Hi All, Just wanted pass along some info,for all you guys doing up start rod building bussiness....this is for you, BE carful of who you spend money with doing buy-ins.....There are those out there that take your money and forget about YOU in a year or so. My shop is small....we only build 3-4 cars a year I have spent a lot of money doing buy- ins just to get dealerships only to have them pulled for a lack of ACTIVITY,details that where not desclosed at the time I spent the money,THESE vendors include, Watson Street Works, most items are questionable...but they do have 2-3 good ones Teas designs....9,500.0 in 2 years wasnt enough!!!Great if you like lots of puckers!! 0 to Cool Radiators Alumicraft Grills...VERY suspect quality anyway!!! Point here is its a sad state of affairs the way some treat small operations!!! I submitt its ALL about the money....YOU come to your own opionion!! Regards
Did they think you were going to be a distributor for them, or did they know up front that you were using their products in your vehicles you build?...that could make a world of difference knowing beforehand that someone is going to either be moving lots of product or is going to use a little as he builds 3 or 4 cars a year...either way it's a shitty way to do business with people, they should think that any publicity they get is good...for all they know you could be the guy who goes out and tells everyone that Tea's Designs seats are the fucking greatest in the world but instead they're more concerned about how much money you're bringing in instead of advertising for them...shame...
Hi They ALL knew I was a builder ,I told all of them up front I was a builder not a retailer.....They dont give a crap....they just want the money and than its screw you....I had another such thing happen last summer...The Roadster Shop was at three shows that I was attending at all of them they looked my cars and wanted to SET ME UP as they said....well I called last winter to get in bussiness with them LOL no one there ever remembered who I was.....Its the same old story, BIG talk at the summer shows and no go when it comes down to it....
Sometimes you are better off if you are just a builder to go to a reputable supplier of most everything you need and just get a jobber discount. A buddy of mine does it that way. No buy in, just buying all the parts you need at one supplier. Works for you both. Pat.
0 to cool jacked me on a couple radiators....faulty cores was to blame both times......try prc in boonville.....tell daune brandon from atwood sent ya .....thanks brandon
Buy-in programs can make things very difficult for small shops. From memory, a Bob Drake employee told me that for me to become one of their dealers, my first order had to be at least $10,000. Other companies told me that we could not be a dealer because they already had a dealer within a hundred-mile radius. Dave Mann (602) 233-8400 weekdays http://www.roadsters.com/
That's always the way it works to get an at-cost dealer account. You have to make a minimum buy in, and you have to order a set amount on a regular basis. I lost a hobby account a few years ago because I did not order soon enough, then because I was ordering in ones and twos was told they felt I was a "hobbyist" and not a store owner and I would have to start over again with the $1000 initial minimum. My store was 250 square feet - I didn't have the room or the turnover to have 10s and 20s of everything. I called back and got a voicemail and bitched them out and that was that. I don't know what the discount is in these sort of accounts, but in the hobby stuff it's brutal - most of the time you pay 50% to 60% of the retail list price, then you open a hobby magazine and see the big shops selling the same thing to the public for 30% to 50% off the same price. The new stuff has about a three-week life, meaning if it doesn't sell by then you can expect to sit on it a long time. That was why I went back into selling more used parts and car-related stuff. When I can stumble over crap on the ground in a junkyard, haul a pile of stuff up front, pay $50 or $100 for all of it, and sell one thing out of that pile for $200, another for $300, and another for $150, it begins to look like the only smart way to go.
Hi Guys, Yea...the bad part of the buy-ins is....you spend money up front to get gennerally 20% in some case 30% but thats the max....if the supplier you did the buy-in with is the middle man on some items you will only get 10% on those...Worst of all of this is I can get a builders discount of 10% from just about anyone.....they only way its makes sense anyway is the big ticket items....People like Watson Street Works will eventually be taken under by the China folks anyway...as I think many will be.... Regards
Bill O'Rourke, who owned the Roadster Shop, died a couple years ago. They're under new ownership and have gone the street rod route. They build fabricated frames from flat stock, not stamped rails, and they are a dealer for the steel '32s with the convertible top (Dearborn Deuce I think). I got a frame from them because I wasn't set up to do the work myself at the time, and I would not do it again. Had to undo a lot of stuff and redo it the right way. For example, one of the engine mounts was not in the right location, so I brought it back and they moved it. But a lot of other stuff I just fixed myself. For what the thing cost, it should have been right to start with.
yeah Ive been told that too from some companies. Ther is a difference between a dealer (who sells the shit) and jobber (who buys it for their buiklds etc). Maybe you didnt specify enough? I do know that many of the major companies out there right now are revieweing their 'dealers'- if you dont sell/buy enough you will lose the discount. I just became a dealer for HOT ROD AIR - so if anyone needs that let me know OK? Ill be glad to offer the discount to our HAMB.
I am sure I will catch some shit for this, but I have been the guy at the other end of the phone. When you call these folks, you are talking to a sales guy. He might be your buddy, but he gets paid on what he sells, so he'll sell you if you wanna buy. One call in more than a hundred might actually be somebody that is buying in quantity - but half of the guys on the phone will tell you that they are opening a shop, doing a magazine car or deserve some kool discount. That is why "jobber" pricing levels exist and greater discounts after that if you want to up your purchasing levels. I don't sell in the auto industry any more, but if you came to me saying you want dealer pricing, I'd tell you how to get it and keep it. I have never forced anybody to write a check - but if you want to, I'll sell to you and probably help you sell it to somebody else. As a dealer, it is your job to do something with it after that...sell it, restock it or trash it. I will agree, it is all about money. It's business.
Hi I understand exactly what you are saying....however I ALWAYS refer these ass holes to my web site.....GIVE them ALLL the info they want to VERIFY I am a builder..../bussiness you can ALWAYS make an augument for an out, IF you want....they are just rip in it to rip off the small guy....small bussines is what the USA was founded on.... They will get what they have coming in the end!! Regards www.southtownstreetrods.com
We set up jobbers with everyone we work with...easy...no quota to meet...works well. You had problems with Alumicraft? Ha....that interests me...PM with how much the buy in was, amount of business they expected...etc. Take care and good luck...
Hi Alumicraft....3 grille buy in....THEY NEVER informed me it was a 3 grille min per year after that....You cant believe the problems I had with one for a C to C 39....mount tabs falling off...even BEFORE i got it...they even admitted that....3 more after I got it....grill bars that did not line up on both sides....chrome coming off....but HELL it only cost 1,200.0....to say nothing of the FACT it took 5 months to get it.....Do Not deal with these JERKS!!!!
I'm going to take a completely different approach on this as I am in this type of business ( Millions of dollars) and lets clarify some things when it comes to BUSINESS transactions. When you are dealing with any product or money transactions, did YOU have a contract spelling out your requirements or obligations ? Did you have one for them as well to protect yourself ? If you did not get one...Why Not ? Was it because you didn't know or didn't ask or both or you were not told or..... I can go on with this one. You ,as a owner of a Hot Rod Builder Shop, do you build a car for a person with out a detailed work performed document of what you are going to do and when ? Let me put it to you in plain hard numbers.... Did you tell them you would only build 4-5 cars per year ? 4- 5 cars might warrant a 10% courtesy discount. 40-50 items resell with basic stocking at your facility might get you a 30% discount. A big distributor like Speedway that stocks 100K in my product might get a 50% discount. Speedway may pay 3K per month in advertising my product, so you are darn right that I will extend a large discount as they are investing a lot of $ to help sell my product. Its a business plain and simple and simple business is to make money. So in reading your statements, you approached those companies about representing their products, when in fact you were wanting to buy them to use them in your final product and didn't realize you were trying to be like a resell distributor when in fact you are a end user. My company has contracts with all of our Manufacturers/distributors clearly stating what is expected and what will happen if those expectations are not met. No guesses, no surprizes. Again, what others suggested was for you to approach a distributor and negotiate with THEM and not a Mfg would have been your better bet. I also don't think the MFG's were probably 100% honest as well but if you had a contract, you would have known that. Chalk it up to experience and not all of the bad talking on this is all their fault either. You learned a lesson that I'm sure you won't repeat again. There is a shared responsibilty here. Again, this is all based on what you wrote and what I pulled from it and evaluated. Fair enough ? Good luck next time. Cob
As I said, I informed EVERY one of them I was a builder and not a retailer....I submit and still stand by THEY only want to sell some items and than blow you off later I dont remember ANY of them offering to buy any of the items back.....I am not stupid and was not born yesterday....I am just a hard working craftsman that does not expect to be screwed .....many of the buy-ins where a REAL streach for me to do however I thought by doing them I was making long term relationships....not a quick buck for some suppiler...
As I said, I informed EVERY one of them I was a builder and not a retailer....I submit and still stand by THEY only want to sell some items and than blow you off later I dont remember ANY of them offering to buy any of the items back.....I am not stupid and was not born yesterday....I am just a hard working craftsman that does not expect to be screwed .....many of the buy-ins where a REAL streach for me to do however I thought by doing them I was making long term relationships....not a quick buck for some suppiler...
Simple solution, deal with reputable companies, and be very aware of what's required from you as a customer. Our little 6-7 car per year operation has managed to keep accounts with Drake, Pete and Jakes, So Cal, Fat Man, and a few others, just by being aware of what's required. All of these did require buy ins, and they do require yearly minimums (which were very clearly spelled out to us). Sometimes you gotta scramble to meet a yearly purchase, last couple months of '05 we were movin Drake stuff to anybody that was interested, but we did it because keeping the account was worth the trouble.
I belive the same. When someone says they want you to "buy-In" to their product? (as they say in Japan) Boo-Sheet-Ohhh. And by the way, they want you to purchase So-Many each year on top of that. There is a well known "shifter" company out there Right Now, asking for that. I say Blow-Me! You either have a great product or you do NOT! It'a all about the money! Their Money!
Yup, it's called making a living and setting rules to try to continue to make a living. If you have no intentions of becoming a distributor to resell the product, then don't try to get into the distribution business. If you are a user of the product, buy from a distributor. Do not buy from a MFG. This IS EXACTLY why a MFG sets the rules this way because they want to deal with people who are interested in selling their product to make money. MFG's pay comission to Distributors to Distribute. People often times think that what they do for liesure should also coincide with any company out there and that they shouldn't make money with what they are doing as business. As far as "Buy ins"- darn right. You want discounts as a distibuter - show me the money that you want to sell my product and I pay you a comission to sell it. I only want to work with companies that are in the business of selling my product as a FULL TIME JOB to only sell. On the other hand to the gentleman who has a Hot Rod building company...well, do what you do best and build Hot Rods and not try to be a distribution company. Those companies erred if they did not spell out what was expected of the Hot rod builder. The Hot Rod builder erred because he did not ask if there were "Buy ins" or minimums and I would guess from this post that he had NO idea that was part of being a Distributer. Distributor and End user is a big difference. Cob
HI I will admitt I errored in not inquiring as to any yearly minimun....however I still believe if they are going to take your money they should at least have the responsibility to inform you that there is a yearly min or give you a call if you are on the bubble.......Believe me these are not the only dealer ships I have ...I have many.....these are just the ones that booted me...as I said most of there items are usless or low quality....might reflect why they where low volumn for us... Regards
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