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Post by "Big Guy" on Jun 6, 2008 21:30:32 GMT -5
Okay everyone, I have fallen to the pressure... Got a showroom, got supplier contracts, and we'll be opening soon on the West Bank of New Orleans! The website is www.x1scooters.com/ and you can go there for a preview of the first models we'll be carrying. I hope I don't regret this! -Rich
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Post by scootingranny on Jun 6, 2008 21:37:52 GMT -5
Oh, wow! Congrats! Nothing but the best wishes for your success.
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Post by ty on Jun 6, 2008 21:39:00 GMT -5
Congrats! Hope all goes well for you. I know if I lived just a little closer ;)I'd come buy from you. Good luck with it.
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Post by A.B.Normal on Jun 6, 2008 21:40:20 GMT -5
Okay everyone, I have fallen to the pressure... Got a showroom, got supplier contracts, and we'll be opening soon on the West Bank of New Orleans! The website is www.x1scooters.com/ and you can go there for a preview of the first models we'll be carrying. I hope I don't regret this! -Rich That is SO fantastic! I'm really happy for you and hope it goes so great that you have to make tome to post to tell us all how many scoots you are selling. The way gas prices are going and the economy, I can't think of a better time to set up a scooter shop. I loved the fly review you did. If I didn't have to go 60+ mph to get anywhere from my house, I would have gone for a 150 like that one. Best of luck and happy scootering!
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Post by gordz24 on Jun 6, 2008 22:54:26 GMT -5
Sweet man. Will you be taking internet orders as well. Ill be needing a scooter!
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Post by glassvial on Jun 6, 2008 23:28:10 GMT -5
The absolute best dealer around? Don't break your arm trying to pat yourself on the back there, Mr. smug! Just kidding Great news, I'm sure you'll be able to have all kinds of pics to put up for PDI's now!
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Post by "Big Guy" on Jun 7, 2008 0:12:24 GMT -5
Wow, thanks for all the responses! I was watching a fantastic movie on Blue Ray... The Departed... holy crap what a great movie! (and I very rarely say that). No... sorry gordz24, the suppliers I have chosen don't allow Internet sales, and anyway, I wouldn't want y'all calling me ten times a day anyway! ;D I think the B&M business is the way to go. We have a real nice 1300 sq ft showroom about to go under renovation, and we'll even have the SYM franchise for our top of the line models! Here's a sneak peak of part of the showroom floor: We just got it cleaned out and the contractor is drawing up the platforms right now. We're going to display 13 different models on mirrored platforms, as well as have coffee, cakes and champagne for the customers! Hopefully we can be ready to go in about two months. We'll be fully stocked at the warehouse with prepped scoots ready for delivery and we already have three finance companies ready to go. So if you want to ride out on HD200 but only have $500 bucks? We got ya covered! I'm just sorry I can't sell to all my friends here Unless of course you move to New Orleans! -Rich
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Post by A.B.Normal on Jun 7, 2008 0:37:47 GMT -5
I'm just sorry I can't sell to all my friends here Unless of course you move to New Orleans! -Rich I ain't that far away, Bodreaux! What's the prob with driving 400 miles for service anyway! I'll just carry me a 55 gallon cooler down with me to bring back some crawfish for a good time boil when I get back home.
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Post by "Big Guy" on Jun 7, 2008 2:04:20 GMT -5
There you go! Anyway, buy a SYM and you'll never have to worry about coming back for service! ;D
-Rich
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Post by mortar235 on Jun 7, 2008 2:19:31 GMT -5
best scooter dealer ever? idk thats what atvdiscounter told me... lol
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Post by golflover on Jun 7, 2008 7:13:39 GMT -5
Best of Luck on the business!! With the price of gas it looks to a great time to sell scoots.. If I ever get to the Big Easy I'll stop in for some champagne!
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Post by bkbroiler on Jun 7, 2008 9:52:24 GMT -5
Have you had any luck getting any inventory? All of our local dealers have bare showrooms. . .
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Post by ty on Jun 7, 2008 10:36:53 GMT -5
Wow, thanks for all the responses! I was watching a fantastic movie on Blue Ray... The Departed... holy crap what a great movie! (and I very rarely say that).
"Cranberry juice is a natural diuretic. My girlfriend drinks it when she's on her period...you're not on your period... are you?" (Leo D. Smacks him over the head with his own glass ;D) Yeah - that's a GOOD movie.
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Post by "Big Guy" on Jun 7, 2008 10:55:24 GMT -5
best scooter dealer ever? idk thats what atvdiscounter told me... lol Yeah, but you'll be able to come in and talk to me in person if you have a complaint... meanwhile, I'll be subtlety feeding you champagne and crackers w/cheese... after a while you'll leave with a smile on your face weather or not your problem was solved... ;D -Rich
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Post by "Big Guy" on Jun 7, 2008 11:01:36 GMT -5
Have you had any luck getting any inventory? All of our local dealers have bare showrooms. . . No, no problems yet, the first orders will be coming in around a month from now and we'll be on a regular delivery schedule yet to be determined. We are only ordering from suppliers that do not drop ship, so right now, 2 of the 3 have warehouse inventory ready to roll, and Fly has 1,000 units on the sea as we speak. Only Fly has been wiped out, probably because of the value for the dollar, but I have talked to Leon about scheduled deliveries and I don't think this will be a problem. Both SYM and AL are ready to load the trucks, plus, we have a trailer and we're close enough to both to make a pick up run if necessary. Right now, our waiting game is the state DMV license and renovations to the building, not inventory. -Rich
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Post by "Big Guy" on Jun 7, 2008 11:09:26 GMT -5
...Yeah - that's a GOOD movie. Dude, we just got a 65" 1080p and the Blue Ray player, and holy crap is this an experience! I gotta say, I'm not one for violent movies, but the plot, suspense and the ending in this movie was absolutely suburb! Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson played their parts incredibly well, and this is probably one of the best Martin Scorsese movies I have ever seen! -Rich
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Post by coolride on Jun 8, 2008 4:37:46 GMT -5
Hi Rich, new guy to forum here. Congrats on your move. I am considering to open a similiar shop in Kentucky. Couldn't find distributor info. for SYM...so ...would you mind to send to me? As a newbee scooter guy, coming from motorcycles ... any other contact info. including AL would also be appreciated. Thanks in advance, and best of luck in your new venture.
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Post by nickiemcnichols on Jun 9, 2008 21:33:43 GMT -5
Best wishes with the new store. Here's a fine example to follow for assured success with customers. My girlfriend rode the scooter to work Friday, like any other day. She works about 11 miles away. When she got there, it was rattling like BBs in a soup can. She took a look and noticed that the main bolts that hold the muffler on were missing, laying in the road somewhere. She called me at home, and asked me to bring new bolts and tools and rescue her (yeah, right!). Instead, I phoned the dealer where she was bought, and within a few minutes, the owner called me back. After I told him the story, and gave him the location, he sent his mechanic all the way to her office, and he had it going before she had to leave for her Dr. appointment at 3 that afternoon. There was no charge for the service or bolts. Awesome customer service, I should think, don't you?
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Post by "Big Guy" on Jun 9, 2008 21:50:05 GMT -5
Well there you go... so many people ask what the difference is between buying on-line and from a B&M. Had it been an on-line sale, even with the best of sellers, it would have been a week waiting for the parts... the reason I don't want to sell on-line!
The other side of this coin is, those bolts are part of the PDI, so why were they loose in the first place?
-Rich
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Post by coolride on Jun 10, 2008 3:39:44 GMT -5
Hey Nickie, Sounds like your dealer did a good service jesture to me, and should at least be commended on the follow-up and special effort. Good story to hear ! Hey Rich, Please don't be concerned about following up on the questions I had posed to you in my previous post ; another ever so gratious ScootDawg has already responded and supplied me with the info.. Thanks so much bud ! I am very appreciative ! Jim
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Post by Enviromoto on Jun 10, 2008 22:04:54 GMT -5
Good to hear your taking the plunge Rich. Sym is a very nice line, what other scooters do you have in mind? I could see the champagne being a liability issue but everything else sounds rock soild.
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Post by hardd1 on Jun 11, 2008 6:20:27 GMT -5
Congrats...........it does take a big pair of kahunas to take on this endeavor as a shop owner....but, you are very wise to select Sym and Flysooters as merchandise........certainly won't make any enemies selling these proven and reliable scooters.......
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Post by voodoosix on Jun 13, 2008 18:15:22 GMT -5
well, at least you got SYM! lol.
if you were closer id come buy from you. good luck!
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Post by imagesinthewind on Jun 18, 2008 12:17:16 GMT -5
Congrats, Good Luck and all that. Will you be personally doing the mechanical work on scoots that come in or will you be hiring a mech?
I'm doing the same thing here in CO. Have a space-it's a tanning salon not doing well in this economy- and a warehouse that I'm looking at for shipping and assembly. Have Fly and Lance in the works. Just need to get moving on the license.
Congrats again, hope it's all good for you.
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Post by paulskii on Jun 18, 2008 16:22:17 GMT -5
Nice little place you got started there...good luck on the business...I'm all the way up in Illinois...and I don't think my gas skateboard can make it all the way down there on one tank of gas...but it may be worth a shot to come down and shoot the crap for a little while getting tanked on the champagne....lol is that stuff for the passangers of the customer's or is that for the driver?
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Post by scooderz on Jun 19, 2008 14:36:26 GMT -5
Big Guy,
Congrats on new shop! I'm currently in the formative stages of a B&M store in Orlando, FL. I would love to pick your brain. It would appear that our operations are going to be very similar in scope so hopefully we might share some ideas. If you are not adverse to opening up a line of communication, my email address is wgeberly@gmail.com
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Post by imagesinthewind on Jun 30, 2008 14:04:41 GMT -5
So, got photos of the place so far?
How's this coming along?
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Post by "Big Guy" on Jun 30, 2008 14:10:07 GMT -5
Photos after the opening... nothing to really photograph yet. No inventory, signage is not done, network cables are everywhere...
-Rich
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Post by geetee on Jun 30, 2008 15:12:35 GMT -5
Rich- Congrats on your venture, I wish you well. As with the dawg from Orlando, there are 2 brick and mortors here in the Big Horn Basin that want to sell scoots. One of them has done it before and was burned, the other is an independent mc repair that just added about 2000 sq ft of showroom floor space. Both want scoots and not motorcycles. They have asked me to help them find distributors. If you could help in that area, please contact me by e mail, headhoocher@yahoo.com. Sym, Roketa, Vog, whatever. There are NO chinese scoot dealers in this area at all. Thanks, gt
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Post by bayoubullet on Jun 30, 2008 18:11:18 GMT -5
So, Big Guy! Just what CAN you sell to a fellow Cajun? Baton Rouge isn't too far. I might want to cruise down and check out your bikes. What exactly DID you mean about not being able to sell to all your friends down here unless they moved to New Orleans?
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