Naw, if you have a good location and a shop thats been around for a while I know you could get started for no more than 10k. If you are starting a new shop they want a lot more from you in terms of business plans, financial statements and so on.
Dolmar 5100 Cylinder Problem
- Thread starter schroedogg
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Naw, if you have a good location and a shop thats been around for a while I know you could get started for no more than 10k. If you are starting a new shop they want a lot more from you in terms of business plans, financial statements and so on.
cuttinscott
Addicted to ArboristSite
We OPE dealers have one strength that should not be overlooked. Even in good times, people don't usually buy our stuff unless there is a genuine need. A guy doesn't buy a lawn tractor until the old one croaks. Same for saws, excepting CAD of course. It has always been a need based business. And it has always been more dependent on the weather than the economy. A drought scares me way more than the recession can. The only concern I have this year is getting retail finance approvals on the big ticket stuff like the Exmarks. I do know of a few shops that are genuinely worried, but these are bigger places with lot's of overhead, lot's of employees, etc. I know one guy who built a $900,000 show place 2 years ago, and he's pretty nervous. Dumb thing is he has a great business and really didn't need that two story monument. It has to be an ego thing.
If we get the weather, most of us will be OK. All of the work that needs to be done with our equipment will still have to be done one way or the other regardless of the economy. Grass still has to be mowed, snow still has to be moved, and wood still has to be cut. Saw wise, the economy has actually hepled us with a renewed interest in wood burning. Like anything, there can be exceptions to this logic. A saw only shop that is primarily focused on pros can be hurt real bad if the local timber industry shuts down. And I'm sure there are other examples.
Let's not compare ourselves to the car business though. Nine out of ten people who buy a new car don't need a new vehicle. The auto business has gotten used to customers getting a new one every 3 to 5 years. But what we are seeing now is people simply continuing to drive what they own, rather than trade in a 4 year old car in perfectly good shape. A positive note for the auto business though is something called the scrapage rate, which is the amount of vehicles that get junked every year. I think it has averaged 12 million units the last few years, so the auto biz should at least settle in at a similar volume. But the 16 to 17 million level they have enjoyed the last several years is not sustainable.
I'm actually thankful that I have a business that while not immune from the recession, is at least somewhat insulated from it. And most of all, it's great to be working for myself rather than be in a situation where some executive can decide that me and a hundred other people have to be let go in some kind of downsizing nonsense. I wouldn't have it any other way.
But Spike AS members want dealers that are saw only shops..... Well here in NY with the overhead and taxes we have to pay we need grass and snow business as well so saws are kinda a sideline business but we still treat it like a mainline it just does not really pay the bills lol..
Scott
Well, things are not looking much better at this side of the pond. I believe most shops are struggling to pay the bills at the moment, as consumer consumption has really slowed down in january and february. There's not a day that goes by without some major company announcing having to lay off people, and the federal bank announced this week that 2009 will become a very tough year. America is just a little ahead of europe, so I think the worst over here has still to come. Our top 3 banks in Belgium are facing big liquidity problems due to high risk financial products linked with the american housing mortgages. Our government is trying to bail them out, but their capabilities are limited, so there's still a lot of uncertainty around. I think once the government will be able to stabilize the financial world, we will then only be able to climb slowly out of this vicious circle of people not spending.
Just hang in tight... and your business will come out stronger probably !
Woodie
"Cap'n Bullcrap'n"
So you mean they will no longer be allowed to open new dealerships...in the bathrooms of existing dealerships?
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cuttinscott
Addicted to ArboristSite
bookerdog
The New Champ
Just like starbucks LOL
No kidding Scott. If I had it my way I would never work on a lawnmower. I would only repair handheld power equipment. The truth is though the lawnmowers really do pay the bills..
cuttinscott
Addicted to ArboristSite
That being said I DO NOT WORK ON CONSUMER MOWERS. No money to be made in that market. All the mowers we sell and repair are commercial grade. Ventrac, Ferris, eXmark........
Scott
Woodie
"Cap'n Bullcrap'n"
It's pretty bad here in the D...I went through a McDonalds yesteday, ordered a burger and a Coke. The guy goes "You want a 361 with that?"
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cuttinscott
Addicted to ArboristSite
Woodie
"Cap'n Bullcrap'n"
I see Thall loading his gun right now...
In that case I should call his local emergency room and let them know they're about to have a guy with a shot-up foot any second now.
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Woodie load your stuff up in your Chrysler mini van and hit the road ....Im still in need of a collections guy ...
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windthrown
361 Junkie
isnt that what their doing with john deere??????
Scott
Well, that would be one hellofa bathroom at the JD dealer here. Stihl got the main segment of the JD sales floor, along with Honda mowers. Its more like a casino bathroom in Vegas. All with a hottie blonde casheer to smile at you as well. Beat that!
Husky is teamed up with the Kubota dealer here as well, about a mile away. Not quite as large, but they have the whole Husky line (they used to just have a partial pro lineup of saws there). No Dolmar dealers to be seen though. Not even an outhouse for them to sell in around here. :monkey:
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Pretty much same old same old as far as local business goes. We'll see how the summer goes. They say that the economy has always been so bad here that we may not notice much.
Simply because New York has been in recession for years. Interestingly enough my bet is those in our state fare better than those in the growth states of the last few years...
Also as much as we may not like it, New York will benifit from the Dem's Sim package proportionally more than some of the growth states...
And the push for alternative energy will help the southern tier as the Marcellas Shale formation extends up into NYS
Last but not least...agriculture. Western NYS still has many farms ..inherited vs. purchased. People still need food. They aren't going anywhere.
You also service the CAD comunity and Vintage CAD in particular, my bet is Vintage CAD is an affliction of the older and more established in the saw comunity.....ebay is the "loss leader" source of project saws, people like you sell the bits and pieces to get them going again...at normal and reasonable margins as things should be.
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funky sawman; said:
Problem is, for a company like Dolmar to get a hold on a market, they first have to win over either a series of professional types or some true enthusiasts first. Some dealer has to hang it out to make this happen. Then their success stories build mythology over time to build a sence of "ease of mind" of those who are thinking of an "off brand" vs. a Husqvarna 346XP or Stihl MS250...or even the Echo and Jonsered brands.
This is a harsh market reality when a company needs to penetrate a mature market or even grow within a mature market.
These series of postings relative to the PS5100s will be seen around the world and many who look to Dolmar as an option will pass by here. These will also show up with search engines as potential customers research a purchase desision...they have impact!
Dolmar can either ignore this type of thing or turn it into a positive. Most marketing types of the old school try and ignore the impact of things like enthusiast website postings....lets see what Dolmar does.
Where ever there is contraversy there is opportunity..lets say, hypothetically; this turns out to be as simple as a problem with the carb and how it reacts when exposed to pressure changes disrupted by a dirty air filter or some other goofy engineering issue where solutions can be a retrofit..they bite the bullet and recall under warrentee..the commotion can be cast as a positive, if done right....left to the internet gauntlet the same issue will be cast as inferior or engineering issues based on a small pro customer foot print and dealer feedback...So Dolmar you have a issue to deal with. The wrong approach would be to ignore it and let the dealers fight your battle...at their expense both in customer trust and dollars.
And funky..did you actually sell 50 Dolmars? Does your Dolmar distributer know this story? How about Dolmar Germany? Are they aware of your case?
I hope this gets resolves as I happen to LIKE the Dolmar guts to put a "Hot Rod" saw in the market place..its a gutsey move and if they work we all win. I would hate to see this stop them or others from taking that angle to marketing.
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windthrown
361 Junkie
Well, the AS segment of the global chainsaw market is probably only about 1/2 of 1%. Maybe less. But the issue with Dolmar is that outside of this exposure, no one here has heard of them. Makita? Yes. Dolmar? No.
THALL10326
The Champ
Not sure, you wanting to open a dealership, we will rent you our bathroom, 400.00 a square foot, WEEKLY,hehe
Maybe...probably..but that last line defines the "toe hold" of a new market.
And...
What percentage of potential dealers pass thru here and what percentage of prospective buyers do research online and will find this? What percentage of those potential "advocates" who hawk these type of boards pass thru here?
If I'm Dolmar, I certainly hope your premis is right..this is of little impact. Note that I have seen similar threads at the other big Forestry oriented site as well.
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THALL10326
The Champ
isnt that what their doing with john deere??????
Scott
Ewwwwwwwwww that was low so I'll have to raise you one. If Dolmar could have got in JD's doors they may have sold enuff to pay Stihl's electric bill,LOL
( i couldn't resist,haha)
