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Last Tango
10-23-2009, 12:56 PM
I cannot confirm this with any first-hand personal facts, but:
Heard that Fountain/Baja were sold on the courthouse steps at auction, and that the new owner is the same one that bought Donzi Marine and Pro-Line. And he is moving everything to North Carolina to the Fountain/Baja factory.

I did not make this up. I just heard it repeated to me by a quality source, who got from an (now) ex-Donzi dealer...

Anybody got the REAL, TODAY word on this stuff?

I am not an insider of any kind so I just heard about the "merger". Is this true?

Ed Donnelly
10-23-2009, 01:00 PM
I'm sure Josh S or C.D.M.A. will know soon enough if it is true...Ed

DonziJosh
10-23-2009, 01:22 PM
True about the ownership.

Not true about the move.

The brands will continue to operate autonomously with their exiting management, design crews, and facilities. Look for Donzi and Fountain to remain as they should be: healthy competitors.

J.

glashole
10-23-2009, 01:30 PM
it would be nice to see some fountain guys go over to donzi and help with overall designs and quality

Carl C
10-23-2009, 01:32 PM
I cannot confirm this with any first-hand personal facts, but:
Heard that Fountain/Baja were sold on the courthouse steps at auction, and that the new owner is the same one that bought Donzi Marine and Pro-Line. And he is moving everything to North Carolina to the Fountain/Baja factory.

I did not make this up. I just heard it repeated to me by a quality source, who got from an (now) ex-Donzi dealer...

Anybody got the REAL, TODAY word on this stuff?

I am not an insider of any kind so I just heard about the "merger". Is this true?

I suspect that all of that will become true only because a knowledable member here predicted the move to NC. Let's be glad that we haven't lost Donzi entirely.

VetteLT193
10-23-2009, 02:07 PM
The NC move wouldn't surprise me either. with the current fire sale at Donzi via eBay it seems they are getting rid of stuff that is useful to current boat production. For example: A couple days ago they were selling a stainless pop up LED nav light, brand new. Why sell that when you can stick it on the next boat?

DonziJosh
10-23-2009, 02:34 PM
The NC move wouldn't surprise me either. with the current fire sale at Donzi via eBay it seems they are getting rid of stuff that is useful to current boat production. For example: A couple days ago they were selling a stainless pop up LED nav light, brand new. Why sell that when you can stick it on the next boat?

It's good to be noticed!

I'm in charge of the selling on Ebay. Typically manufacturers sell off pallets full of obsolete parts for pennies on the dollar to companies like Great Lakes Skipper, Marine Surplus, Boat Surplus, etc. This is a common practice, and you'll see those guys all over Ebay. What we're doing actually delivers a far better return than going that route, although we're not looking to move anywhere near that sort of volume.

That stainless steel pop-up LED nav light you mentioned was not a type we've ever used on any boat. Many of the items I'm selling were items acquired by the engineering guys and never used. Other items were raided for parts, damaged on the production line, etc. We saw an opportunity to clear some space, and for me it is a nice interim side project.

In many cases, the time could be taken to return these parts to inventory. But a loss for the factory means a good deal to the buyer. Today we shipped four sets of Merc sweeper tail pipes to waiting customers for a fraction of what they'd cost at retail. Donzi had swapped those components as part of their standard install and wasn't gonna use 'em anyway.

Shameless plug: Check out our Ebay store!
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/DonziBoatParts

:popcorn:

VetteLT193
10-23-2009, 02:41 PM
It's good to be noticed!

I'm in charge of the selling on Ebay. Typically manufacturers sell off pallets full of obsolete parts for pennies on the dollar to companies like Great Lakes Skipper, Marine Surplus, Boat Surplus, etc. This is a common practice, and you'll see those guys all over Ebay. What we're doing actually delivers a far better return than going that route, although we're not looking to move anywhere near that sort of volume.

That stainless steel pop-up LED nav light you mentioned was not a type we've ever used on any boat. Many of the items I'm selling were items acquired by the engineering guys and never used. Other items were raided for parts, damaged on the production line, etc. We saw an opportunity to clear some space, and for me it is a nice interim side project.

In many cases, the time could be taken to return these parts to inventory. But a loss for the factory means a good deal to the buyer. Today we shipped four sets of Merc sweeper tail pipes to waiting customers for a fraction of what they'd cost at retail. Donzi had swapped those components as part of their standard install and wasn't gonna use 'em anyway.

Shameless plug: Check out our Ebay store!
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/DonziBoatParts

:popcorn:

Sweet. thanks for the info. I wanted that light, missed the auction end though :bonk:

I keep hoping to see some stuff come up for my boat, i.e. options I didn't get. LOL.

BUIZILLA
10-23-2009, 03:10 PM
thank you for the link...

already found something I need... :yes: