Hose Survey

[LGAFF]

Just trying to get a feel for interest so I am not out a few Thousand and have a garage full of hoses. Host site is safe for the survey, I work for one of the largest ins companies in the world and we use it.

If you are interested or not.....please take the survey....lurkers encouraged to respond. Got a lot of orders from new folks...on the 91-95 Emblems


http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YZZQQZY

[bdw18_123]

Done!

[VetteMed]

Done

[phrogs]

ok done.

[tomtom72]

Done!


I already bought the SAMCO stuff for the coolant and the PCV system. My OE coolant hoses were 16 yrs old when we had a group buy here & I got in on it. The PCV stuff I just changed because the OE stuff was 19 yrs old and I was tired of how loose it fit.

[limey]

Hi Lee,

You need to ask yourself, what is the purpose of manufacturing these hoses. Is it to make a profit, or to supply a product at a low cost to the owner of the ZR-1?

If it's to make a profit, it can be done but........... You'll need to outlay a lot of money up front & then sit on the inventory for many years to sell them piece by piece. You will not see any profits until you look back 3-5 years over your sales history, Look at it this way 400 sets of hoses @ what, lets just say you spend $40.00 per set & that's very low ball, i suspect much more, but lets go $40.00, that's $16k in bloody hoses, you want to spend that kind of money on rubber hoses?

Now, where are you going to store it? In your garage at home? or get a warehouse? the later will cost you money & not to mention all kinds of other financial outlays to go with it. How will you sell 400 sets of hoses, on the forums? You may sell some here and there, but never enough to recoup even 20% of your outlay, what happens if after 12 months of storing the hoses they start to dry rott due to inferior quality. I think i may be safe to say that for anything less than $50.00 for 6 coolant hoses, that these are getting manufactured in China, if so will they replace them under warranty should they start to fail?

You are entering the realization of small production manufacturing & that it takes a long time to recoup your outlay, let alone (Dare i say it) to make a profit. I go through this same debate with my vendors time and time again, huge outlay up front & then wait for a few years for the returns to make it beneficial.

I've sent different companies the following parts to manufacture, but not once has it been even remotely $ responsible to proceed.

Thermostat housing assembly
Coolant crossover tube
Vacuum storage reservoir tank
All secondary vacuum hoses
ZF syncro kits
ZF Tall ratio gears sets
91-95 bumper moldings

As an example, everyone knows i got engine bearings re-made a few years back, you know that to this day, i still haven't made one penny from them, not to mention the additional $11,500.00 i spent having the screw up that the manufacturer made fixed.

If you can get them to lower the qty of hose sets to 100 & pay a bit extra for them, that's the best way to go.

I would tell you it's much better to pay $60.00 per set for 100 hoses than $40.00 per set of 400 hoses, this only applies on low production sales, if the part moves & fits many other applications, then make 400 sets, but we're talking LT5 here not VW Beetles.

I give you my proffessional opinion here as i would hate to see you outlay a bunch of $$$$ and end up siting on 2400 coolant hoses that you can't sell.

Good luck on your decision, i'm here if you need it.

[LGAFF]

Motivation is not high profits, its reasonable costs for parts and moderate profit. I am very pleased with my progress and profits so far, and have a free lift in my garage and no out of pocket on my cars at all this year. I have sold all but 16 of 200 Emblems from the 90, 91-95s. I also enjoy the support of a great group of people.

I know alittle about risk and money management, I oversee an operating budget of $5M+ for my departments in excess of $70M+ in settlements each year.

This is exactly why I am researching this issue and not just jumping in without some feasibility research. Engine bearings are a low demand high risk item.....not many people are taking apart their motors and if it fails....you've got issues.

I will make a decision, there is no gain without some risk.....the trick is to not stick your neck out too far. I think if anything, moderate pricing would help move inventory.....reduce $ tied up in parts, and reduce your storage costs. Too many people are whale hunting(trying to land the big one) instead of going for moderation and consistency in sales....

[bdw18_123]

Originally Posted by LGAFF

...
I will make a decision, there is no gain without some risk.....the trick is to not stick your neck out too far. I think if anything, moderate pricing would help move inventory.....reduce $ tied up in parts, and reduce your storage costs. Too many people are whale hunting(trying to land the big one) instead of going for moderation and consistency in sales....

Totally agree with this! You have to find that sweet spot in the pricing. Too low, and you won't make any money. Too high, and hardly anyone will buy it. Especially with the way the economy is now, people are a lot more careful about spending money than before. Couple that with the fact that Corvettes are want items, not need items. Spending money on want items will be the first things people will cut from their budget.

I also agree with the no gain without risk. That is the way this universe is set up. You can't get something for nothing. Everything worth having is going to cost something (not always just money). The key is weighing the costs vs. the returns. If you want a big return, there has to exist the possibility of an equal size loss. You can't have positive without negative.



.

[Pete]

Lee,whatever you decide i'm behind you all the way.

If you need investers we have a few locals that will pitch in,no questions asked.

For me hoses are not a do or die for the LT5.
Either way i'm always a buyer if it helps keep cost down.

Start looking into Head Gaskets.

You have my emblems
Pete