I am openning a shop. What equipment should I sell

Here are some quick thoughts I had after opening my business:

Don't expect to get it right the first time. But keep trying and don't give in. Persistance pays.

This is a new experience with an expensive and steep learning curve to it.

Be flexible to market demands. What you want may not be what the customer wants. Be open. Listen.

Above all have fun and don't let the first 6-12 (maybe even 24) months discourage you. Stick with it. Nobody who's around today got here because they gave in when it was tough.

You are more than welcome to contact me privately and I will do my best to help you out in any way I can. I personally run my own audio business so I may have a few tips for you.

Here are a couple other folks who might be helpful to you as well:

Contact Scott at www.arisaudio.com as he will surely have good advice for you.

I would also consider calling Mike&Neli at www.audiofederation.com

They both have wonderful setups in homes with many great products.

Make sure you have given some thought to what you are going ask them, what you plan to do, and what steps you have taken in order to reach your goals.

Really prepare for a couple hours prior to calling them as their time is valuable and you'll want to be ready on your end.

Good luck - Have fun - and hopefully your business gets going for you without too much trouble!

Cheers!

My favorite retailer says they pay the bills with home theater systems. This allows them to still carry 2-channel gear, which is what they truly enjoy. I suspect, that as others have stated, that is what you'll be doing if you intend to stay in business.

>if you are asking these questions, then you would be better
>off going down to a casino and putting it all on black!

Be fair now! Even if you know what you are doing in audio retailing, you may still have better odds at makin' a buck by going down to a casino and putting it all on black!

I would tend to agree with those who have posted questioning why the OP has asked us if he is the one who plans to enter into business......

If this posting is legit, ..My suggestion is the Sell CUSTOMER SERVICE, ...this is completely lacking in almost every segement of business this day....where I live, the norm is poor customer service, whether it be at the dollar store or at the Ferrari dealership, across the board. I have expericned in the past year, 10% of the places I have frequented to have expectional customer service and 90% to be unacceptable.

dont get too stuck on the msrp,the guys who are pulling down the serious cash are the ones who throw the msrp out the window & base profits on volume as oposed to treating every customer like the next big whale.

if you give a guy a deal good enough when he decides to upgrade he can put a few bucks in his pocket instead of loosing a fat wad that same guy will be back .

yes bass response is important & try to carry speakers that offer great bass,not audiophile bass but real chest pounding bass like maybee vmps speakers or somthing along them lines where big buck speakers dont require a sub to give up some real bass.

if it were me i would try to carry brands that are offer ht as well as 2 channel & that are selling like hot cakes right now like krell,mcintosh,pass ect,these brands offer a massive established customer base & also are priced so high that there is a huge amount of room between your price & the msrp :)

somebody above mentioned selling used gear,bad move,take all trade ins right to the internet & get them off your sales floor & the same goes with any consignment gear,straight to the internet.

from what i know & see in high end audio sales the guys who try selling by the book dissapear quickly & the guys who sell with loopholes build new show rooms & sell the most gear.

mike.