Haha Ray you are a "boutique supplier of high quality manual machines" I would bet a $2 bill that if you raised the prices up you probably sell the same amount if not more. If the product is sold so fast that you can't meet demand, then its priced too cheap. And if the increased price could cover more "direct"customer service, then its a win for everyone. No offense but being only able to reach you instead of QMT is an obvious problem.
LOL: A friend of mine owns a very successful liquor store -and one day, he bought a display case of cheap cigars all priced between $1 and $3. They didn't sell worth a darn and were getting stale. I told him to increase the price to $7 to $8 -and they sold like hotcakes.
I don't think Matt wants to raise prices... Truth be told, he likes supporting the small shops and hobbyists -despite the frustrations. I can't talk about the details of what goes on behind the scenes with Matt but, he has some clients that call and speak with him 2-3 times a week -and some, 2-3 times a day... That eats up a lot of his time and at some point, he cannot take any more calls during the day. Long story short, some of Matt's big customers started-out as little guys -and they continue to do good business with him. He's been in business for 15 years and my guess, is he'll still be in business 15 years from now. There's a lot to be said for that -and my hat is off to him. I can't think of too many "flash in the pan" boutiques with those kinds of longevity prospects...
As for me, I'm not doing this to get rich (LOL)... I'm semi-retired and a teacher at-heart and don't mind the hobbyist crowd. That said, he wants me to be the front-end for the business. Matt is perfectly happy working with his crew every day. He loves it -and that's no joke. When the busy times like this are over, he scours the Continents looking for exceptional value stuff. He loves tools and machines! He's like Tim the Tool Man -Times TEN! One of his dreams is to find the perfect machinery that address all the complaints that folks have about various machines... He's had prototype machines made and goes to foundries to have test-parts made... He's in hog-heaven doing that kind of stuff... Naaaahhh, I don't see Matt ever sitting in a "Boutique"... Man, does that conjure-up some comical images...
Ray
PS: Here's a few snaps of me at the marina earlier today. I was hanging upside like that for several hours all total doing some general maintenance but also taking measurements for some structural work that I will custom-build in my shop. At 55, some say I'm stupid for doing this -but man, I love all the stuff I do. Working w/Matt/Nicole/Travis, doing cool stuff on yachts (and learning a lot too) and running my custom shop. The Yacht work is extremely challenging at times... -love it. And getting custom motor mounts under a 2 ton motor... Haven't figured-out how I'll do that yet -but I will.
No more boardrooms or development labs for me. -Done with that. ... It's all about doing what you like/love doing...
PS, PS: Sometimes it's really tricky getting out of those tight quarters. It's real easy to get "owies".
EDIT: Here's the hole I was stuffed into... Tight fit and sometimes I need to call my partner on the phone and ask him to yank on my legs to pull me out.