FadedDreams Posted July 10, 2004 Report Posted July 10, 2004 I've been thinking about opening a place to buy aftermarket parts for bikes,quads,stuff like that.We have nothing like that around here,that i know of and i'm sure it would do good.Only other places you can get parts is the local dealership and they order the stuff when they get around to it.But what i was wondering,how do i go about getting the companys to let me sell their stuff.I know i need a license,but wasn't sure what else. Quote
MULLET~BOY Posted July 10, 2004 Report Posted July 10, 2004 you need to get a dealers licence i think there like 20 bucks then start emailing comapnys there gona wana see pictures of your buisness and such and you pay a certain amount of money and boom your a dealer you can get better deals if you go exclusive with companys just start emailing em Quote
Holyman Posted July 10, 2004 Report Posted July 10, 2004 It usually doesn't ake much to be a dealer. Alot of times it's a matter of having an agreement to certain advertising restrictions and meeting certain purchase minimums. I'd be happy to give you discounts on A arm and swingarm bearing kits for sale in your store. I can also help you become an Amsoil dealer. I know some of the other guys make their own billet stuff and are dealers for Noss Products and Rocket pipes etc. It's alot of fun to have a small business. One of the major expenses though is rental of a store, utilities, and insurance for liability. If you pretty much stick to sales, your insurance should be cheaper than servicing of ATV's. Main thing is ask plenty of questions before you jump into it. Where are you located? Quote
FadedDreams Posted July 10, 2004 Author Report Posted July 10, 2004 What type of license do I need,vendor?Where would i get one.I'll have to check around and see what info i find out. Quote
Holyman Posted July 10, 2004 Report Posted July 10, 2004 Look in your local phone book under city licensing. They will be happy to help you start and promote your business. Quote
FadedDreams Posted July 10, 2004 Author Report Posted July 10, 2004 I'm in south-west Pa.I'm just getting ideas right now,gonna see how much support i get after i start emailing companies. Quote
frocashmoney24 Posted July 10, 2004 Report Posted July 10, 2004 well pa aint far from ny, if u get this thing goin ill go down there, but remember, customers come first, dont treat them like shit like alot of companies these days do, stan and david treat there customers really good and look of how good a rep they have on this site. Quote
Cotton eyed Joe Posted July 10, 2004 Report Posted July 10, 2004 Most of the buy in's I've seen for becoming a dealer are anywhere from $2000 to $11,500, you have to have a yellowpage ad, a store front, a cancelled business check, a copy of your business license and/or tax exempt forms (TC-71) and/or resellers lisence and you have to provide 1,000,000 pictures of the place to prove you aren't a scam artist, or just some cheap ass looking for an easy discount on parts. Wait until you talk to Douglas rims....I about fell out of my fuckin chair....Their buy in is in the $7,000 to $11,500 I'm thinking....("buy in" is the $$$ in parts you have to buy to get the discount. Not all are the same) So, thats why the only aftermarket parts I sell (besides the parts I make, I can't make heads right now anyway) are Noss heads. By far he's been the easiest company to deal with on dist. parts. It costs too damn much for me to "buy in" to a company right now. Hopefully you're experience will be different. Quote
Banshee17Racing Posted July 10, 2004 Report Posted July 10, 2004 Hey cotton eyed joe, Do you have a pretty big shop set up and everything? How big is it? Aren't you pretty young? I have really been playing with this idea, but i don't know what type of schooling is necessary. I'm 18, and I have been debating on whether to major in mechanical engineering or business(and owning some-type of dealership/parts dealer). Quote
FireHead Posted July 10, 2004 Report Posted July 10, 2004 Cotton Eyed Joe, whats stopping you from making heads? I wouldn't bother getting an ME degree if you're just going to open a shop. An ME degree is alot of work. If youre planning on running a shop and going to school I would think you should plan on your B.S. taking you far more than four years. I have a B.S. in Vehicle Design and a Masters in ME, whci h I just finished a little bit ago. I haven't slept for six years, or atleast thats what I feel like, and I didn't try to do anything else during that time period, but go to school. Just some stuff to think about. When you get to the point where thinking hurts, stop. Quote
FadedDreams Posted July 10, 2004 Author Report Posted July 10, 2004 Damn,i guess i'll just have to be picky who i ask to be a dealer for.I didn't realize thats how it works. Quote
Cotton eyed Joe Posted July 10, 2004 Report Posted July 10, 2004 Hey cotton eyed joe,Do you have a pretty big shop set up and everything? How big is it? Aren't you pretty young? I have really been playing with this idea, but i don't know what type of schooling is necessary. I'm 18, and I have been debating on whether to major in mechanical engineering or business(and owning some-type of dealership/parts dealer). Well, yes and no. I'm 29, and I own a good percentage of my parents' machine shop. They started it in their back yard shop when I was almost 4. I've been involved with it for more than 15 years though. I learned early on how to run a CAD/CAM system, how to program CNC mills and lathes, but most importantly, how to run MANUAL machines. Its better to know why you do something before you do it. Manual machining is less science, and more art. I've done quite a bit here in the last month or so....it gruelling, you don't get paid shit per job, but when you pull something off, you did it, not the machine per se. (but you can only machine as good as your tools allow you to) The shop now is 4000 square feet, and we have 3 cnc lathes: 1 8 inch, and 2 10 inch, 2 cnc mills, a horizontal mill (Cincinnati #2) and OD grinder (16 inch), 2 manual lathes (one is used just for parts finishing such as sanding or painting) and some tool grinders. We also have the usual sandblaster, 2 saws, rack for steel, rack for aluminum, rack for plastic, 3 or so drill presses, 10" belt sander/disc sander, MIG welder 50 ton press (were looking at fabbing an 80-100+ ton press soon)...ect..... Tons of inspection equipment, digital mics, joe blocks, optical comparitor, we had a micro fische viewer up until yesterday. We ripped that sob apart to see what made it work, but now it don't work. lol.... Its taken over 25 years to get the shop to this size. If we were to have grown like we did from 1988 until 1998, we would be a $2mil per year shop. BUT customers come and go. One of our biggest pulled out. Then 3 years later, another one filed bankruptcy on us. The company that bought them are about to do the same. Thats one of the reasons I started DDI, is to see if I can help save this shop. Too much has gone into it to just let it sit there or worse. Personally, if I wasn't involved in this business, I'd be doing some mechanical engineering/design work. Quote
alky350 Posted August 22, 2004 Report Posted August 22, 2004 im interested also in starting up an atv shop, about how much would you need? how much accessories would i need? any advice from the guys with shops established would be cool Quote
FadedDreams Posted August 22, 2004 Author Report Posted August 22, 2004 (edited) Each company is different Alky.Some just want you to prove you are a business with the proper id,photos of shop,while others want that plus a certain amount of product purchased from them.I emailed probably 20 or so places.The smaller companys are easier to get dealer status with.Most of the bigger places won't even bother.You have to go with their distributors if you want anything.I still plan on trying to get a place going by spring,hopefully. Edited August 22, 2004 by FadedDreams Quote
alky350 Posted August 22, 2004 Report Posted August 22, 2004 any idea how much your startup cost will be or what your looking at? i want to do strictly accessories and no R&R. too much problems with people coming back and blaming you for other stuff going wrong on there bikes. faded dreams, have u done a business plan? Quote
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