I got the answer to my question about copper in the CopperTop a lot sooner than I expected and it certainly wasn’t the answer I had hoped for.As you may well be aware, Gillette, the maker of Procell Batteries, has been taken over by Proctor & Gamble, one of the largest consumer products companies in the world. They are now in the process of implementing this take over with their distributors (including goodbuyguys.com) and the first thing they did was announce a price increase, effective 1 January 2007. Welcome to the neighborhood! In their letter to us they cite the increase in raw materials to justify the price increase and specifically reference an increase of 128% in the price of copper, as well as an increase in the costs of zinc and nickel. Both Duracell and Procell alkaline batteries will feel this price increase at the first of the year.This is our first experience with P&G and it remains to be seen if they honor the pledge outlined in the price increase letter to only raise prices to recover costs already incurred, rather than to do it on speculation.We are hopeful that a company with the resources to provide both product and info on a massive global level will be willing to serve the small but growing distributor at the same level Gillette has served our market. Check back here to see how they are doing.
