Italianiron/Britiron Classics Business Updates

We do hope that in addition to our Vintage Motorcycle Racing & Riding community, that our family and friends worldwide are managing life successfully through these difficult times. Despite being cloistered due to the ongoing worldwide pandemic, it has allowed us to work to complete two projects, begin a John Player Norton 850 Commando project, and to begin the rebuild of my Spaggiari Scuderia Corse inspired 750 bevel drive racer. We have also been able to begin to make significant strides in terms of inventorying and then updating the acquisition of the last 3 purchases of inventory. We have also made some needed adjustments in terms of marketing procedures and protocols. I will write separate blog posts relating to these completed projects and new items will be photographed and posted through the Italianiron.com website as quickly as possible.

Synergies continue to be built between Italianiron/Britiron Classics and the new owners of Two Wheel Classics, Molnar Precision LTD in the UK. We are already getting orders for Molnar Manx bits and BritIron Norton twin items. For Norton Manx or Commando inquiries, we have a new email address, Britironclassics@gmail.com. However, we can always be contacted through our website Italianiron@msn.com as well. The quality of our offerings continue to improve markedly and the expanse of our offerings continue to expand significantly. If you do not see what you need, please do not hesitate to contact me as we still have thousands of items not on the website yet. It is my preference to get "shopping lists" for items that restorers and builders are seeking!!

We have had numerous customer purchases of our Ducati F1 bodywork kits as these items are faithful, quality copies of the original F1 bodywork. We are also working with different machine shops to start to produce some of our own speciality race products. Further, we are accumulating a good inventory of aluminum fuel tanks for the TT 2, F1 and our TT 1000 with shallow sump for use with modern 2 and 3 valve Ducati engines. I will be starting photo albums of our builds on my FB page, Scot P Wilson/ItalianIron Classics with our latest Ducati F1 build using a modern 900 ss carbed engine that competed in Pro Thunder and built by  Bruce Meyers as a 944 cc race engine and we will be using our SmartCarbs flat slides for this application. We hope that this will be another exciting project to share and to generate interest in our kits. Stay tuned!!

Our marketing efforts are becoming more focused on where we get the best response and return on investment of time. I wish to thank our international customers as our Italianiron.com website continues to be the primary source of how we get discovered. It is interesting that 60% of our sales are from international customers. Our commitment is to provide quality offerings and we will continue to work hard to upgrade and build-out our portfolio made through our Italianiron.com website. As a result, I have closed my ebay store and only have a few items listed essentially for marketing purposes. Do note that the prices for those listed ebay items reflect fleabay's high fee structure and my desire to move away from what I perceive as an antiquated platform. Additionally, we will be focusing our marketing efforts through social media, "groups" on FB and with the website to be the main source for listings of updated inventory, builds and acquisitions. 

Please also know that at Italian Iron Classics, LLC we are working hard to keep our pricing fair and reasonable as expenses across the spectrum continue to go up annually. Additionally, as Molnar Precision LTD products for the Manx or for TT/F1 products are sold to us in British Pounds Sterling, we do occasionally have to adjust pricing due to fluctuations in international currency values. Please note that the "Make an Offer" feature on the website does not pertain to new Molnar Manx or Two Wheel Classics offerings. To help to provide a good value in our pricing, we have been able to assist many customers "down under", for example, with some very attractive shipping rates. Additionally we are also facilitating the shipping of items to our many customers on the European continent directly from the UK. Our goal is to be your proven, quality and cost effective resource for vintage racing motorcycle spare parts worldwide!!

We do offer the "Make an Offer "feature on the NOS and OEM Ducati, Norton  and other Italian marque spare parts that are offered on our website. Very frankly, we try very hard to arrive at a fair offering price and we spend countless hours searching the internet for comparable pricing on these products to get a good sense of fair market value. However, do know that I also "round-up" very often to the high end of the price range with our starting prices. Please do not be put off with our starting prices for these products in our inventory as it is necessary to separate that restorer who understands fair market values for items from the "deal" hunter who is only looking to acquire a hard-to-find bit cheaply. Please use the "Make an Offer" feature on the Italianiron.com website so that we can arrive at a Win:Win.

It is our goal to offer a good product at a good price and to achieve a Win:Win for both the willing seller (us) and the willing buyer (you).However, there are always differing opinions when it comes to price. It is not my intention to get into the acquisition, shipping and processing costs associated with large inventory purchases, however, there are just business operating costs that must be a part of the price calculation. Further, for our international customers, VAT and shipping costs are a concern. That is certainly understood. As I have written in a previous blog post from 31 Aug 19, we are getting significant volume discounts for both inbound and outbound shipments from our different international shipping companies. As a result, if we cannot more significantly reduce the price of our item for you, we are very often able to make the transaction a Win:Win through cost effective shipping rates to your location.

It is my hope to share an incidence that hopefully makes apparent the need for a discussion on pricing, business and procedures. We just received, for example, an offer for 27% of the price of a 2:1 race exhaust; it was not a 27% discount off of the price of the item. I can only speculate that this gentleman expected a corona virus discount!! That offer was declined as it did not recognize the potential of a Win:Win proposition. This is obviously the exception and not the rule. However, we do accept reasonable offers as sometimes our pricing may not best reflect fair market value. I also understand that for our international customers that cost of shipping can be cost prohibitive as I too have seen many instances through fleabay, for example, where the cost of shipping was higher than the cost of the item. It is interesting that 60% of our sales are to international customers as we do work very tirelessly to find the most cost effective shipping solution to your destination. Let us prove this point. 

We also accept offers on all of our Race and Street Bikes. We also have the skill-set to assist you with using one of our TT or F1 racer chassis and bodywork kits to build that custom Ducati TT 2 or Ducati F1 that you have always envisioned. In addition to assisting with your build, we have steering heads with VIN numbers and US titles for those individuals who wish to build a TT or F1 racer but wish to also use it on the street. We make steering head VIN badges that will rivet into the steering head. We can either laser cut your VIN or one from one of our steering heads to aide the process of getting proper registration with your local governmental office. We look forward to being of assistance in supporting your Race Passions for Vintage Italian and British motorcycles.  

My test track up the mountain roads in the Sonoran Desert of Southern Arizona USA that also provides significant therapy. Come by for a visit!!