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I'm not talking about clothes here. But if it was me I would carry 1 color of the most popular style of each brand I have. Keep a catalog out with the gear. The idea is that the customer can try on the specific brand and model of gear for size (can't do that online), flip through the catalog and order exactly what they want.
Hard parts don't go out of style. when is the last time a MFR changed their rear sprocket bolt pattern? How about cheap OEM replacement clutch and brake levers? Twice in the last 15 years? New tires would be a great up sell to a guy that comes in and buys premix and chain lube on a regular basis (you know he rides frequently). Display your inventory. If your customers are confident that you will have the part they need they will pay anything you charge (within reason) the day before they want to ride/race and they will actually drive across town to make it to the shop before you close at 5 vs. sitting at the computer and overnighting the part.
And no, people shouldn't expect you to stock obscure OEM tools, bolts, and parts. However, when I have to order a CR drain bolt that has been the same for the past 30 years...
Local dealer? Haven't seen one of those in a few years around here…. Yes there are a very limited few that are on the verge of shutting their doors
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
All you have proven to me and everyone else who reads this...is that you are still an ignorant asshole with very little in the way of having something useful to say about a topic you know nothing about.
P.S. I was listening to Slipknot on my way into work this morning. Those lads from Reo Speedwagon look like a nice bunch though. I'll have to check them out.
A customer NEVER likes the parts you put on now you got scratched parts that need to be restocked.
you don't think anybody has ever tried this ?
Bolt race parts on a showroom bike and make money?
that's funny !
And as far as people discussing what dealers stock. We stock based off of a sales history. If the part you want hasn't sold regularly in the last two years, why is a dealer going to stock it? It doesn't matter how many bikes it fits or how small it is. There's only so much space in a parts department, and you want parts that turnover in stock as opposed to ones that don't. There's far more things in play when deciding what to stock than a simple "it fits all these bikes."
i enjoy working in a shop (especially since it's only part time for me). But I'd never want to own or run one.
Shane
Einstein said that all space and time is relative. I would argue that stupidity is relative too, and it's relatively high with this one...
Motocross riders want to shop at motocross shops, but they don't want to pay for it. SO, what do the motocross shops do? They either go out of business because they don't make enough money, or they adapt to the changing markets and start selling things like ATVs, SxSs, and PWCs in order to keep their heads above water. Now, not only do the motocross riders want all their parts in stock ALL THE TIME, but all the other kinds of riders want all of their parts in stock ALL THE TIME too... Motocross riders want their shit NOW because they have a race this weekend, Snowmobilers want their shit NOW because they only have 3 months out of the year to ride, SxS riders want their shit NOW because they're going to the dunes to get drunk this weekend, ATV riders want their shit NOW because they're working on the farm and have shit to get done.
They want the inventory of the Mall of America, with the prices of Amazon.com, with the service of the old-fashioned mom-n-pop moto dealership. Pick two.
My point is, sometimes loyalty has its benefits...
BTO, Motosport.com and others are in business for a reason, and demand is only one part of it.
The next wave of technology keeps me out of showrooms altogether and I'm stoked!
Pit Row
For those of you blowing off the local dealer, going 100% online, and basically see your local dealer as merely a nuisance, what are you going to do when something breaks on your bike that you can't fix? Who will you call? OEM's have a "case splitting hotline" that I am not aware of? If it needs a special tool to be done, where you going to go? When you discover the day before your ride, you have a flat, fried clutch, dead pads or broken cable, where you going to go?
When all the shops are gone, where will you go?
People bitch about the economy, but they refuse to spread the wealth and support their local place that employs local people, benefitting your local economy
But what do I know?
You are paying the mechanic anyway...
And a customer "NEVER" like the parts? Really? NEVER. Absolutely NEVER?
Maybe you don't do it on your new bikes...maybe do it for all the trades, used bikes, rather than hose them down and sell them as-is. I know dudes that pick up used bikes on Craigslist, bring them home, clean them up real good, put new plastics, graphics, a pipe, grips, tires, etc. etc.-whatever the bikes need-on them (paying Rocky Mountain Prices for the bolt ons-and if a dealership can't buy the parts from the manufacturer as cheap as they can buy them from Rocky Mountain then there is a huge problem, and they should just get a business account at Rocky Mountain and buy the parts from there), and put them back online and make way more than $60/bike, (Usually more like the $200-$500 range). If some Joe Blow off the street can do that, I fail to see why dealerships can't?
But whatever, dealers should just keep doing what they're doing and complain that they aren't making any money. That will fix it.
The more people shop online, the more you're going to have to stock in your garage for those last minute items as dealers close their doors. Those brakes you need on a Friday for the race this weekend? Hope they're on your shelf. Get a flat practicing before the weekend? Better keep some of those around too. Leaky gasket? Maybe you'll have one. There's a chance the money saved might go into keeping some parts for "what if" scenarios when the local dealership is a thing of the past. It's not here yet, but I do believe it's coming.
Shane
I have worked for 1 VERY sucessfull dealer who is always changing with the times(proactive), focusing on "exclusive" brands that only sell on the dealer level, do not sell to online retailers and have a MAP policy and enforces it...... This dealer does not sell on volume or "best price", and is very sucsessful. They "troll the line" with the brands everybody else sells and focus on their exclusive product.
The sucessfull dealers moving foward will focus on what somebody can not buy online and have shipped to their house, units(bikes, quads,etc) and service.
If every dealer sells the same product, most customers will just buy on price, the customer who buys on price is usually your worst customer, will not be loyal, or patient, and will still expect the same service as they guy who is loyal and great to work with.
Also, a guy can make a living running a good dealership, but he's never going to be rich, they are dong it for the love of the hobby, and the fact that they are self employed and their own boss....
When I look at my margins I basically make 2x the profit selling an exclusive bands(BRP, Husqvarna for me). At full price(MSRP) without charging freight, set up, or doc fee I barley make $ 700 on a YZ 250 two stroke, where I can make $ 1400 on the Husky. The Japanese brands area basically going for volume, casuing the dealers to cannibalize each other just to get a sale( the brands are still making money but in reality foricng the dealers to take most of the financial risk and basically store their product for them, pretty much 'wholsaleing" their bikes.....The European brands do the oppisite, they leave good margin in their products, open far less dealers in most regions, and do not really warehouse bikes, what their dealers order at start of the season with the sales rep is all thats built, I ordered 35 Huskys and I'm getting 26.....When they sell out I can't get any more, all the dealers are in the same position and can retail their bikes and make enough money to put a bit of cheddar on their nachos.
As a former racer myself, I do not want to paint everybody with the same brush, but I can tell you that the local racer who thinks he's "King Shit of Turd Island" is usually your worst customer, he wants most stuff for cost "cause he races", and thinks that him running your shops sticker on his bike is going to be sending in people in droves to buy from your shop.
In reality the best customer is usually Bob Smith who ownes Smith electrical, he rides on Sundays with his family, they all have bikes, buy gear at your shop, and also have a quad, snomobile and get work done by your service department. Bob is a really nice guy, brings by coffee and donuts for you staff, gets treated really well becasuse he is great to deal with, does not expect special treatment, but he gets it casue Bob is great a great customer. He sends his co-workers in to the shop, and they are great to deal with cause, Bob referred them and told them how good he is treated. The shop even lends Bob their demo ATV if he needs it, and get to use the new model MX bike if the dealer has a demo. I LOVE dealing with Bob Smith ,he gets great deals and special treatment,. "King Shit of Turd Island", I've told to go shop somewhere else, he's an asshole, treats my staff like shit, I cant keep my door open selling anything too him.
The used dirt bike segment can be difficult for dealerships too. A private sale doesn't have to stand behind the product the same way a dealer does to keep someone happy. That used bike that blows a motor? We fix it at no charge to the customer to keep them happy. There goes the profit dollars on the deal. After a private sale and the bike blew up? Too bad...buyer beware.
Shane
I agree that it's great to have a dealer nearby and I think we should all support them. But the reality is that this isn't going to happen. I race RC cars and there we have an even bigger incentive since they provide the track too. Nevertheless, most guys go outside to the web and when I pay more to support the track (which I still do), I often get penalized. The stoner owner might misunderstand something because he's baked and then get pissed if you don't buy it. So I've ended up buying some parts to keep things right with him. It's these types of penalties to the loyal that make it a tough sell, and while I put up with that shit most don't. That's just how the world spins.
For those dealers that can't see the other side: do you use Amazon.com?
I agree that it's great to have a dealer nearby and I think we should all support them. But the reality is that this isn't going to happen. I race RC cars and there we have an even bigger incentive since they provide the track too. Nevertheless, most guys go outside to the web and when I pay more to support the track (which I still do), I often get penalized. The stoner owner might misunderstand something because he's baked and then get pissed if you don't buy it. So I've ended up buying some parts to keep things right with him. It's these types of penalties to the loyal that make it a tough sell, and while I put up with that shit most don't. That's just how the world spins.
For those dealers that can't see the other side: do you use Amazon.com?
He was a service manager at a 4 brand dealership for about 12 years, and knows what he's doing.
And I'm lucky, Rocky Mountain ATV's massive West Coast warehouse is 35 minutes from my front door (and 10 minutes from my mechanics shop), so if I needed a clutch or pads, or whatever, I call R.M. drive down there, the part is waiting for in their lobby by the time I get there. And I'm good to go (I drive past 5 dealerships on my way to R.M.). Not everyone has that luxury, I get it.
Dealerships, in my book, are nothing more than a place to pick up a bike. So I want that bike as cheap as I can get it. (Oh, and I do buy oils there on occasion, oh, and tear offs every once in a while when I forget to add them to my RM order.)
If dealers want loyalty, and want customers to willingly pay more, they (and their ENTIRE staff) need to treat every single person that walks in that door like they are the most important customer in the world. If they don't have a part that I need, they need to, at minimum, ACT LIKE THEY CARE (even if they are just pretending) that they don't have it, and bend over backwards to make it up in someway.
Half the time, the dude at the parts counter acts bugged when I ask for a part that they don't have in stock. Or if I call to see if they've got it, and they don't, there isn't even a "sorry, dude, its a tough market, we just can't afford to stock everything but we are making an order tomorrow and can get one for you"...its a "we don't have it...bye".
Dealers are the mercy of a crappy business model (and I get that, and feel for them)...but a lot of times they don't do themselves any favors.
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