henry

Hi all I am new to this forum. I am interested in starting up a hobby dealership and have searched the net some and from what I have seen, most hobby suppliers want any prospective dealers to have a store-front in a commercial building. What I would like to do is start up an R/C-only shop and run it out of my house until I could build a small shop or find a small store-front to rent. I know people in my area who are into R/C there just isn't a hobby shop within 50 miles of my home area. Would anyone here know of any suppliers that would consider working with someone that would do that? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I just wanna know if my idea could be feasible in any way or am I just in a pipe dream? Thanks.

chicagokenji

http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchis.../282427-1.html

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Horizon/BecomeDealer.aspx

http://www.modelretailer.com/

Showtime Racing

iTrader: (35)

Nope, sorry.... None of the major distributors will sell to someone without a store front.

henry

Does anyone know of any smaller suppliers that would do this?

robk

iTrader: (22)

There are some smaller distros but there are a lot of exclusive lines now- Losi, Futaba, OS, etc. Makes it a lot harder to do business that way.

wallstreet

iTrader: (24)

Kenji is the man with the info

Your all over this like a spider monkey





Kenji for region 5 director !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

henry

Thanks everyone for the info. My question is now, what passes for a store-front? Could I just get some small building put up to run it out of, or would I have to actually rent out a commercial storefront? Also is Team Associated an exclusive line? Where could I go to find out what is exclusive or where could I go to get contact with some of the smaller suppliers? Again thank you everyone for the help.

vr6

iTrader: (22)

you can start a website and run it from your house. look into a company from utah by the name of HRP dist. they have pretty much everything but what horizon owns

vr6

iTrader: (22)

yep, hrpdist.com minimum first order 10,000 dollars.

losi guy

iTrader: (38)

How to Submit your Dealer Application:
Step 1: Complete the application form
Step 2: Send 2 images (interior/exterior) of your facility
Step 3: Submit your Resale Information (resale number and state issued)
Step 4: Mail or Fax your information

I would start with these things and contacting distributers. Not all places will have these requirements, it could be more it could less but it's a start.

chicagokenji

For what it's worth....

Using http://maps.google.com HRP looks like it's housed in a commercial building not someone's house.

2371 South 3600 West
West Valley City, Utah

chicagokenji

Henry, what's your goal? Are you wanting to make a profit from selling hobby products to "end user" customers? Or are you just wanting to supply parts, accessories and service to a small group of people and making a profit isn't your core goal?

henry

Essentially I just want to supply parts and accessories to the RC enthusiasts around here with the hopes of eventually starting up some racing. Although I certainly wouldn't mind at least making a modest profit so it's worth my time and effort the reality is I live in the upper peninsula of Michigan and the population level isn't exactly high around here so opening a large, expansive store most likely would not work out. And from what I've seen there is a high failure rate among hobby shops so I was hoping to accomplish this with as little overhead as possible so I would be able to provide parts and kits near the prices of the mail-order companies. I work full time and this essentially would be a "side-job". There is an interest in RC in this area and I have seen racing come and go so I would just like to provide a somewhat stable environment for RC racing to gain some ground in this area.

RC Corral

I wanted to do the same thig here in waukesha. As ABC was closing, I bought a lot of their stock. Mostly to supply racers at my home track. I couldnt get an account with anyone without the storefront, as Henry suggests. I guess now I could use the race shed as my storefront, but it really doesnt have access to the road, and I think I would run into insurance problems if I run a business with public traffic from my home.
So yeah. Not really into it for the profit, just want to give back to the RC dudes that have made my track what it is.

Racin4Fun

iTrader: (3)

Just having a store set up in a make shift building or shed will not get you anywhere as when you submit your info & address they research and if its not zoned properly you will be denied, for instance if y ou use your shed it will come back zoned residential and you will be denied. That and minimum orders are $5,000.00+ so logistically you would be better to buy from Tower and resell to your buddies at minimal profit as your time should be worth something.