ASP

Ron, I figured I'd do a little FREE market research for you.

You can really learn a lot from you target customers, so here goes . . .

What would you be willing to pay for a set of RonJon 19" DEVOTION-1pF wheels?

ASP

Here are the lovely wheels -> http://www.ronjonwheels.com/devotion1pf.html

vp911

I am cheap so I chose a cheaper price range - but push come to shove, I would probably pay a little more.

Jeff Sloan

I voted. I'd pay $500 each for them. Thay are beautiful wheels (once polished!!).

I'd probably be in on the group buy at $550 each, but I just can't buy right now . . .

(Sorry Ron)

ASP

Interesting results so far . . .

ASP

Wow, Ron are you reading this?

rondog

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, but to ask how much someone is willing to pay is very hard to get a straight answer. I know I would want to pay less in every situation, lol. But the wheels are priced out fairly, considering the process of MonoBlack Forging and the very limited quantities. This particular part number for the Rl only its the RL, no other vehicle in the entire automotive industry, I'm sure that you will be getting your money's worth.

Check the sig for the GB going on right now for this limited production run.

Here's a list of everything that comes with the wheels:

RonJon 1 Piece Forged Light Weight Wheels:
DEVOTION-1pF
19" x 8.5" 42mm offset, No rubbing, and caliper clearance guarenteed. TPMS compatible and hubcentric application.
$610 each wheel.

Available Finish:
•Full mirror polished Face and Lip (shown below)

Included Accessories with each wheel:
•High Quality Chrome Valve Stem and Cap
•RonJon Sport Design Centercap Emblem and Seat
•Five [1lb per inch] Aluminum Emblems per wheel for inserts
•Four rivets to offset valve stem
•Sparkle Silver Vinyl Decal on Lip
•Miniture Plaque logo between lug nut openings
•Uses OEM Lug nuts which are not Included
•2 RonJon Sport Design Emblems for Vehicle
•Media kit including Catalog and upcoming RJSD Projects

*Initial 25 set limited production will be available only to those who pre-order, call in for more info.

vp911

mmm everytime I see that wheel I tell myself I am willing to pay more for it. Ron, I think this may be the best wheel you have designed. It is amazing

ASP

I agree it looks great, but RL owners don't want to pay what Ron's asking.

Ron, what you are offering may seem great to you, but if your target customers are not interested or are clearly looking for something else, it doesn't mean squat. To be successful you need to meet customer's needs and wants; not yours.

You can learn a lot from your target customers . . . Business 101.

WhitePearl_RL

Beautiful wheel, and I am sure it is well worth your asking price. But for a daily driver, I could not pay that much per wheel. My son paid ~$800/wheel for BBS LM's on his old car, but used them only for shows and easy summer driving. I would want a wheel I could use year round and not go nuts when I hit a pothole and crack it (which my son did with two of the BBS wheels).

I still suggest offering a Cast Aluminum wheels like you do for other Acura models. Those wheels are reasonably priced for daily driving, and I would love to have a set in 19 inch

vp911

I agree. I have loved your designs - if I hadn't bought the a-spec wheels and you had something in 18-19" that was priced closer to the Inspyres I would have bought them instead of the a-spec. to your designs.

So, when are you doing a body kit for the RL?

ASP

Yup!

ASP

Any more voters/votes?

Qatar

well, I purchased the 19 inch chrome Devotion wheel from Ron.
All i can say is i got my money's worth, because i have no problems whatsoever because Ronn did his homework and made sure that the wheels fits perfectly just like a shoe on my foot.
Ron's rims might be a bit expensive to some, but paying $2440 or even $3000 for a set is a good price for a 50K vehicle.
You also avoid rubbing and clearance problems and exclusivity, plus they look perfect on the RL.
Thanks Ron, and i'm waiting for the RL's Inspyre version

ASP

some = over 86% of RL owners who have taken this poll.

Qatar

then lets just be honest with ourselves and say RonJon products are not for us.

Qatar

also put in mind that paying less elsewhere might cause a lot more in damage than when you get a worry free product

ASP

Sad, but true; at least with regards to the current offering and the current pricing.

Hopefully this will change . . .

WhitePearl_RL

The Layperson will notice no difference...

Qatar

I don't think that the issue is about people noticing the difference between Ronjon wheels and other manufactures, but its about fit and finish and perfect fitment which i think you'll never find with outher wheels manufactures where they build rims to fit many cars.

ASP

Are any of the RL customers shouting from the roof-top, "Bring me the best fit and finish wheels with perfect exclusive fitment . . . I'll pay the premium!"

Answer is "no".

Based on all the posts I've read here, they want a good looking, reasonably priced wheel that will clear the calipers and not stick out too far.

Pretty simple needs . . .

WhitePearl_RL

I have no doubt about the fit and finish of the Ronjon wheels, I have read about them on all the Acura forums. Not everyone wants to pay such high prices for a forged high quality wheel when they are using their cars for daily driving (Qatar being the exception because from his posts on this forum and other forums, he is doing quite well financially). I had $$$$ forged Fiske wheels on my track car, but they served a functional purpose, not just looking good. It will only be a matter of time before popular wheel manufacturers will start making wheels that fit the RL and the "monopoly" held by Ronjon will force him to lower prices or discontinue making wheels for the RL.

Just out of curiosity, how many sets of the forged 1 piece Ronjon wheels have been sold thus far to RL owners?

Compare that to how many sets of the cast wheels that Ronjon has sold to the CL, TL, TSX, etc. owners.

Just my .02$

ASP

Could not have said it better.

rondog

iTrader: (1)

well, we get ALOT of 3 piece wheel inquiries for the RL, i'm talking about $950 a wheel. The one piece wheel has been pretty normal regarding interest. The advantage of a forged wheel by RJSD is that there are no vibrations at high speeds, due to a hubcentric centerbore, just for the RL. Also, caliper clearance, correct, non-rubbing offsets, OEM lug nut compatibility, for security purposes, and super light weight, 19 lbs as opposed to 27+ lbs for a similarly sized cast wheel.
All these things have higher cost when you consider that this particular wheel only fits the RL, and no other vehicle in the industry. We coulde have made cheaper wheels, and made the fit many different vehicles, and we would have sold a ton more. But we make wheels to satisfy our theory that Honda and Acura owners deserve a perfect fit, with no problems down the line, and no sacrifice in driveabilty. you won't get that or even close to the security we offer with other compnies.

ASP

I mean no disrespect, but you should try to satisfy potential customer's wants and needs before your own theories. Without us, you won't have anything to sell.

We have spoken; pay close attention.

rondog

iTrader: (1)

potential customers? If that was the case, we would be doing wheels that barely fit for the masses, we would have done spinners when they first came out, and we would be making fake one piece wheels that look like wanna be three piece wheels. Without our own morals and belief system, our company would be whoring itself out to every little trend that pops up. We have this system of doing what we are known for doing, classy styles that are functiojnal and realo, and that is what will keep our company around when other trend following companies get washed out.
I have worked with some companies that have be introduced at the same time as us with more initial success, and now they are already bankrupt from the quick trends that come in and out real quick, and trust me, those where decided based on "potential Customer needs".
No offence taken, but we are doing things that no other company is doing. Besides, the RL crowd is very conservative and such a small portion of our sales that itm is impossible to satisfy all of their needs with little or no reward, but more of a loss. We just associated the higher vehicle quality and cost with a higher product cost and quality.

acurafox

Excellent market analysis, Rondog. While I would love to get your georgeous wheels for $400 each, I understand that you are trying to address a niche market, which you described pretty well. I noticed that same thing with my former car (Volvo 850 Turbo). In the beginning, everything for the car was a lot more expensive than it was for the same part on a more popular car, and it took a few years before there was enough market "critical mass" to push the prices lower so that the supplier still made a reasonable profit and was able to amortize their investment in product development. Even today, quality wheels for the 850 are more expensive than the same product for other more popular cars. A case in point: the turbo chip upgrade I bought for the Volvo was $850 when I got it several years ago; the same product is now less than $400, and the reason appears to be that there is enough interest to generate a market that more than one supplier can address, which creates competition for the customers and is sustainable because there are enough customers to satisfy all the suppliers (or at least the ones that offer quality products!). It pains me to support a position that will result in me paying more for something I want, but the free market is a harsh mistress, both for the supplier and the customer.

WhitePearl_RL

If that is the case, then why do so many BMW 5 series and MB E class owners buy such brands as ASA, TSW, Mille Miglia, etc. However, if it is not going to be profitable, stay with what you are doing because in the end a business is about customer satisfaction and your financial benefit.

Not even the factory AMG 18 inch staggered wheels I put on my 1998 S600 cost that much and I paid $79K for the car in 2000.

Oh well, to each their own. I see where you are coming from Ronjon and I respect that 100%. I own a family food business and our motto is "Quality is our most important product."

Best of luck, maybe Qatar will be selling his RL soon and I can buy his wheels at a discount

rondog

iTrader: (1)

BMW and MB already have Dedicated name brands as well as generic name brands to provide a wide variety of products. Besides they have a much larger amount of vehicle sales. But the companies who pro9vide wheels for those vehicles have their own ideas on what is good for customer's and themselves while we believe in what i mentioned above, hence the higher quality wheels.
Also, AMG doesn't make their wheels forged, so their prices are different. It would be more fair to compare our inspyre or Servo to an AMG wheel because they follow the same engineering process. Once again, low volume products will always cost more than higher volume production poarts like the AMG wheels who are supported by MB themselves. AMG wheels provide no advantage over the OEM wheels anyway, excpet style, Our forged wheels are a true upgrade, in quality, strength and lightness as well as style.

bkw

$610 for custom forged wheels? That's a bargain in my book.

I'm currently looking into custom Rays, Work, BBS LM's, and JLine's in 19". Even with my industry discount, these are all substantially more than $610/per wheel, and they don't even fit right!

ASP

After a month the results are in . . .

https://acurazine.com/forums/poll.ph...ults&pollid=14

ck37

Here is my 2 cents for what it's worth.

RonJon, you have very innovative designs and I commend you on that. However to gain more business (which I am sure is your ultimate goal here), your product needs to be visible to the masses or at least to the market you are aiming for. Yes RL customers tend to be more on the conservative side in terms of style, but also in terms of price. Otherwise they would have opted for a Benz, BMW, etc.

So in saying this, wouldn't the most logical step to be lowering the prices initially to a decent price (even though your designs and construction are worth more) to get the inital business? At the point where you see enough growth, then you can slightly raise prices over time to the price point you want initally. At that point you would have a following and enough exposure to warrant such increases.

I have been in sales more a number of years and I have seen and worked with many different mind sets when it comes to product and pricing. From my personal experience, the companies that start off with affordable pricing, gain name recognition, tend to have a longer "shelf" life than those that try to overprice themselves out of the market. I am not saying you are doing that, because I don't know your companies finacial status, but I am just basing my assumptions on the post i have read here.

Good luck to you and all the best.

stingerbtry

I agree. Personally I'd buy the ronjon wheels if they were considerably cheaper then they are but I don't see how I could pay the same or more for wheels from a company I've never heard of when I can get Mugen wheels for around the same price ~$600/ea. If I were in the market to get wheels I'd probably spend the extra money for the Volks before I'd buy these wheels at these prices. At least I know Volk/Rays is a big company and that they will be around in the future if I ever needed them. Now all this being said is only my opinion since I personally have never heard of ronjon wheels and wouldn't feel safe spending so much on a brand I have no idea about.

vp911

RJ does only Honda and Acura wheels. I have had his wheels in the past and while everybody is different - I am a big fan of his designs.

stingerbtry

No doubt about the designs being nice. I'm just saying that I personally would be more reluctant to buy them then I would the mugen or volk wheels especially since the mugen wheels are in the same price range and come from I company I've heard of and have much experience with.

rondog

iTrader: (1)

Well, lowering the prices will not happen becasue the whole project was calculated with expences and inventory costs to be right where it is as a selling price. Our price for a high quality wheel that is stronger, lighter and more stylish than OEm wheels is very fair considering the competition. Also, the fitment is second to none.
IMO, Mugen have boring styling, thats why you barely see them on Acura vehicles.
We are a new company, but our customer service and relations are very highly rated, especially on these boards. Yes we have policies, but we take care of our fellow enthusisasts if need be on a case by case basis. Our products are also manufactured along side the most popular brands in the industry, yet out specs are geared specifically towards Honda and Acura only to provide these owners with a perfect guarenteed fit, even with modifications. Do what you will, but we have already sold out on 3 part numbers and have only 1 set left of the RL wheel. We also have a 20" version of this wheel custom built for a showcar RL. So its a mixed bag with the RL guys, its highly successful with the L guys and its right in the middle with 2nd gen CL, 2nd gen TL, Honda Accord and TSX customers. We are dong fine and very competitive with our prices, while we are not competitive with our specs and quality.

We will be around for as long as Honda and Acura are around as well, just for the record.

rondog

iTrader: (1)

just a sample of some quoted customers all from the same thread, and some images of the wheels:

Motown2006RL

The Layperson will not be driving the car - you will. If all you wanted to do was look Bling for the guy on the street you can do a hell of a lot better than an RL. I just bought mine for the refinement and driving dynamics it delivers. Most Laypersons will be more impressed with my Lexus LS I am selling now. These wheels are a true work of art and like any good design, it is all in the details. Details that you will appreciate every time you see them, not how much $$ you saved getting something cheaper (that won't fit or perform as well. I just wish I didn't just put the A-Spec 18's on mine!!!! Damn.

ASP

So who bought the RL wheels?

Based on this thread and the actual data in the poll results, only two owner's could have.

bkw - ??
Magomboman - ??
Motown2006RL - already has A-SPEC
Qatar - already has 3pc
rondog - you don't own a RL

Maybe they don't post here.

Magomboman

Yes, I did place my order for the 19” Devotions. I am anxiously waiting to mount them on my black RL. I’m secure in my choice. Being a member of this very informative forum nearly 5 years has given me the opportunity to assess the data and make informed decisions. I’m truly aware of the well-known brand names that are out there however if you believe in the craftsmanship of the product and you can purchase it without going into bankruptcy then I say go for it.