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<blockquote data-quote="Tim McCulloch" data-source="post: 48049" data-attributes="member: 67">Re: Becoming an equipment dealerSilas lives somewhere a manufacturer didn&#039;t already have a dealer, perhaps?&nbsp; It&#039;s also possible that things have changed since we had our bitter separation from one or more of the Harman companies.&nbsp; We still buy and use their products but not as a dealer.Our experience was that keeping up with the minimum annual commitment purchase for 5 or 6 major lines of equipment, back in 2001 when the economy took a major shit after the World Trade Center attacks, wasn&#039;t possible and the products we were selling suddenly had zero demand (installed gear was already ordered, new construction stopped, and our internal purchases for production inventory stopped with the cancellation of our entire 4th quarter calendar).&nbsp; The Harman companies were not pleased and within 90 days demanded we fulfill our purchase commitment.&nbsp; We couldn&#039;t, and they cancelled our dealer agreements.&nbsp; That was after investing in showroom, display/demo inventory and salesman training.Perhaps things are different now and manufacturers will sign up anyone with an open checkbook, but our experience led to the conclusion that it&#039;s easier and more productive to establish long term relationships with suppliers who will give us first-column dealer pricing when our orders help them get end-column pricing.&nbsp; We are dealers for the stuff that moves fast, often, and MAKES A PROFIT ON EVERY SALE, not just discounts the cost of production inventory.YMMV.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Tim McCulloch, post: 48049, member: 67"] Re: Becoming an equipment dealer Silas lives somewhere a manufacturer didn't already have a dealer, perhaps? It's also possible that things have changed since we had our bitter separation from one or more of the Harman companies. We still buy and use their products but not as a dealer. Our experience was that keeping up with the minimum annual commitment purchase for 5 or 6 major lines of equipment, back in 2001 when the economy took a major shit after the World Trade Center attacks, wasn't possible and the products we were selling suddenly had zero demand (installed gear was already ordered, new construction stopped, and our internal purchases for production inventory stopped with the cancellation of our entire 4th quarter calendar). The Harman companies were not pleased and within 90 days demanded we fulfill our purchase commitment. We couldn't, and they cancelled our dealer agreements. That was after investing in showroom, display/demo inventory and salesman training. Perhaps things are different now and manufacturers will sign up anyone with an open checkbook, but our experience led to the conclusion that it's easier and more productive to establish long term relationships with suppliers who will give us first-column dealer pricing when our orders help them get end-column pricing. We are dealers for the stuff that moves fast, often, and MAKES A PROFIT ON EVERY SALE, not just discounts the cost of production inventory. YMMV. [/QUOTE]

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