When did Adam's have 16 oz bottles of compound and polish?

[MikeSoFlo]

Sorry, not sure where this question would go but does anyone know when Adam's had these 16 oz versions of their compounds and polishes? Was it a short run? I can't recall seeing them on the website any time recent ... 

 

 

[RenoRyan]

I saw this same listing on eBay and was wondering about it too! 

[shane@detailedreflections]

It used to be the standard. Before they went to 1/2 the polish at 2/3 the price. 

 

The thought process was that the average person didn’t need a 16 ounce bottle. Unfortunately in the meantime they’ve forgotten about people who consume product in quantity. 

 

The pro-line was supposed to solve the problem, but that was nearly a year ago and nobody knows any details on the program.

 

I guess it’s good for them since the price per ounce increased, but it ultimately lead to us (and I’m sure others) exploring other options from the competition. 

[cwp2016nd]

3 hours ago, shane@detailedreflections said:

It used to be the standard. Before they went to 1/2 the polish at 2/3 the price. 

 

The thought process was that the average person didn’t need a 16 ounce bottle. Unfortunately in the meantime they’ve forgotten about people who consume product in quantity. 

 

The pro-line was supposed to solve the problem, but that was nearly a year ago and nobody knows any details on the program.

 

I guess it’s good for them since the price per ounce increased, but it ultimately lead to us (and I’m sure others) exploring other options from the competition. 

Ditto! 

 

I recently bought a 32oz bottle of highly regarded compound for $1.11 an ounce while Adam's heavy compound is $2.50 per ounce. 

 

When you're detailing quite a few cars an 8oz bottle doesn't go very far. If you're an enthusiast I can understand. I asked a while back about bigger bottles and they mentioned the "pro-line" was supposed to be out around April. I guess that never happened. 

[camaro2ssblack]

This slight of hand switch was the last straw for me with Adams.  When you reduce product by half and still charge nearly the same as before,  and then attempt to justify it by telling me I didn't need that much product in the first place, that's a MAJOR problem and borderline insulting.

 

The cost per detail of this entire product line has reached astronomical levels.  I still kick myself for learning that fact the hard way...

[shane@detailedreflections]

4 minutes ago, camaro2ssblack said:

This slight of hand switch was the last straw for me with Adams.  When you reduce product by half and still charge nearly the same as before,  and then attempt to justify it by telling me I didn't need that much product in the first place, that's a MAJOR problem and borderline insulting.

 

The cost per detail of this entire product line has reached astronomical levels.  I still kick myself for learning that fact the hard way...

 

It has become clear to me why more pro level detailers don’t use Adam’s Polishes. It’s become increasingly difficult to keep them on our shelves in a cost effective manner.

 

I am aware everyone here is heavily pro-Adams. And their products work well for the consumer. But there’s a whole world of products out there, and some even work better. The pricing here was what lead to that discovery for us. 

[LSX Maestro]

22 hours ago, shane@detailedreflections said:

 

It has become clear to me why more pro level detailers don’t use Adam’s Polishes. It’s become increasingly difficult to keep them on our shelves in a cost effective manner.

 

I am aware everyone here is heavily pro-Adams. And their products work well for the consumer. But there’s a whole world of products out there, and some even work better. The pricing here was what lead to that discovery for us. 

Yeah, I'm no professional but I've definitely looked elsewhere for a lot of products.  I think the most effective products Adam's sells are their cleaners (Soaps, TRC, APC, RW, etc) and towels (But pricey)....but for LSPs, Polishes, Pads, etc. I have moved to other brands.  As the owner of quite a few rides, I burn through detailing supplies about as fast as a small detailer, haha.  

 

I can't help feeling like Adam's is almost trying to be the Apple of the detailing industry. The socially seen "cool" brand, the Instagram pic brand.  They're getting a little high off the ground, need to settle down, have a big drawing board meeting and read these forums.  It can only do them good.  The Best companies and business in the world are the companies that pay attention to Forums, Social Media, and Retail locations and listen to what customers are saying.  

[mexiking2365]

1 hour ago, LSX Maestro said:

Yeah, I'm no professional but I've definitely looked elsewhere for a lot of products.  I think the most effective products Adam's sells are their cleaners (Soaps, TRC, APC, RW, etc) and towels (But pricey)....but for LSPs, Polishes, Pads, etc. I have moved to other brands.  As the owner of quite a few rides, I burn through detailing supplies about as fast as a small detailer, haha.  

 

I can't help feeling like Adam's is almost trying to be the Apple of the detailing industry. The socially seen "cool" brand, the Instagram pic brand.  They're getting a little high off the ground, need to settle down, have a big drawing board meeting and read these forums.  It can only do them good.  The Best companies and business in the world are the companies that pay attention to Forums, Social Media, and Retail locations and listen to what customers are saying.  

I wonder why adams hasnt gone the franchisee route like chemical guys has done with their detail garage. They opened one up here just outside of baltimore which is a 35 min drive from me here in DC. alot of those customers are adams faithfuls that hate waiting and payin lg for shipping and opt to go there instead.

[camaro2ssblack]

1 hour ago, LSX Maestro said:

Yeah, I'm no professional but I've definitely looked elsewhere for a lot of products.  I think the most effective products Adam's sells are their cleaners (Soaps, TRC, APC, RW, etc) and towels (But pricey)....but for LSPs, Polishes, Pads, etc. I have moved to other brands.  As the owner of quite a few rides, I burn through detailing supplies about as fast as a small detailer, haha.  

 

I can't help feeling like Adam's is almost trying to be the Apple of the detailing industry. The socially seen "cool" brand, the Instagram pic brand.  They're getting a little high off the ground, need to settle down, have a big drawing board meeting and read these forums.  It can only do them good.  The Best companies and business in the world are the companies that pay attention to Forums, Social Media, and Retail locations and listen to what customers are saying.  

 

+1 good post.

[rseward]

I get it, Adam's products come with a premium price tag, but there's a lot of other brands priced similarly (for consumers).  I won't mention them by name here, but you can search Amazon and do your own comparisons.

 

One thing I'll note (from a amateur/weekend warrior/consumer point of view), is that Adam's provides some additional value to the novice by making there product line simple to navigate. For example, color coding polishes to pads, product specific video tutorials, and providing this forum, allowing customers to share knowledge and product experiences, etc...

 

Also, many of their products are made in the USA (not sure where others are made), and they seem to almost always offer a sale or promo of some sort...

 

That said, I do get that a professional wouldn't be able to sustain paying retail (even at sale prices) when they buy and use the product in large quantities.  There's only so much one will pay for a car wash, no matter how good it is.

 

Edited September 5, 2018 by rseward

[jakerodz7]

37 minutes ago, rseward said:

I get it, Adam's products come with a premium price tag, but there's a lot of other brands priced similarly (for consumers).  I won't mention them by name here, but you can search Amazon and do your own comparisons.

 

One thing I'll note (from a amateur/weekend warrior/consumer point of view), is that Adam's provides some additional value to the novice by making there product line simple to navigate. For example, color coding polishes to pads, product specific video tutorials, and providing this forum, allowing customers to share knowledge and product experiences, etc...

 

Also, many of their products are made in the USA (not sure where others are made), and they seem to almost always offer a sale or promo of some sort...

 

That said, I do get that a professional wouldn't be able to sustain paying retail (or even sale prices) when they buy and use the product in large quantities.  There's only so much one will pay for a car wash, no matter how good it is.

 

I feel the whole making their line simple to navigate went out the window when they decided to release way too many products, they now have a slew of soaps for example, and have even made their tried and true soap look bad in hopes of getting people to buy the more expensive/new option. 

 

As for your comment about promo, yes they always have 15% off sales, but they also always have 15% off discount codes that work year round so to me when they have these "15% off sales" they actually aren't giving you any additional discount as a sale. Not to mention that there are other sites with a huge amount of variety that often have 25% off and free shipping sales.  Last time I posted that I got the whole "they raise their prices during the sale to compensate for the fact" but that's not true as the prices remain the same after the sale as well.  

[rseward]

1 hour ago, jakerodz7 said:

I feel the whole making their line simple to navigate went out the window when they decided to release way too many products, they now have a slew of soaps for example, and have even made their tried and true soap look bad in hopes of getting people to buy the more expensive/new option. 

 

As for your comment about promo, yes they always have 15% off sales, but they also always have 15% off discount codes that work year round so to me when they have these "15% off sales" they actually aren't giving you any additional discount as a sale. Not to mention that there are other sites with a huge amount of variety that often have 25% off and free shipping sales.  Last time I posted that I got the whole "they raise their prices during the sale to compensate for the fact" but that's not true as the prices remain the same after the sale as well.  

 

I understand, if there's always a sale, there's really never a sale, I was just trying to make the point that the price you see isn't necessarily the price you'll pay. 

 

Also... I'm new to all this, before I started ordering from Adam's (just a few weeks ago), I'd get my car care products at Walmart or Autozone etc... so I don't know all the different options available; but I do know, when I started looking for products I found their site, and this forum most helpful in finding what I needed to accomplish the my project. 

[LSX Maestro]

9 minutes ago, rseward said:

 

I understand, if there's always a sale, there's really never a sale, I was just trying to make the point that the price you see isn't necessarily the price you'll pay. 

 

Also... I'm new to all this, before I started ordering from Adam's (just a few weeks ago), I'd get my car care products at Walmart or Autozone etc... so I don't know all the different options available; but I do know, when I started looking for products I found their site, and this forum most helpful in finding what I needed to accomplish the my project. 

This is true.  When I was looking to up my game of detailing, I looked at all the brands I saw frequently on my online visits, namely Chemical Guys, Griot's, Adam's, and a few others.  When looking through the website, Adam's definitely comes across the most intuitive and easy to follow, combine that with the Forum and it's super easy to get your start.  I think simplifying their lineup and upgrading a few products/lowering prices would go a LONG ways for Adam's.  

[rseward]

IMO... shipping is a biggie, no one wants to pay for it, and it seems their listed prices are what you could expect to pay at a retail store with, instant availability and no additional fee's (other than sales tax), which is probably why they always offer 15% off.

 

I think they could better serve their customers by partnering closer with Amazon, allowing them to warehouse and ship the products, offering prime shipping, etc...  Customers would get products much faster and it would probably be cheaper for Adam's as I'm sure Amazon get much better shipping rates, and would save a ton on labor.

[shane@detailedreflections]

9 minutes ago, rseward said:

 

I understand, if there's always a sale, there's really never a sale, I was just trying to make the point that the price you see isn't necessarily the price you'll pay. 

 

Also... I'm new to all this, before I started ordering from Adam's (just a few weeks ago), I'd get my car care products at Walmart or Autozone etc... so I don't know all the different options available; but I do know, when I started looking for products I found their site, and this forum most helpful in finding what I needed to accomplish the my project. 

 

I agree that when there’s always a sale, there’s never a sale. But the point of the thread was that a while back, a 16 ounce product was $29.99 minus any discounts. Then it went to 8 ounces of product for $19.99 minus discounts. They effectively cut their costs and raised their profit margins by charging the end user more per ounce. 

 

This happens all the time in grocery stores and people get upset. It happens here, and we are thankful for it it seems and make excuses for why it’s okay. Regardless of professional or hobbyist, the only winners here are Adams and their profit dollars on the balance sheet. Quite a marketing scheme to increase profitability without really doing anything.

 

That and planned obsolescence of products. There’s always the “next version.” Development is crucial. The life cycle of an Adam’s product is becoming shorter and shorter, and seemingly by design.

 

Their products work, and they work well. But they are not the only game in town. We all value our dollars and experiences differently and have to weigh many factors in our purchasing decisions. It’s just unfortunate to see costs and margins being driven up without a benefit to the consumer. 

[rseward]

5 minutes ago, shane@detailedreflections said:

 

I agree that when there’s always a sale, there’s never a sale. But the point of the thread was that a while back, a 16 ounce product was $29.99 minus any discounts. Then it went to 8 ounces of product for $19.99 minus discounts. They effectively cut their costs and raised their profit margins by charging the end user more per ounce. 

 

This happens all the time in grocery stores and people get upset. It happens here, and we are thankful for it it seems and make excuses for why it’s okay. Regardless of professional or hobbyist, the only winners here are Adams and their profit dollars on the balance sheet. Quite a marketing scheme to increase profitability without really doing anything.

 

That and planned obsolescence of products. There’s always the “next version.” Development is crucial. The life cycle of an Adam’s product is becoming shorter and shorter, and seemingly by design.

 

Their products work, and they work well. But they are not the only game in town. We all value our dollars and experiences differently and have to weigh many factors in our purchasing decisions. It’s just unfortunate to see costs and margins being driven up without a benefit to the consumer. 

Sorry if I went to far off topic.

 

There could be other reasons they made the decision to cut the size of the product.  Maybe they received feedback from customers that didn't want to buy 16oz of product when they couldn't use it all.

 

Also, I don't know that selling 1/2 the amount of product equates to 1/2 the cost for them to manufacture, warehouse, package, etc... Is it 1/2 the labor to fill an 8oz bottle apposed to a  16oz bottle?  I don't know the answer, but I'm guessing it's not.

 

I get that from a consumer standpoint you're getting less for your money, but it's still a savings for someone who's going to polish their car once and only use 6oz of polish letting the rest sit in their garage so long that they'd have to order a new bottle next time they polish anyway (I'm assuming it can't sit in a hot/cold garage for several years).

 

The best thing would have probably been to offer both options.

 

[shane@detailedreflections]

22 minutes ago, rseward said:

Sorry if I went to far off topic.

 

There could be other reasons they made the decision to cut the size of the product.  Maybe they received feedback from customers that didn't want to buy 16oz of product when they couldn't use it all.

 

Also, I don't know that selling 1/2 the amount of product equates to 1/2 the cost for them to manufacture, warehouse, package, etc... Is it 1/2 the labor to fill an 8oz bottle apposed to a  16oz bottle?  I don't know the answer, but I'm guessing it's not.

 

I get that from a consumer standpoint you're getting less for your money, but it's still a savings for someone who's going to polish their car once and only use 6oz of polish letting the rest sit in their garage so long that they'd have to order a new bottle next time they polish anyway (I'm assuming it can't sit in a hot/cold garage for several years).

 

The best thing would have probably been to offer both options.

 

 

You are correct. It’s absolutely not linear. However the costs were already built in to be profitable at 16 ounce bottle pricing. Going to an 8 ounce bottle price at 2/3 the cost is still effectively an increase per ounce for them and their balance sheet. They were still paying for bottles and the pour of product regardless. So raising price per ounce is still raising profit no matter how you look at it. 

 

It makes sense to offer that smaller quantity since some people need it. Unfortunately they alienated a fair number of customers in their choice to only offer the one option. 

 

Over time it’s become increasingly clear that they don’t intend to cater to volume users and have instead focus on special editions of the same products or to individual users. The funny thing is that your volume users are more likely to reorder frequently. They also lose out when someone asks “what should I use to maintain my car?” My answer isn’t always Adam’s since they’re not always the products I’m using and that decision is sometimes purely dictated by a pricing decision.

 

On a business side, if I’m considering a price increase because I need more profit margin to cover expenses I have two options...well, three.

 

One is to buy smarter effectively giving me the margins I need. Two is to raise my prices. Three is a combination of both. When I’m evaluating a price increase, if I can get what I need without hammering my clients it’s the clear winner every time. As such, we haven’t increased our prices in a while. The first real increase may come next year to help gaslight our growth and to recover some of my investment that I’ve made. But that decision will also be coupled with a hard look at product selection, quantity and pricing to work both ends and minimize the client impact. 

[2Fords]

53 minutes ago, shane@detailedreflections said:

 

 

 

That and planned obsolescence of products. There’s always the “next version.” Development is crucial. The life cycle of an Adam’s product is becoming shorter and shorter, and seemingly by design.

 

 

I really agree with this statement. I am almost scared of ordering gallon sized product because of the possibility of a newer version being released.

I do think its great to come out with a better product but it does seem to come out a little to soon. For instance Ceramic Boost.

[rseward]

Seems like Adam’s might want to consider a team focused on catering to high volume customers, like profrssional detailers and resellers.

 

[RayS]

59 minutes ago, 2Fords said:

I really agree with this statement. I am almost scared of ordering gallon sized product because of the possibility of a newer version being released.

I do think its great to come out with a better product but it does seem to come out a little to soon. For instance Ceramic Boost.

I have no concern about a New and Improved version which seems to be on about every other product in the grocery store, big box store, etc..  Just because something is now being sold as New and Improved doesn't mean you can't continue using the old product until it is gone or that the old product is obsolete or defective.   In some cases there are enough differences to pick and choose where to use a V1 vs V2 product.   Ceramic Boost comes to mind, I use Ceramic Boost in many places and V1 works perfect for the lawnmower, underside of the mowing deck, bathroom sink basins, steel workbench and a slew of other places.  

 

I'm sure there are other products that are New and Improved that you probably wouldn't even know there is a difference.  While I primarily do Red cars, I wouldn't want to have Shampoos for Red cars and a different one for black cars.  To be honest, after I looked at about the 10th different option under Soaps and Shampoos from a competitor, I had no clue what I should be getting and there were probably 45 more to look at on the same page.  The competitor could be the best thing since sliced bread, but if I can't figure out what to get quickly and easily, I'm not getting anything.

 

There is no perfect answer and it is probably more difficult for the professionals.  When I made the switch to Adam's it was after a lot of research and I knew the initial investment would be high, but I also got the results expected.  I credit a lot of the results to the people on this Forum along with the products and video's.  I also will state that I use products that are not Adam's, some because I think the other product work better for me and in some cases because I still have some of the other product left.

 

 

[quebert]

On 9/5/2018 at 5:18 PM, rseward said:

Seems like Adam’s might want to consider a team focused on catering to high volume customers, like profrssional detailers and resellers.

 

 

To bump an old thread, YES! I understand Adam's pushes themselves as a weekend warrior, enthusiast brand. Which would have a much different need than someone who details for a living. But you can buy a 5 gallon size of many things. For a weekend warrior 5 gallons of interior detailer would last almost forever.  And 5 gallons of glass cleaner? If I washed my car once a week, I would be dead before I could use it all lol. 5 gallons of Rinseless would mix up enough for me to wash about 500 cars. IMHO that's beyond enthusiast numbers for all but a really rare few. I'm not knocking Adams, but a lot of the 5 gallon offerings clearly aren't for the weekend warriors.  I noticed they have a pro section on the store with 32oz of the polishes and compounds.  And on the same page it says for pros to contact them to unlock custom pricing, which I'm guessing will be different than the price that's already there. I'm curious about this, as I like Adam's products and use a bunch of them. But almost $80 for 32oz of heavy correcting compound's absolutely crazy.  I'm wondering about the unlocked pricing, I'm guessing you have to buy a large quantity of bottles. 

 

I don't totally follow how they decide on their pricing. Their wheel cleaner's awesome and the gallon's cheap compared to the other brands I use to use by about $30-40.  Their Rinseless wash is damn good and 1/2 the price of the brand I used before it. And a lot of their other stuff's priced in line with the competition. But some of their stuff, especially their polishes and compounds are just too expensive. I would be all over the 32oz bottles if they were a good $25 cheaper.  The brand I use is imported from Germany, and it's still way cheaper for the same amount. 

 

With a lot of the liquids being available in 5 gallons it would make sense for Adams, like you said to set up a team that caters to pro detailers. For a weekend warrior an 8oz bottle of compound's not bad, and the cost isn't crazy. But for someone like me who might do 3 corrections a week, as much as I'd like to. I just can't afford to use Adam's AIO.   Obviously they're doing something right as they're a very successful company with a big loyal following. Anyone know about the "unlocked pro pricing" I don't have my business license yet (in the works) and I'm wondering if this would even apply to a single man mobile detailer.

 

 

[SgtLip]

3 hours ago, quebert said:

Anyone know about the "unlocked pro pricing" I don't have my business license yet (in the works) and I'm wondering if this would even apply to a single man mobile detailer.

 

Call them and ask them about it. Find out what it takes.

 

On 9/5/2018 at 6:33 PM, rseward said:

I think they could better serve their customers by partnering closer with Amazon, allowing them to warehouse and ship the products, offering prime shipping, etc...  Customers would get products much faster and it would probably be cheaper for Adam's as I'm sure Amazon get much better shipping rates, and would save a ton on labor.

 

I'm not a professional detailer making a living. I'm keeping one car clean. I have been buying exclusively from Amazon lately. Pricing is close to the Adam's price. It's NOT always the best deal.

 

But with Amazon Prime, I'm not paying Shipping and I'm NOT paying SALES TAX!!! (Even though Adam's has just started that and says every internet sale is supposed to be charging this now.) The best part is, I get my order in 2 days NOT 10!!!! So unless there is something I NEED to buy from Adam's, I'm buying Adam's from Amazon.