i'm going to tell you a story, and maybe you can help with the poll

...a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

a small intergalactic merchant Eidi who specializes in niche market parts to make competition spaceships faster and better one day realizes he's in a whole lotta trouble. originally from the Alpha quadrant, Eidi took advantage of the latest tachyon packet networks that was deployed by the Republic throughout the known galaxy for communication purposes to sell his parts into the Beta and Delta quadrants. aside from reselling quality spacecraft upgrade parts which Eidi tested thoroughly with various testing facilities at his own expense, Eidi also designed and made his own small parts in the Alpha quadrant for resale to his customers throughout the galaxy.

due to the advancement of the tachyon packet networks, customers from all over the galaxy was able to see Eidi's products and discuss their experiences instantly over the network. this gave Eidi a convenient and fast way of communicating between himself and his customers. however, the niche market where Eidi markets in slowly became saturated with other competitors who wanted share that piece of pie with similar product offerings. some competitors bypassed the usual distribution channels and smuggled grey imports (nothing wrong with that ). some competitors are much larger and had capital and inventory capacities that was 10 to 100 times Eidi's size. Eidi tried desperately to hold onto his market share and expand by offering bonus products, free products, free offerings, and free freight carry by Universal Product Shipping company - one of the largest in the galaxy, but facing mounting competition and a shrinking market, Eidi's options seem to shrink on a daily basis.

If you were Eidi, what would you do?

 

It's difficult, but I don't think Eidi should underestimate the value of that personal touch built up with customers during his early excursions into the galaxy. Provided he continues to offer his customers imaginative and reasonably priced products , my guess is he'll weather the storm. Perhaps rather than rely solely on his inter galactic merchandising, he should play it safe by returning to flying Federation Starships for some regular income.

 

Eidi should look for partners who might be having the same difficulties. When a market becomes saturated, vendors must consolidate to increase market share and cut costs. Small vendors who cannot compete on price find it difficult to survive in the described environment.

Another solution is to look for new markets that expand the customer base beyond the small niche.

Both strategies, together, might be the best approach.

Of course, niche and part-time are strategies that also go well together...

 

Cedrick: I think Eidi would be very happy to read your comment. Unfortunately, the Federation and Starfleet is laying people off left and right. For some reason experienced captains are unwanted these days

J: thank you, I figure Eidi would do well to take on other markets.

Any other comments? I thought Eidi should ask a Jedi Master if he could learn the Jedi mind trick. Perhaps this way Eidi can persuade customers to buy from him? LOL.

 

I hope what I suggested helped -- I've got a couple more ideas if you're interested, just let me know!