Motorcycle parts business

gizmoiddy

Hi

I'm new to boards.ie and would appreciate any comments, suggestions or feedback on an idea i have.

i have a few contacts in the motorcycle trade in the uk and am wondering if i can make use of any of them.

These uk companies supply a lot of parts and accessories to motorcycle shops etc in the uk and ireland and are trade only suppliers.

Basically from talking to bikers it seems that most now buy direct from uk mail order companies because irish bike shops take forever to get special orders in.

I have price lists from the uk companies and if i keep my margins tight i could compete with the on line uk prices but like a normal motorcycle shop i will have to order in because there are just too many parts to stock.

So basically my business model will be to use a webshop to list all the parts i can get, (and a smaller printed catalog in the future), keep the prices competitive (they'll be cheaper than irish bike shops) and order once or twice a week until i know what parts to stock.

I'm not planning on opening a retail shop until i am sure this will fly.

Am i just dreaming and fooling myself that this business can get off the ground?

I can research the idea further on biker sites if i can fine tune the business model.

Thanks

kevmacc

Nothing ventured, nothing gained...

I'm in a similar situation at the minute, in the process of setting up an online shop to compete with a certain area in retail, margins will be tight, but like you, I've contacts in both Europe and China where I can source products at excellent prices.

I'll still be keeping my full time position, as I know it will take alot of time and hard work before its successfull, but I'm pretty confident it will be :cool:

It doesnt cost that much to setup an online shop, and personally, if I have an idea which I dont persue, I'm constantly thinking "what if?" so I'd say go for it....

Anyway, just my 2 cents, best of luck with it!!

Culchie

Motorcycle business has been seriously hit the last 2 years, with recession and shyte weather....in many cases it's a luxury spend.

Like any online business, it's peanuts to set up a shop, but you will spend marketing money very quickly trying to drive people to your site.

Bicycles may be a better angle....seriously.

heathersonline

Speaking of webshops, has anyone got any recommendations for getting a web shop up and running? Similar situation as the OP but completely different line of business

Zascar

I think it could be a runner. Getting bike parts in Ireland can be a pain and the customer service is far from good in most cases. Are yuo going to do a dropshipping type thing? Take the order, then place the order on the UK supplier and get it sent directly to the customer?

http://www.shopify.com/ is a great way of very easily setting up an online store and start selling immediately with no overheads, their charges can be high but get lower the more you do.

Your main objective will be getting well known amount the bikers as they are a tight bunch but if done properly it could work out very well.

iddy

Zascar wrote: »

I think it could be a runner. Getting bike parts in Ireland can be a pain and the customer service is far from good in most cases. Are yuo going to do a dropshipping type thing? Take the order, then place the order on the UK supplier and get it sent directly to the customer?

They wont send direct to end customers and carriage charges tend to be high even to send to my address. costs me roughly £15 - £20 per order, which is fine if its a big order but not so good otherwise.

I'm investigating the possibility of getting a courier to collect from their warehouse.

Problem is that i have 2 main suppliers in different parts of the uk and if somebody orders parts from both companies its two carriage charges for me as i havent yet found a courier company that will discount their prices for two seperate pick ups for delivery to the same address

Anybody any suggestions for ways around this?

iddy

heathersonline wrote: »

Speaking of webshops, has anyone got any recommendations for getting a web shop up and running? Similar situation as the OP but completely different line of business

i'm using zencart which is based on OSCommerce but a bit more user friendly IMO. you can buy a manual from them that covers all the basics.

PM me and i'll let you know the name of a company thats sorting out a custom search for me at the moment - (they can handle all the set up etc for you) or let me know if i can post their name on the forum.

fintan

I'd say go for it, micksgarage.ie seem to do pretty well.