Response — March 25, 2026
I appreciate the time, the openness, and the honesty. Thank you for being blunt and prompt with your feedback on my version of the partnership vision, and for proposing your own. That directness is rare and I respect it.
The analysis I did of your business, inventory, SEO, and market position was genuine. I believe BenchK makes the best wall bars in the world.
After careful analysis, I don't think a reseller arrangement works for either of us.
For me:
I would be building marketing channels and audience for a brand I don't own. If I succeed, there's nothing stopping BenchK from going direct to those same customers. I'd be investing time and money into something that could be taken away. That's not a business. It's a risk I can't control.
For you:
A reseller selling under a different brand creates confusion in the market. Two websites selling the same products at different prices hurts your SEO, confuses Google, and makes your brand harder to manage. You'd be creating a competitor using your own products.
The pricing problem:
Your gross margins are very good. But a reseller model means I buy at wholesale and compete with your retail price. If you run a sale, I can't match it. If you decide to raise wholesale, my business dies. Neither of us controls the other's pricing, which creates constant tension.
The analysis I did of your website, inventory, SEO, and market position was thorough and real. The growth engine, the content strategy, the channel architecture — all of it would work. BenchK has an exceptional product that deserves much bigger sales.
I looked at this from every angle. The analysis keeps coming back to the same place:
If this is a real business — something I invest years into building — then every reseller model eventually leads to competition between us. I build channels, grow the audience, learn the market. At some point I either stay dependent on your pricing and priorities, or I look for alternative suppliers. Both paths create tension. I don't want that.
If this is a one-time project — help sell the current warehouse — then the economics don't justify the effort. At the volumes where the margins are meaningful, we're already operating as a business, which brings us back to the first problem. And at small volumes, I have plenty of work that pays better than what reselling allows.
I don't want to compete with you. I don't want bitterness. I don't want a relationship that starts as friends and ends as competitors. That's why I'm stepping back now, while there's nothing but respect between us.
I truly believe in the product. The quality is real, the design is beautiful, and the market is there. Your energy, your vision, your willingness to move from Ukraine to Poland to the US to build this — that takes courage and persistence that most people don't have. That will yield results.
I'm sorry I won't be part of your journey. I was looking forward to it.
If you ever need a fresh pair of eyes on marketing, sales ideas, or how to reach more customers — I'm happy to help. No strings, no agenda. Just a friend who knows this space.
BenchK deserves to be in every home gym in America. I hope you get there.
Alex
Private document. March 25, 2026.