making the transition from a consumer to a seller

[georgie24]

matteskywalker brought up the most interesting point in his response to my thread. lets really start a good discussion on this. thats were alot of us fail. we are too busy being the consumer and spending alot of out potential capital. i would love to know more about viewing life from a sellers point of view.

books?
movies?

this can get interesting

 

[beefybull]

I dont really view it as a transition. We will always be consumers buying things unless you decide to live a hermit-esque existence in the woods growing all of your own food.

It's all really about proper budgeting and looking for smart buys. For example, if you run a retail store, you should look for the cheapest way to get your inventory.

 

[georgie24]

right now im looking at selling rims,tires, and car accesaries. i figured i can start looking in that area because i love cars mods ect. however since im a bit older im looking at this with an entrepeneur's state of mind instead of a strict consumer. another thing is of course bodybuilding supps. im more passionate about cars/auto's and styling though

 

[beefybull]

right now im looking at selling rims,tires, and car accesaries. i figured i can start looking in that area because i love cars mods ect. however since im a bit older im looking at this with an entrepeneur's state of mind instead of a strict consumer. another thing is of course bodybuilding supps. im more passionate about cars/auto's and styling though

Hope your city is ready for it. If it's too small, you wont make enough sales to justify your business. If your city is really large, the market may already be saturated. There are plenty of cities with 75-350k people that could use businesses like this. The top money to be made is in the car audio/video area (there is much cheap shit to bad had on the net that you can mark up tremendously) or in the rim area (buying 20+ inch rims for as cheap as possible, making sure you stock spinners & floaters, selling $250 wire wheel sets for $600, etc.)

Lots of money to be made customizing foreign cars for the F&TF crowd. You need someone on your staff that can hook up stereos and someone that can do engine mods and hook up nitrous systems.

 

[georgie24]

body kits, rims, audio eqipment, nitrous..im going to look into this

 

[beefybull]

http://www.PartsExpress.com/

There is a company Apex Audio that offers tremendous discounts once you purchase their catalog (it's like $20-30). I bought a catalog once a long time ago, the deals are outrageous.

 

[georgie24]

thanks bro! i apreciate it!

 

[calveless wonder]

matteskywalker brought up the most interesting point in his response to my thread. lets really start a good discussion on this. thats were alot of us fail. we are too busy being the consumer and spending alot of out potential capital. i would love to know more about viewing life from a sellers point of view.

this is very true and i've witnessed it firsthand. After you realize this, i think you are much more empowered as an entrepeneur. It's 2nd nature to me at this point so it's kind of hard for me to describe, but basically i'm a penny pincher when it comes to alot of things (although you'd never guess because i find bargains). All it is really is applying marginal benefit and cost everytime you buy something in your life......if you have a clean concise investment goal then maybe that shirt or car doesn't matter as much.

A good way to alleviate that is have a sufficient source of income to begin with.........if you have a decent job to begin with you have a greater margin for error when it comes to spending. Obviously you need money to make money, so if you have that extra advantage of being able to live somewhat comfortable and still have flexibility to save a little, then you don't have much of a problem. This is how alot of entrepeneurs succeed.

 

[Paulo]

One can learn a lot by being a consumer. If you transfer your experience as one, then you will be better able to have a sensitivity to what the market desires.

I think a lot of business owners lose sight of this very fact. Many treat their customers like shit. But when they are the customer, they demand the utmost in service.


hmmm.

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

Go into a store. Look at the way things are arranged. Think it's by accident?

Check out Wal-mart, a supermarket, etc. Go shop for clothes. Go to Old Navy, the Gap, Nordstrom, Neiman marcus, Saks, and if you can, a really upscale place like a Bergdorf Goodman. See how they lay out their stores, etc.

Then go to some boutique type stores.


If you plan to keep eating and putting clothes on, you'll always be a consumer. If you want to see how to think like the other side, put yourself out of your element.

I never go to Wal-mart or Target or Kohl's or any of that shit. But every now and then I go. I look at the people. I try to figure them out. I piece their lives together.
And I buy a few things, what the hell?

I go to upscale stores and I dress differently. I put on expensive stuff and go to Neiman Marcus, they give me handjobs in the fitting room. I go to NM looking like shit, I'm the skunk.

I go to Saks looking like shit, hey, it's cool. SAme deal with Nordstrom.

Then I went to a boutique on Worth Ave in Palm beach (richest part of the country). I thought the store would be super nice. Inside, there were clothes literally thrown on the table. When you saw something you liked, you pointed to an associte who would get itout of the pile for you. This was a shopping area surrounded by $20M residences, and there was no attempt at image. meanwhile, a place like banana republic and Neiman Marcus was all image.

There were dogs in the store in Palm beach. Dogs walking on clothes that were thrown on the floor. Weird. No attempt at all at image. A $1200 pair of pants inside out thrown on a table.


Anyway, the point is, you don't have to figure out how to think like a seller. there are already a zillion corporations doing it for you. What you CAN do, is start going to retail stores you are not accustomed to, and watch hey they look at consumers.

You'll learn a lot about consumers. And start going to stores you don't go to. If you grew up getting outfitted every year at macy's for school like i did, don't go to Macy's. Go up the chain, downthe chain, etc.

Watch the consumers. Figure them out. Start to piece their stories together and figure out what they would buy. That's how you think like a seller.

Next lesson: Watch the commericals. DOn't TIVO them.

 

[bran987]

Next lesson: Watch the commericals. DOn't TIVO them.

Great post BTW. That is exactly what copywriters do before they write a sales letter about a product/market they are unfamiliar with

Infomercials fascinate me I watch as many as I can

The same formula works to sell any of these products on TV.. over and over and over and over... it was so interesting I even bought a tape set all about it. It is a very exact science.

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

you haven't shopped until you see a lady put her dog on a pile on $1000 pieces of apparel and the sales associate just smiles.

Try that shit at Target.

 

[Razorguns]

You sometimes really have to do both to fully grasp the reality and logistics of the situation.

My main job all day is being a marketing agent for native american casinos. To me they'd be a thought of as a "seller". But in reality, i'm pitching *them* through ads, partnerships, campaigning, fund-raising, enticements, endorsements, banner ads, media, television, swag, etc. etc. Meaning suppliers of these entities would be viewed as "consumers". But to me, they're all "consumers", where me, the middle-man, am the "seller" (of my services).

So it all becomes a blur after awhile. My MAIN focus throughout the entire process, is bringing about MAXIMUM benefits and services to all parties involved. Figure out what each party needs, what their goals are, what their situations involve, and bring about a mutually beneficial arrangement.

All throughout this, *my* thinking, my needs, or my mindset is irrelevent.

Actually a pretty good thread here.

 

[manny78]

body kits, rims, audio eqipment, nitrous..im going to look into this

It's a very competitve market. I know by experience. With Ebay around, it's even harder. Along with firearms, it's my second hobby which is also becoming another income source for me. Target a specific market first (domestic, japs, german...), then keep your focus on customer service cause that's how many sellers get thrown out of the business after a year. Good luck !

 

[georgie24]

thanks for posting here manny! i read your posts and pay attention