Opening a car audio shop soon..what is a good site to order equipment from?

[aaron7114 10+ year member]

where are you located at? i may know some peeps for ya

I'm in Northeast Arkansas. Thanks man I appreciate it.

 

[Worlddre 5,000+ posts]

Do you intend to turn a profit off of the equipment? If so good luck when you are buying product from another retailer. Why not go through a distributor for the product you wish to carry. They usually don't have minimum orders and are often local so getting product in a pinch is likely not difficult. Our Alpine distributor is 20 mins from our shop so when we need product we can get it within an hr. It's cheaper than another retailer and more convenient than ordering online.

 

[fx4lifted06]

Alot of dealers may want a min. buy in...You will have to purchase "X" amount of $$ to get started....

If you dont have the money to do that, then deal with a distributor and you will still be cheaper than dealing with an online shop....

My advice is too keep some quality items in stock AND some lower end items in stock......

Pioneer line has very little limitations on being a dealer....Pioneer Premier line is a little more difficult

Clarion is another that's pretty easy

There are alot more.

From my view and seeing how most people are in my area.... If you don't have items in stock at that time, then most customers will go to another store or shop.

You may not make alot off inventory but if people know you have items in stock, they will come and buy items.... Most people that buy the equipment will also have you install the items as well.

 

[aaron7114 10+ year member]

Would like to some profit off of the equipment but it's definitely not going to be our main means of profit. We will be the only car audio place around here other than good ol walmart lol.

 

[Consolilaw 10+ year member]

You may want to write up a business plan. It doesn't seem as though you know much about how to run a business. Do you have the start up capital for this venture?

 

[Burton6431 10+ year member]

Would like to some profit off of the equipment but it's definitely not going to be our main means of profit. We will be the only car audio place around here other than good ol walmart lol.

bro let me help a lil as i have done a lil audio on the side in my own town as well. you HAVE to become a dealer and you HAVE to sell equipment not just do installs with what people might bring you or they pick out over your "recommended" website, it dont work like that. you HAVE to have stuff in stock and displayed in your office. you have to show the customer first hand of the kind of stuff theyll be buying an you WILL make money on people that walk in with an idea and come out with a few boxes you had stacked in the corner with 6.5s and 6x9s. not everyone will want you to install them and theyll do it themself so if you can make 10-20% on all the equipment you sell thatll help. Also youll wana note this down that youll need to be experienced in box building and fiberglass but remember that thats all manual labor and its alot easier to make money by sitting on ur *** and selling something than being in a garage sweating your *** off sanding down a hunk of fiberglass. I would start out by getting with knu konceptz and let them handle all your wireing needs. But for real you have to have stuff in stock and you will not make money by just labor costs. show them product, sell them product.

SOME CHEAP GOOD STUFF TO RUN AND SELL, soundstream, audiopipe, lanzar optis, hifonics, alpine and pioneer for headunits, 1 or 2 hi-end brands, youll need to make up some package deals such as enclosure+subs+amp, then give them an install fee including wire. make sure to show off and give a good price on a "kicker" comparable setup since thats what most tard kids will want, ensure them a lower price with better bass.

Ill usually do an amp and sub install for around $80-90 including all knukoncepts wireing and offer that with a headunit install including reverse harness and dash kit for around $120-140

 

[brian84corvette 10+ year member]

parts express ?

 

[aaron7114 10+ year member]

I do not plan on this being a huge business. It will not be my main source of income either. I have a full time job that I will still be working at. However EVERYONE in my town knows me for car audio and everyone knows of how good I am. I literally have at least 3-5 people contacting me every week to install some speakers or build them a custom box. I'm not trying to sound like I'm bragging by any means but I am definitely the go to guy here for anything car audio related. I've been doing installs for people for years and think that if I'm going to be doing that on the side anyways then I might as well get my business license and start up a small business on the side.

 

[Burton6431 10+ year member]

bottom line you wont make much money without profiting from equipment sales. do you have fiberglass experience? cus youll also need to get a materials shop to get resin etc...

 

[d77543020 10+ year member]

Just order directly from Audiopipe. People will go crazy over cheap deebeez.

what did you get and how much did it cost?was it cheaper than ebay

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

parts express ?

$10 Kicker amps and 200tweets for $10 a case FTW //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[manyhobbies 10+ year member]

This right here says it all. I have a buddy who has a audio/detail shop. He has very little to show off, so trust the advice, you gotta show some inventory because most people like me wanna see a selection. Also make a note to self, do not try to make 1 brand your only option and make it sound like it's the best. Most people these days have the internet and already have an idea of what they want when they come to you, so if you don't have what they want, get good at convincing that what you have is as good. I also agree that you need to offer high end and low end when it comes to prices, some will pay for a name and some just want sound for little money.

bro let me help a lil as i have done a lil audio on the side in my own town as well. you HAVE to become a dealer and you HAVE to sell equipment not just do installs with what people might bring you or they pick out over your "recommended" website, it dont work like that. you HAVE to have stuff in stock and displayed in your office. you have to show the customer first hand of the kind of stuff theyll be buying an you WILL make money on people that walk in with an idea and come out with a few boxes you had stacked in the corner with 6.5s and 6x9s. not everyone will want you to install them and theyll do it themself so if you can make 10-20% on all the equipment you sell thatll help. Also youll wana note this down that youll need to be experienced in box building and fiberglass but remember that thats all manual labor and its alot easier to make money by sitting on ur *** and selling something than being in a garage sweating your *** off sanding down a hunk of fiberglass. I would start out by getting with knu konceptz and let them handle all your wireing needs. But for real you have to have stuff in stock and you will not make money by just labor costs. show them product, sell them product.
SOME CHEAP GOOD STUFF TO RUN AND SELL, soundstream, audiopipe, lanzar optis, hifonics, alpine and pioneer for headunits, 1 or 2 hi-end brands, youll need to make up some package deals such as enclosure+subs+amp, then give them an install fee including wire. make sure to show off and give a good price on a "kicker" comparable setup since thats what most tard kids will want, ensure them a lower price with better bass.

Ill usually do an amp and sub install for around $80-90 including all knukoncepts wireing and offer that with a headunit install including reverse harness and dash kit for around $120-140

 

[Ignatowski 5,000+ posts]

Most companies want a minimum buy in to become a dealer.

Thats dying like the dinosaur ....... There are plenty of companies that no monger subscribe to that BS buy in old school idea

However this guy will not stay in biz long unless he can get parts in 24 hours or less

because there are shops that have inventory.....HIFISOUNDCONNECTION is a less than stellar

online seller,far from my fav as a consumer.....they do a bunch of bait and switches

and loads of B stock sold as A stock - in other words hifisoundconnection is not a place I would count on for my customers

hardware......

CarAudio is one racket advertised towards kids,most have short incomes

and if you dont do alarms,car auto starts and asst gizmos like that you will die a painful slow death

Many business fail fast - lack of a biz plan,lack of capital and lack of smarts.....do you even have a biz plan?

how are you going to get customers? advertising? budgets? insurance?

 

[will3 10+ year member]

Your in Northeast AK you need to get hooked up thourgh a distributor, you have several options close to you in Ohio,Texas,and TN that all carry Kicker, and a wide assortment of brands from budget to high end, until you can become more established to go direct, most are a 1-2 day turn around and are going to be more reliable than online retailers.

Its fine if you want to make your money off the installs , but finding a reliable source for the product you install is key to being successful even on a small scale.

 

[outsideshot23 10+ year member]

Your in Northeast AK you need to get hooked up thourgh a distributor, you have several options close to you in Ohio,Texas,and TN that all carry Kicker, and a wide assortment of brands from budget to high end, until you can become more established to go direct, most are a 1-2 day turn around and are going to be more reliable than online retailers.Its fine if you want to make your money off the installs , but finding a reliable source for the product you install is key to being successful even on a small scale.

I guess 8-12 hours is "close"... Like evryone else said you need inventory laying around. people do not like to come in and order off of catalogs. You will make a ton more business by people coming in and looking around and buying something spur of the moment because they wnt it installed today. i would not buy anything and have to wait a week...