Meeting Customer Demand . . . for a cheaper product?

I've been helping out in this office, and in our packaging facility, ever since I was strong enough to hold up a 4L jug; but even after all this time some things still come as a surprise to me.  I'm a very practical person:  I like to buy a decent products and items that I will use.  I've also become a bit smarter over the years when it comes to buying quality products:  you get what you pay for, and often when I've bought cheap junk I've paid extra in frustration.  That's why it surprises me when we have a better quality product than our competition, but we have to bring in a slightly inferior product to meet customer demand.

When we first introduced our Rubber Stone product line (which is a product we use to cover ugly concrete, asphalt, pavers, and even decks with 100% recycled rubber) we took a look at a couple of variations of the product.  The two main contenders were pigmented rubber and EPDM, and it was quickly decided that EPDM was the better quality product that we should carry.  Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (i.e. EPDM) rubber is a synthetic rubber that has its pigments or dyes added to it during the production process; the end result is that the EPDM rubber granuals that we purchase are purely pigmented so that their color will not wear off over time.  We chose to use EPDM over pigmented rubber crumb because the the pigmented crumbs are simply black with a thin coat of color put over top of them, and that means the color will wear off over time.  If we had a product that would refresh the color after a few years the pigmented crumb approach would make more sense, but at this point we haven't found anything that will do the job.

You can see by the pictures on our Facebook page, the Tweets, and (soon to come) the color samples on our website that we are now adding a line of pigmented colors our Rubber Stone product line.  For now, you'll find a sample photo of our colors below.  Our local competition has been selling jobs with the pigmented rubber, but at a lower price because the pigmented crumbs are much cheaper than EPDM.  As it turns out, even though our customers know that they will end up with tire-tracks on their driveways, and worn areas where there is high foot-traffic a surprising number of customers are still choosing to go with the cheaper product.  In all honesty, I can't say that I completely understand their decision, but good business means meeting demand with supply and for the moment that means bringing in a cheaper product for our customers.  I just hope that the cheaper product doesn't create headaches for both ourselves, and our network of 70+ dealers across North America.