Greg
Staff member
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2023
- Messages
- 0
It’s that time of year again when companies everywhere start looking at ways to boost profits.
The easiest solution? Raise fees or charges.
In online Ag, we’ve seen this firsthand. One major player has increased their cattle fees by nearly 20% over just four years—far outpacing inflation and other benchmarks. As an example this has all happened as cattle prices have corrected after the previous highs meaning there is an increased impact on the producers back pocket.
Here’s the thing: there’s nothing wrong with increasing prices—if it’s tied to genuine service improvements or to cover inflation in a fair way like being tied to CPI. The problems come when companies hike prices solely to hit growth targets or satisfy shareholders.
One advantage of being independent and owned by people within the business is that we don’t have to meet aggressive growth targets.
When we launched On The Box, we promised to do things differently. Before going live, we spoke with vendors and agents to work out what a fair price would look like—one that acknowledges the hard work done by producers and agents when selling stock.
It would be easy for us to justify a price increase, especially when the “other guys” are almost double our charges. Even with higher fees, we’d remain competitive and see a jump in revenue—something any new business would love.
But making the right decision isn’t always about what’s easy.
All that said there may come a time when we’ll need to raise our prices.
When that day comes, we will do it like we always do: by talking to producers and agents to determine a fair price—one that works for everyone involved. What we won’t do is quietly update our pricing on the website and leave it to producers to discover the hike when it comes time to list their stock.
Because if we didn’t listen to the people who rely on us, how could we honestly say we’re here to make the industry better?
If you have any questions feel free to give me a shout on 0407 589 309 or greg@onthebox.com.au
The easiest solution? Raise fees or charges.
In online Ag, we’ve seen this firsthand. One major player has increased their cattle fees by nearly 20% over just four years—far outpacing inflation and other benchmarks. As an example this has all happened as cattle prices have corrected after the previous highs meaning there is an increased impact on the producers back pocket.
Here’s the thing: there’s nothing wrong with increasing prices—if it’s tied to genuine service improvements or to cover inflation in a fair way like being tied to CPI. The problems come when companies hike prices solely to hit growth targets or satisfy shareholders.
One advantage of being independent and owned by people within the business is that we don’t have to meet aggressive growth targets.
When we launched On The Box, we promised to do things differently. Before going live, we spoke with vendors and agents to work out what a fair price would look like—one that acknowledges the hard work done by producers and agents when selling stock.
It would be easy for us to justify a price increase, especially when the “other guys” are almost double our charges. Even with higher fees, we’d remain competitive and see a jump in revenue—something any new business would love.
But making the right decision isn’t always about what’s easy.
All that said there may come a time when we’ll need to raise our prices.
When that day comes, we will do it like we always do: by talking to producers and agents to determine a fair price—one that works for everyone involved. What we won’t do is quietly update our pricing on the website and leave it to producers to discover the hike when it comes time to list their stock.
Because if we didn’t listen to the people who rely on us, how could we honestly say we’re here to make the industry better?
If you have any questions feel free to give me a shout on 0407 589 309 or greg@onthebox.com.au