No replies Because everyone is Selling Way TOO MUCH!!!
I wouldn't exactly say that Zack. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your plan.
Are you willing to pay the makers up front for their cues? A partial payment perhaps.
If you are expecting makers to send cues on 100% consignment, that is where I see some/many makers pondering possible future head aches.
Probably easy to figure out that many makers would prefer not to have their wares in Accounts Receivable.
As in, my unsold cues are better off at my house, unsold, than your place of business, unsold and hanging out there in Limbo Land.
One way of proceeding is to win a few Dale Perry EBay auctions. Jack the price a bit. One way to put a bit of product in the case.
Lots of ways to skin a cat. Try it out with a few different brands of production cues first and see what your sales will be like.
Then, you will have some cash to buy up to customs, or at least a bit of front money for customs. And, possibly, a few Sales Statistics to pass along to custom makers to give them a bit of confidence as to whether they are taking a huge risk, as opposed to a minimal one.
If you can show a maker that you sell X amount of cues from your cases per month, that may be enuff to ease someones mind a bit.
Not trying to be a smart alec, but, I already know the answer if I were to call Chris, Joe B, Atlas, Prather, for examples, and offer to sell their products for them when I use them and not pay until said product are used on a cue.
I know that Joe would personally fly up to Canada just to kick me in the ass once. Chris wouldn't cause he is laid back a bit more.
Other than that, I can see that you are thinking on ways to maximize your employers earnings and do your job properly. That is the way it should be done, thinking with a little hard work thrown in. Show your employer that you are thinking always and make yourself indispensable to him.
Best of luck with your venture. Just because your initial idea doesn't seem to be working, doesn't mean that you have to give up. Just attack from a different angle is all.
Another angle is to make partnerships with different makers. If they have any unsold customs in stock, they would send you a few pictures of available cues. You would then make up a photo album of currently available cues. You could hand potential customers the album to look at. If anything strikes their fancy, you could ask for a deposit, that would be forwarded to the particular maker. Cue specs would also accompany the pictures. A poor mans catalog for example.
You could also buy a few Sneaky blanks and last sand shafts from suppliers, send them to partners and have them work on them when not busy. That would be another way to minimize a makers expense, other than their personal time spent on a cue. They could charge you for their time and a few materials needed to finish a cue. If you had a half dozen partners, and didn't push them for their time, you may end up with a dozen or so custom Sneakies in the case eventually. Sneakies could be partially customizable to the extent of butt sleeves, caps, collars and simple ring work. So they would bring in a better profit for all and not look like a 60 dollar J&J cue.
Oh, and making posts like the one that I quoted won't get you very far with potential partners.
WWYD.
What Would Yoda Do.
