Question away, you have your personal experiences and I have mine. I've used a back-log system before and it didn't work. With this method we are able to get in front of the orders day-to-day quicker than we can if we allow them to pile-up. I won't go any more into it as the story would be anecdotal and dismissible.
You have your own mental image of how we do and/or should operate and I'm near positive little I say will change that picture.
As for the discount argument, you are correct, if the assumption is that we operate at normal pricing under normal operation. We don't. Most of our up-time is with discounted prices. If I recall correctly, the last count was 5 days at regular price over the interim of 3 months. Plus our prices are really good. Granted, I don't shove loss-leaders down customers throats or try to funnel them into a pricey purchase. We do discount and incentivise in more overt ways like discounts, charity opt-ins, sensible purchase practices, freebies, personalization, and a few others.
Ben,
I'll go ahead and add my two cents. I expect you are on the edge of your seat waiting to hear my opinion about how you should operate your business.
I have run a small business before, certainly smaller than AVE. Actually, it felt more like the business was running me. When you run a privately held company and fund it from ongoing cash flow it is difficult to grow, especially when demand exceeds your capacity to supply. (Although, I must admit that I wish I had THAT problem when I had my business.) What seems fairly simple - rebuild a web site and build enough stock to satisfy exploding demand - the devil is in the details and the details can break your back. I get that but you can assume anyone else who hasn't been in those shoes can't appreciate the difficulties.
Unfortunately, many AVE fans have run through their stock of juice. Or, like me, have never tried it and are very anxious to give them a try. We're all part of of the spoiled American society. We want what we want and we want it now. In stock, ship Fedex that day, in our hands a day or two later. While I also would prefer to wait for it to be filled and avoid stalking the web site, I take your word that both models have their down sides and you have deemed the current setup to be the best. It was nice to see that articulated in your posts.
The only advice (call it a spectator's comments) I have is:
(1) It would be nice if we could browse your web site during closed hours. I only visited AVE.com a handful of times before it closed and my memory isn't what it used to be. I would like to order more than just BB and GJ and I don't recall what else was available and the prices. I would also like to ensure that my account I still in your database and if not, allow me re-instate it prior to the order entry rush. I'm really affraid that if I do any casual browsing while the order window is open, the window will close by the time I try to place the order. also, seeing the site off-hours might also afford the opportunity to do some of the extra web site testing/debugging you want to do (minus the order entry piece).
(2) Do the best you can to develop a very thick skin (easier said than done). You're dealing with the unwashed masses. The old saying is true - opinions are like @$#%^$, everybody has one. And, in the age of the internet, you'll be subjected to them all. Try to not let them get to you. You have plenty of more important things to worry about. Again, easier said than done.
(3) Keep up the postings. Without some tangible words from 'Ben himself', it's easy for your fan base to start filling in the blanks with their imagination. "He's rich and doesn't care", "He has us by the short hairs and knows it." Etc etc. It was interesting to me to read your latest posts and get a little insight into who you are, get an update on the status and finally get an appreciation regarding your view of things. That makes it much easier for me to be tolerant of the current situation.
(4) Keep the updates coming. They really help to reduce the unavoidable hassle in ordering your product. I wasted a bit of time the last couple days assuming you would open. That was quite frustrating. It's already going to be hassle and take more of my time to order your product than say, some widget from Amazon. It would help to avoid blind alleys. I expect that we're now past this since you say you'll open on Monday.
(5) Open the web site 30 minutes early just for me and increase my discount to 50%. No? Okay, had to ask.
