WOW next month will be 10 Years since the GREAT NAGS Re-balance. So how has "revenue neutral", worked out for Ya ALL?

It Seems the real enemy has remained the same for the last 10 years. Those who can not, or will not Just say "NO" to the D.R.U.G.S, (Dictated Rates Undermining Glass Shops), Is still one of the largest problems repairers are facing. Even after many have gone out of business, others crop up hoping if they can just do more low to non-profit work they might achieve the American dream of prosperity.

KEEP DREAMING,,,, it is good to dream. Some are still waiting to wake up to the fact that what YEAF said in another post, that saying "NO" just might be the first step to the road of prosperity.

I hope more will find the path and I hope for a better next 10 years,,, we can always HOPE. And for those who found the path, "revenue neutral" Has been protected, and maintained. It is a much better path.........JUST SAY NO TO DRUGS!

Before that re-balance 10 years ago, there were many, many, others before.

I vowed almost 40 years ago that I would never allow some publisher who wasn't even in the glass business to ever "suggest", let alone dictate, the prices I either buy or sell at.

I always negotiated reasonable pricing with my vendors and offered fair pricing to my customers, all without "benefit" of NAGS, thank you very much.

Forty years later, I see the vast majority of you are still playing into the hands of these folks. I feel bad you don't have the gonads to simply use their numbers to identify parts rather than your profit structure.

I also see the continued hopeless dependency of too many on networks for jobs. Another sad situation.

Happy New Year.

Old timer, I have only been around since the 80's. I do not know of MANY. I do not know when NAGS first started, anyone know? Let's review. Nags started out as a numbering system for PARTS. As far as I know, from the 80's, they followed the manufacturers list prices, added the numbering system, and added an approximate labor hours associated with the repairs. Maybe they started as a # ing system only. Anyone with greater experience please interject.

In 1999 the very first re-balance that I know of happened. The average manufacturer's list of $1500-$1600 on w/s's was re balanced to about $600- $700. Discounting from the benchmark was STOPPED. Then the 2005 re balance was so ridiculous, the basic chev w/s was re-balanced to $198.00. In most all markets to reach revenue neutral you had to add plus +144 to maintain a same / same or revenue neutral situation.

So from my personal experience, we have had 2 re-balances from NAGS. My Main question is...... WHY ANYONE WITH HALF A BRAIN CANNOT FIGURE OUT THE COLLUSION, PRICE FIXING, RESTRICTION OF TRADE THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON, and even more so,,, what ramifications to free trade, sales tax to states, and the overall economy, loss of jobs, tooling out to other countries, etc has this had an effect on? ANYONE CARE TO GUESS!

Yea and Happy new year.

So, here is a the basic history from the mid 80's:

NAGS has consistently published part numbers in some way since about the 40's. They started with patterns and evolved.

In the 80's, the list price was calculated from the 'truckload' price of the OE vendor, using a specific formula by category (Dom, For, W/S, Temp). The industry then discounted it on two levels (distributor to retailer, retailer to consumer). The truckload benchmark worked because it represented where a distributor would be at an entry level. As you grew, you could buy a bit better than truckload.

The old way worked in large part because there was not a great deal of variance between part values. This began to change with encapsulated and value added parts. The result was that the formula began to produce list prices that were not remotely accurate, primarily on tempered parts that had to be sent from MFR to encapsulator, and back through the standard system, and heated or otherwise modified windshield. End result was a situation where the discounted list price was significantly higher than the dealer list...this led to credibility issues and discounts that spiraled upward.

In 1989, NAGS changed the formula to reflect these changes. Essentially, the list prices and discounts were reduced by 1/3, but the basis for list price (anchor point) remained at the MFR level, so there was a connection. Over the next 3 years, the discount devolved back to where it was pre reduction (the 'been there done that' effect), and the net result was about 30% less margin in the business and the issue regarding part value variance still unresolved.

When NAGS rebalanced again, they severed the connection between TL price and list. It essentially became "what they say it is". While the NAGS folks could give you a song and dance about their methods, the new way decreased the relevance of the list price further by eliminating any connection to the price that the people that made the part put out. The "list" is now based on what they sample in the field on the retail and distribution level, which does nothing for parity and puts too much weight on the buying practices of and too few players.

The current system is stupid. It doesn't reflect any systemic reality. Margins using the list price have a giant variance and this is why the majority of retailers, and all distributors, have abandoned it as a basis for sale.

NAGS continues to publish list prices because the industry continues to use it in insurance trade. It isn't right, but the alternative would be even more network level price fixing. Imagine negotiating every part as you do a dealer item - It is possible, and practical to produce a real list price, but the raw truth is, nobody wants to pay for it, or put the effort in. Been there done that.

Clearly nags decided insurance companies, not glass shops, are their customers. The only value nags has to glass shops is the parts numbering system. Anyone that bases their pricing on the discounts insurance companies are asking will continue to destroy this industry.