Would you shop at a full-service car-seat store?

Would you shop at a "full-service" car-seat store?

  • Yes! It would be like manna from heaven!

    Votes: 35 70.0%
  • Yes - only to gather information & comparison shop

    Votes: 12 24.0%
  • Yes - only to have my seats checked

    Votes: 1 2.0%
  • Maybe

    Votes: 2 4.0%
  • Not in your life

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    50

drey

New member
When I have it figured out, I'll be sure to let you know!! Just be warned, though, it's COLD here. Of course it used to be cold for longer stretches at a time, but now I think mother nature is trying to squeeze all the cold together at the same time... :p
 
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beeman

Active member
Definately carry more products than carseats. You need something to bring people into your store. Internet marketing is also a great way to get costumers. You definately need to have a good location. It will cost a ton to rent a space in prime shopping area or the mall, but cheap rent isn't affordable if you don't sell anything. The other thing is to start small, learn all the tricks of the trade, and then work your way up from there. Starting with an internet sales business out of the home is a great way to set up without a large expense on facilities. Although selling the carseats is your dream, it may not be the ideal product to get your business rolling. Find a niche market product that's hard to come by and that you can charge a decent price on (and make a profit :) ), and have people buy. With a product like that you have to be carefull on overpricing, so that people aren't affraid to use it. If it's overpriced people will buy it once, and save it because it's a specialty, rather than use a ton of the stuff at a reasonable cost.
Make sure on whatever you carry that it's a quality product that puts Walmart and Zellers/target products to shame. People are starting to accept paying more for the quality products again. Now, when it comes to employment, that is expensive. Be carefull with benefits. They may look really appealing on paper, but can end up costing you a load of money. You may be able to attract workers with a higher wage without benefits, and it could cost you less in the long run. Some suppliers, (especially if you work with smaller scale ones) are willing to back you on product until its sold, to help get you started. Remember, they rely on you as much as you rely on them: work with them. It will take a lot of work and sacrifices of time and luxuries to get it going, but the benefit and sense of accomplishment are definately worth it.
Don't be affraid of failure. Even the great large scale business owners have had businesses fail, hit rock bottom and built their way back up again. The experience from that venture will be a valuable asset on your next one.
Should you decide to start something to this effect, I wish you the best of luck.

Lee
 

southpawboston

New member
i agree with beeman.

i honestly don't think a store could make a successful existence on carseats alone. part of the problem would be competing with the big chains like BRU and online stores which can get volume discounts and offer free shipping. in fact, even though the two stores i mentioned sell some great (and expensive) seats, their volume is so low that they rely on their other things for the bulk of their profit. i actually don't mind paying a little more to these stores for items that i can find online cheaper (unless it's a drastic difference in price) because these stores are so unique and have personalized service, they deserve to get the business. i know the owner of wild women wild child and he said the internet is killing a lot of his business . that's why he has to carry a diversity of things from clothing to accessories that carry a higher profit margin, because the profit margin on things like strollers and carseats is so low.
 

jodim

New member
I voted yes to comparison shop~ but I would also price shop.. if the store was competitive to a price I could get online, then yes, I would prefer to shop at a B&M store.

I think paying a few bucks extra for local customer service is also wellll worth it.
 

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