growing our business through the Internet and offering quantity discounts. We have no ill feelings toward Collage. We just see the future differently than they do.
That's it in a nutshell.If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.
farmgirl
Cathlete
I was wondering too
But I'm glad you followed your good business instincts and are (hopefully ;-) ) continue with your preorders, DVDs, and quanity discounts. I'm glad that I "discovered" you in Collage one day about 3 years ago-but with the internet to help spread the word, it's easier and more personal to do business with the producer of the products directly. PLUS-it's nice when someone new picks up your video, learns of your website and can "Ask Cathe".
julie
But I'm glad you followed your good business instincts and are (hopefully ;-) ) continue with your preorders, DVDs, and quanity discounts. I'm glad that I "discovered" you in Collage one day about 3 years ago-but with the internet to help spread the word, it's easier and more personal to do business with the producer of the products directly. PLUS-it's nice when someone new picks up your video, learns of your website and can "Ask Cathe".
julie
D
Debra
Guest
Cathe - some consumer feedback: While I saw your videos in Collage catalogs, they didn't stand out. Seeing the great recommendations on Video Fitness is what motivated me to try your tapes & am I glad I did!
I prefer to buy direct whenever I can as long as I don't pay a premium. You make it even better by giving us a discount for eliminating the middleman. Thank you so much.
I prefer to buy direct whenever I can as long as I don't pay a premium. You make it even better by giving us a discount for eliminating the middleman. Thank you so much.
Amy Steppe
Cathlete
So True!
Yes, I agree that I prefer to buy direct from the Firm and Cathe instead of through a "Middleman" -- I want the people who work so very hard to bring great workouts to benefit financially instead of Target or Collage, etc.
I have a online business and I recently parted ways with a distributor because of their restrictive policies that went agains my entire business philosophy and customer service.
Yes, I agree that I prefer to buy direct from the Firm and Cathe instead of through a "Middleman" -- I want the people who work so very hard to bring great workouts to benefit financially instead of Target or Collage, etc.
I have a online business and I recently parted ways with a distributor because of their restrictive policies that went agains my entire business philosophy and customer service.
This reminds me of way back when-
Hagen Dazs refused to ship on the same trucks and Ben and Jerry's. B and J made it through, and so will you. Collage made what many would consider unreasonable demands (I am among those) and you stood up to them and said "Enough". Collage is a wonderful resource, but it sounds like they are going to put themselves out of business by not listening to customers, having a decreasing quality of service, and trying to limit the success of the instructors and producers they do carry.
Hagen Dazs refused to ship on the same trucks and Ben and Jerry's. B and J made it through, and so will you. Collage made what many would consider unreasonable demands (I am among those) and you stood up to them and said "Enough". Collage is a wonderful resource, but it sounds like they are going to put themselves out of business by not listening to customers, having a decreasing quality of service, and trying to limit the success of the instructors and producers they do carry.
the error is theirs!
If Collage had half the web site that they should, I would say Cathe.com was in error. However, that site is so darned clunky and hard to find anything on, much less purchase, that I think you're right to stick to your guns and run your business the way you want to. Quantity discounts work for so many of us, so why get rid of them? I wonder how long Collage will exist before Amazon.com or someone else buys them?
If Collage had half the web site that they should, I would say Cathe.com was in error. However, that site is so darned clunky and hard to find anything on, much less purchase, that I think you're right to stick to your guns and run your business the way you want to. Quantity discounts work for so many of us, so why get rid of them? I wonder how long Collage will exist before Amazon.com or someone else buys them?
Amy Steppe
Cathlete
RE: This reminds me of way back when-
Hi BLinda!
I agree with you about Collage -- they are getting stale and need to realign themselves. I also think they charge WAY too much for videos that can be purchased elsewhere for a lot less.
I don't order from the at all anymore.
Amy
Hi BLinda!
I agree with you about Collage -- they are getting stale and need to realign themselves. I also think they charge WAY too much for videos that can be purchased elsewhere for a lot less.
I don't order from the at all anymore.
Amy
The right decision.
Cathe, I too feel you made the right decision regarding Collage. It sounds like they wanted you to succeed, but only by being dependent upon them. As others have said, I also prefer to order directly through Step N Motion, not just because of the quantity discounts, but because I like knowing that the full profit goes to Step N Motion (so you can make more great videos :-jumpy).
http://lynnio.homestead.com/files/artwork/newfoolsm.gif
Cathe, I too feel you made the right decision regarding Collage. It sounds like they wanted you to succeed, but only by being dependent upon them. As others have said, I also prefer to order directly through Step N Motion, not just because of the quantity discounts, but because I like knowing that the full profit goes to Step N Motion (so you can make more great videos :-jumpy).
http://lynnio.homestead.com/files/artwork/newfoolsm.gif
Cathe, I admire your decision
I've been a Collage customer for years and I don't think they are moving in the right direction business wise. They ignore the up and coming talent, they can't compete price-wise on the superstar, retail videos, and they want to make unreasonable demands on everyone in between. Not good business.
But, I never ordered any of your videos from their catalog anyway because their descriptions always made them sound like super un-doable advanced beyond all human endurance torture sessions. (Which they are, but I love them anyway -- ;-) -- just kidding!)
Then, I found VF, heard the real scoop, checked you out at the library, and ran over here to order and take advantage of the discount. Would I have so many of your tapes without the discount? Most likely not. Gotta save some money to eat, you know.
So, congrats on holding your ground. It's their loss, not yours.
Laura (LCC)
I've been a Collage customer for years and I don't think they are moving in the right direction business wise. They ignore the up and coming talent, they can't compete price-wise on the superstar, retail videos, and they want to make unreasonable demands on everyone in between. Not good business.
But, I never ordered any of your videos from their catalog anyway because their descriptions always made them sound like super un-doable advanced beyond all human endurance torture sessions. (Which they are, but I love them anyway -- ;-) -- just kidding!)
Then, I found VF, heard the real scoop, checked you out at the library, and ran over here to order and take advantage of the discount. Would I have so many of your tapes without the discount? Most likely not. Gotta save some money to eat, you know.
So, congrats on holding your ground. It's their loss, not yours.
Laura (LCC)
jencrispin
Member
RE: Cathe, I admire your decision
Laura, I was also scared to order a Cathe tape from Collage for at least a year, because of their descriptions but I finally had to, because I wanted a step tape that was longer than 30 minutes and I was disappointed with the one CIA I had ordered from Collage. Boy, am I glad I ordered Step Jam!
16 tapes later (the rest ordered directly from your site) I can say I think you're making the right decision. Your tapes are a lot more accessible to healthy, strong, slightly out of shape intermediates (like me) than Collage thinks they are. Plus, I also like knowing that you get to keep the profit to grow your business!
Laura, I was also scared to order a Cathe tape from Collage for at least a year, because of their descriptions but I finally had to, because I wanted a step tape that was longer than 30 minutes and I was disappointed with the one CIA I had ordered from Collage. Boy, am I glad I ordered Step Jam!
16 tapes later (the rest ordered directly from your site) I can say I think you're making the right decision. Your tapes are a lot more accessible to healthy, strong, slightly out of shape intermediates (like me) than Collage thinks they are. Plus, I also like knowing that you get to keep the profit to grow your business!
I don't blame you, but...
I kind of think it's a real shame, too. I would not have known about your videos if it wasn't for Collage's catalog (Mega Step Blast was my first Cathe video, & I have all the others except the Pure Strength series, which I am going to get soon), & up until a year ago, I had no connection to the internet because of financial reasons. I just hope that you will advertise in fitness magazines or something, so that people who aren't connected to the internet can be informed about you! I am of the opinion that fitness (even "elite Cathe-fitness") should be affordable. But, what am I worried about? I think that you do business as well as you make videos (which is exceptional), so there is nothing to worry about! It's Collage's loss.
I kind of think it's a real shame, too. I would not have known about your videos if it wasn't for Collage's catalog (Mega Step Blast was my first Cathe video, & I have all the others except the Pure Strength series, which I am going to get soon), & up until a year ago, I had no connection to the internet because of financial reasons. I just hope that you will advertise in fitness magazines or something, so that people who aren't connected to the internet can be informed about you! I am of the opinion that fitness (even "elite Cathe-fitness") should be affordable. But, what am I worried about? I think that you do business as well as you make videos (which is exceptional), so there is nothing to worry about! It's Collage's loss.
kathryn
Cathlete
Good news/bad news
Cathe--I'm glad to see you're sticking with a policy that is more beneficial to customers. I agree with you completely. It's unfortunate, though, that people browsing through the Collage catalog for the first time won't see your videos or be able to discover them. (Unfortunate, too, that the remaining "Cathe" videos in stock are lumped in the "other video" section of the catalog, which seems to house a hodge-podge containing some lemons).
I didn't discover your videos through Collage, but rather through Shape magazine (1989?), back when it used to do a yearly review of the best videos (until there got to be so many videos, and they started making some of their own). I wish they would go back to doing the yearly review--it was very well done, and much more thourough than a lot of the monthly reviews you can find in many magazines(which are usually done by a single person rather than a team).
This situation with Collage makes me wonder what other great instructors I'll be missing out on because they didn't want to be forced to follow Collage's new policies. ;-(
Cathe--I'm glad to see you're sticking with a policy that is more beneficial to customers. I agree with you completely. It's unfortunate, though, that people browsing through the Collage catalog for the first time won't see your videos or be able to discover them. (Unfortunate, too, that the remaining "Cathe" videos in stock are lumped in the "other video" section of the catalog, which seems to house a hodge-podge containing some lemons).
I didn't discover your videos through Collage, but rather through Shape magazine (1989?), back when it used to do a yearly review of the best videos (until there got to be so many videos, and they started making some of their own). I wish they would go back to doing the yearly review--it was very well done, and much more thourough than a lot of the monthly reviews you can find in many magazines(which are usually done by a single person rather than a team).
This situation with Collage makes me wonder what other great instructors I'll be missing out on because they didn't want to be forced to follow Collage's new policies. ;-(
RE: I think these answers are biased by Cathe die-hards?
I am sad about the Collage situation. I would not have gone along with them demanding changes to your website. But....
I too would have never known about you without Collage. I ordered the Collage catelogue after seeing it advertised in a fitness magazine. I only found out about Video Fitness and Cathe.com through the Collage Forum.
I oredered all your tapes from Collage except the P.S. serires (from CK sales - thank you for distributing in Canada) and the 8 pack which I pre-ordered from you.
I think all the Videots, Cathe freaks etc. as they call themselves don't realize what a small group they are compared to the population at large looking for videos.
I can tell you that I educate any friends that ask where I got so many cool videos. Most of them still think that Denise Austin, Crunch and Kathy Smith are all that exist (this is what we see in video stores or Walmart in Canada.)
I have a computer now; but I didn't until 2 years ago. Many people still don't and even if they do, how are they going to know about Cathe.com???????????
I still think it was unresonable of Collage - I mean they would still get the first sales of your videos to new buyers; then, if people want to go to your site from supplied information, they have the choice.
With the current situation, everyone loses! Collage loses business, you lose business and the average non-videot consumer loses.
Too bad.
BTW
I have noticed the decline in the response time and honesty of Collage answers and I think this is reflected in the lack of use of the Forums.
They used to very busy. Now I can check in once/week with maybe 5 new posts!
I am sad about the Collage situation. I would not have gone along with them demanding changes to your website. But....
I too would have never known about you without Collage. I ordered the Collage catelogue after seeing it advertised in a fitness magazine. I only found out about Video Fitness and Cathe.com through the Collage Forum.
I oredered all your tapes from Collage except the P.S. serires (from CK sales - thank you for distributing in Canada) and the 8 pack which I pre-ordered from you.
I think all the Videots, Cathe freaks etc. as they call themselves don't realize what a small group they are compared to the population at large looking for videos.
I can tell you that I educate any friends that ask where I got so many cool videos. Most of them still think that Denise Austin, Crunch and Kathy Smith are all that exist (this is what we see in video stores or Walmart in Canada.)
I have a computer now; but I didn't until 2 years ago. Many people still don't and even if they do, how are they going to know about Cathe.com???????????
I still think it was unresonable of Collage - I mean they would still get the first sales of your videos to new buyers; then, if people want to go to your site from supplied information, they have the choice.
With the current situation, everyone loses! Collage loses business, you lose business and the average non-videot consumer loses.
Too bad.
BTW
I have noticed the decline in the response time and honesty of Collage answers and I think this is reflected in the lack of use of the Forums.
They used to very busy. Now I can check in once/week with maybe 5 new posts!