Question for Dealers

[eNder159]

im interested in becoming a dealer...i was wondering what does it take to become one...such as lord1234 that distributes Sanchez Machine kits... do dealers make a profit from sales? Id like an overview of what dealers go through and things like that. Also what i would have to do to operate as a dealer...do i have to setup some kind of store front like coolhand? or can i just go about day by day promoting the things i have and hoping for sales to come in?

elvin

[cphilip]

This is more appropriate for Talk. Moving there.

[eNder159]

wow that was fast lol ...sorry about that CP

[cphilip]

no its cool. I understand why you put it in Dealers but it's not really a sales question and I felt it might stimulate some discussion here on the dealing of paintball and the business end of it for everyone to talk about those things. It's more of an general interest topic about paintball to me it seemed. So I felt it was more appropriate here. Plus it would clutter up the Dealers area that they sell in. So.... well.... thats the call I made. So carry on.

[AGDlover]

i'm not a huge dealer but hope to be a bigger one in a few months and i just do really small stuff so its no more that $8 and with shipping and buying parts i really don't make a big profit like the $3 triggers i do i take in 1.50 out of it for myself and the rest goes to parts and shipping so profit wise i don't make much for haveing such a small product area but bigger dealers with more products and bigger componey all together would have a bigger profit.

[shartley]

It all depends on the agreement between manufacturer and dealer. Also the price dealers pay per item can differ depending on how many they are buying at a time.

Also what you have to do to be an official dealer for each product (vs. simply selling the products) will be different from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Then you have to figure in your “store front” stuff. That will depend on the laws in your state. The easiest way to determine what you have to do legally is to contact your Secretary of State’s Office or visit your State’s Website covering business in that state. You will find out about appropriate registration, types of business models (DBA, Soul Proprietorship, Limited Liability, etc. ), miscellaneous laws, taxes, etc.

Then check with the IRS for Federal Tax guidelines.

Also, if you want to carry any sort of inventory, be prepared to drop a good chunk of change. No matter how you slice it, you will have to PAY… either more for less, or less for more… but it still all adds up.

As for if you can make a profit… that depends on YOU. What are your operating costs? What are your taxes? Etc.

I know for me, I make decent profit off of some things, but others I do not. I try to have things balance out in the end. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t.

You could spend days discussing all this, but each dealer has things that are the same, and things that are different (as in costs, legal requirements, etc.). It would probably be easier to ask for information specific to your home state and let dealers from that state field the questions for you.

[eNder159]

wow didn't know it was such a big thing to become a dealer...

when i first started this post i thought i had to contact a manufacturer and then drop a good chunk of change for their line of products and then start selling on various forums and what not and/or various pball stores that dont carry that specific line...

thanks for the input...shartly and sniper...keep those posts coming in i wanna learn more about it all...even if it is general information

[luke]

Really what you’re doing is starting a business, so, you’ll likely need a local business license, (generally you need a business banking account to get a local business license.)state and federal tax numbers.

That's a basic start......