Warning: My passionate Land Rover rant of the week

So I've decided to try my luck at a small land rover parts & vehicles business. I'll start with the parts already in my inventory - sell them as is or rebuild them with genuine replacement parts from RoversNorth and then sell them complete with 60 day money back guarantee's + free shipping for most of the parts I get my hands on. I imagine that alot of you guys are already in the business yourself - trying to make a living off something you love and enjoy. So what do you think? Should I apply for some kind of small business license? Or just start buying parts and see where it takes me? There are a number of Land Rover owners in my area, but I doubt there are any LR parts dealers excluding RoversNorth (which offers outrageous shipping fees) and DAP Enterprise (which only sells new parts plus tax fees). There's no sales tax here so I think I can take advantage of my location and sell parts at competitive rates. I also have a good standing account on ebay with 100% positive feedback rating but only a yellow star so I'd like to increase my account status.

 

Well, there are several dismantlers that hang out around this forum and others, and deal with a large number and variety of models of Rovers. There are also a number of on-line sources for new parts that ship, sales tax free. You are correct that Rovers North is the high priced option, perhaps just under dealership levels. There are also large salvage yards that allow people to pull their own parts, or will pull parts per your orders and ship.

So do a market analysis of the competitors, price yourself correctly, offer great service, free shipping, and a warranty, and wait for the orders to come in. But don't quit your day job just yet. Rover owners are a varied bunch. At the low end, we have the guys who always wanted one and bought a sort of running fixer upper for under $2K, and is overwhelmed with all the things to buy, and just blew a head gasket, can't afford an oil filter. At the other end are they guys who just dropped $50K on a posh piece of pre-owned sheet metal (low miles). Or the dude who bought a new Defender and took his change in Freelanders. These folks are not interested in used parts, unless they are stuck in the backwater waiting on parts.

Of course, I like used parts, like vintage jewelry, no one has to know you didn't pay full price.

You'll want to be incorporated or an LLC, to protect your personal assets from the type of savage lawyers who lurk under every slime covered rock ever run over by a Rover. If you live in a neighboorhood, there may be deed covenants that prohibit operation of a business on the premisies. Don't forget to involve your tax prep person with this. Most local jurisdictions have some sort of business lisc. required, and sometimes limit locations that can get a one (zoning).

I can get parts at fair and reasonable rates from a number of existing sources, and I can get them next day if I needed them by paying a little more for shipping. I have used these sources before, and had good results. So why would I seek you out?

Two other suggestions:

A. Purchase (or check out from library) any book by Zig Ziglar, one of the top sales motivators. It will open your eyes.

B. Consider a line of products that can be advertised on DIY and enthuiast web sites for a variety of vehicles, not just Rover. One idea for a product would be a wifi or Bluetooth enabled vibration sensor, magnetic, that could be attched to various areas on a vehicle and record to phone or PC wirelessly. "My truck is making a wierd noise from the ". Another would be a chemical test that could from a few drops of coolant or oil or transmission fluid detect that a stop leak chemical was present, good for anyone buying a used vehicle. Think our economy is going to turn around? Think that used cars sales will go up? Yep. Think people will hold on to them longer ('til da wheels fall off)? Yep. How about products "geared" toward high miles vehicles? Or wacky bumper stickers (# 1 Possum Smasher, Deer Killin' Disco (with little bambis to mark how many)). How about converting pre-owned Chevy alternators to mount on Rovers, with higher amps, tested and warranty?

 

All I know is sell me good parts cheap and I'll buy. :P

I avoid AtlanticBritish and etc.. like the f-ing plague.

 

Thanks for all the tips. Advice is cheap and invaluable!

I admit that I occasionally do business with Atlantic British and other Rover parts businesses, but I always keep my mind open to ebay and private sellers to because sometimes they offer the best deals.

Setting prices for used parts is quit a challenge, especially on ebay where you are hampered with listings fees! My current method of pricing involves researching the general asking price of like-minded buyers for the particular part, then setting a price that is competitive to their total price (asking price plus shipping) and I leave enough room for best offers. I also try to use the cheapest shipping carriers for all my shipments: USPS! Fedex tried charging me $80-130 just to ship an envelop to Canada! UPS charged me $15 just to ship out a text book I sold to a buyer on Amazon.com - my asking price for the book was only $13 and even then Amazon listing fees left me with only around $10! Go figure on that one

I dont have a big inventory at the moment and I'm still in the process of adding new items but check out my page on ebay and let me know if you think my prices are reasonable. eBay My World - newenglandroverparts