Reliable-Eyewitness.com [ Canada, USA & World Wide]

It's the Walmart syndrome. Once it gets popular the big box moves in and undercuts. Can't blame em it's business.
 
Ouch, sorry to hear. That's the second Canadian dashcam retailer to pull the plug.
At least you are bowing out gracefully and making a formal announcement unlike what BlackBoxed.ca did:
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...ponse-on-defective-cam-website-is-down.14972/
This certainly says a lot about the ethics of BlackBoxed.ca. They might play super nice to get your money and then become difficult or unreachable when things don't go well for the company or for whatever random reason.

I'm even disappointed with a local dashcam retailer who lied when questioned by another well known Canadian retailer. I had a smartphone recording of the conversation and I could've uploaded it here to show who's bsing who, but there was no point. It's all water under the bridge now. The dash camera warranty has expired. We won't be doing business with them again. However, this seems to be the kind of business the dashcam industry is now. Hopefully, that will change.
 
Indeed, as most of the other businesses, end up being swallowed up by gorillas... that often near self destroy, after wiping out smaller competitors, where workers for Godzilla's end up being exploited and undervalued, but not unexpected, sorry to say..
Keep own-self up, things might turn different in the future! ;)
 
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I could be wrong, but I see car manufacturers building dashcams into their vehicles. They already have reverse "dashcams". Stand-alone GPS units had their day, now virtually every new car has a nav system as an option or standard equipment. I suspect any mom and pop store dedicated to dashcams only won't be around long. That could be in part why service sucks so badly these days?
 
will they become standard fitment one day, maybe, I don't see that as any reason to have poor service now though, we're a long way off from them being standard equipment, poor service mostly relates to trying to be the cheapest, trying to be the cheapest means lower cost product to try and maintain margin, low cost product has more issues, more issues erodes margin through increased service costs, see a pattern?
 
I buy quite a lot of plastic junk off eBay, but if I only pay $4.99 with free shipping I am not surprised when it is not gold plated :D

My Dad had a plaque hanging on the wall of his office for years, it went something like this:

If you want good quality oats you have to pay a fair price, however if you are satisfied with oats that have been thru the horse once already.....well that comes a bit cheaper.
 
will they become standard fitment one day, maybe, I don't see that as any reason to have poor service now though, we're a long way off from them being standard equipment, poor service mostly relates to trying to be the cheapest, trying to be the cheapest means lower cost product to try and maintain margin, low cost product has more issues, more issues erodes margin through increased service costs, see a pattern?
+1
 
I could be wrong, but I see car manufacturers building dashcams into their vehicles. They already have reverse "dashcams". Stand-alone GPS units had their day, now virtually every new car has a nav system as an option or standard equipment. I suspect any mom and pop store dedicated to dashcams only won't be around long. That could be in part why service sucks so badly these days?
I agree one day vehicle cameras will likely become stock equipment on new vehicles. There are all ready manufactures who are offering built in cameras, and many more dealerships who sell dash cameras such as Lukas to sell to their customers.
This is a fact of life in the automotive accessory industry.

This however does not mean there is not a business to be made here for aftermarket dash cameras. It will take decades before the majority of vehicles have cameras built in. In the meantime there is ample opportunity to build countless reputable quality brands. From the end product manufacture, to the chipset manufacture, to the distributor and the reseller.

Yes times are changing, the product is maturing, and Canada in particular is in a recession. The "spontaneous buy" customer who wants easy, does no research, and has trust in existing recognizable brands, can go to a Costco or a Best Buy and pick up a off the shelf camera. Typically ones built by recognizable brands such as Garmin, HP, or Cobra. This has a large part to killing the business in Canada for online reselling of generic cameras.

will they become standard fitment one day, maybe, I don't see that as any reason to have poor service now though, we're a long way off from them being standard equipment, poor service mostly relates to trying to be the cheapest, trying to be the cheapest means lower cost product to try and maintain margin, low cost product has more issues, more issues erodes margin through increased service costs, see a pattern?

I would argue though that this has little correlation to customer service. Kyle was a great guy, and has a respectable reputation, and he is out of business. While the folks at blackboxed clearly did not.
Like Rick has said service and & quality problems arise when there is high demand for the cheapest product. Its this expectation that leads to poor service.
Again this is why I moved away from selling generics. I have continued to invest into building my brand on the platform of organically authentic customer service, and quality.

It's been a good run, but I am sad to say we are Closing Up Shop.

Thankyou to all out supporters for allowing us to bring you great dash cams and quality service.
Our profit margins we were looking for were no longer obtainable with the recent strengthening of the US dollar to the Canadian Dollar. The recent opening of Amazon to Asian sellers was another challenge we could not compete with, many of which were suppliers or selling only a few dollars over cost.

We had a good experience and will be selling off our remaining stock through our Facebook page at heavy discounts.

If you have any questions please use our interm email at reyewitness@gmail.com

Thanks
Kyle

Lastly but most importantly.
I am so very sorry to hear about this Kyle.
Ill be completely honest, if it wasn't for some advice you gave me years ago. I would likely not be where I am now..
I have struggled with what to say after reading about your closure last month.
Please let me know if there is ever anything I could help you with.
Believe it or not I am are always looking to create greater co-operation, not competition.

Take care!!

-Robert.
 
I would argue though that this has little correlation to customer service. Kyle was a great guy, and has a respectable reputation, and he is out of business..

just to clarify that was a generalisation of what happens in the industry, any industry really, not aimed at Kyle, I have spoken to Kyle previously and know he was customer service focussed, I think his biggest challenge was he sold a lot of product that people with low prices and crap service also sold, human nature says people shop on price so a lot of his opportunity was lost, the greatest service in the world doesn't help a lot if people aren't buying
 
just to clarify that was a generalisation of what happens in the industry, any industry really, not aimed at Kyle, I have spoken to Kyle previously and know he was customer service focussed, I think his biggest challenge was he sold a lot of product that people with low prices and crap service also sold, human nature says people shop on price so a lot of his opportunity was lost, the greatest service in the world doesn't help a lot if people aren't buying
Sorry for the confusion Rick, I meant that as a compliment your previous comment.
 
Thanks for the support guys. I have been reviewing the current market and the amount of interest I have been getting recently.
I am in the process of starting up again.. thanks to the customers who have supported us and love the customer service we provided (we all know that is the key, even when pricing is different.. no one wants to get stuck with a bad device and no help).

So watch for us in the next little while.. should be good!

Kyle
Owner
Reliable-Eyewitness
 
+1. No one is going to buy a new car when all they need is a new dashcam.
And nobody is going to buy a new car because they need a new audio system. However, people will always want the most bang for their buck. People are becoming more vocal in what they want. Auto manufacturers conduct regular focus groups. Nobody wants their vehicle broken into because their car attracts a thief who is looking to steal a GPS or dashcam. Besides, wires and anything that is an eyesore (most people) won't like.

As far as Kylie goes, I'll have to check you out. Are you affiliated with Witness Auto in Vancouver?
 
And nobody is going to buy a new car because they need a new audio system. However, people will always want the most bang for their buck. People are becoming more vocal in what they want. Auto manufacturers conduct regular focus groups. Nobody wants their vehicle broken into because their car attracts a thief who is looking to steal a GPS or dashcam. Besides, wires and anything that is an eyesore (most people) won't like.

As far as Kylie goes, I'll have to check you out. Are you affiliated with Witness Auto in Vancouver?

We are 100% independent. In the game long before Witness or the vast majority.


Check us out www.reliable-eyewitness.com
 
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