Any rules or guidelines for unsolicited contact with retail stores?
I have a small online retail store, making products for R/C hobbyists. The advantage of my product is that it is made in the USA out of quality aircraft aluminum, versus the competition, which is uniformly made in Asia out of cheap plastic. It would be a huge break for me if I could get my products carried in my local hobby store, even if it meant selling them nearly at cost. Are there any guidelines or suggestions for approaching said hobby store to see if they would be interested in carrying them? Any idea what I might expect in terms of what they would demand in a contract, provided that they are interested?
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This is two separate questions both of which should be answered individually. – Ross Mann 11 years ago
1 Answer
You could start visiting the hobby shop regularly and get to know the owner on a first name basis. Then you could ask him to evaluate a product you are considering producing because you value his knowledge in the industry.
Alternately, get ten of your RC hobbyist friends to go in this week and ask the owner for what you are selling. They have to make clear they want an aluminum one not plastic. After the tenth, go in and show the owner what you have and how it's better.
If he buys some, make sure some of your friends go in and buy.
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I like the first paragraph here, but the second one worries me. If your friends to go ask for your product to make it look like there is demand, but then they don't come back later to buy the thing after the owner purchases from you, then you've created an inflated sense of demand, and left the owner footing the bill. You may not care from a business standpoint, but it feels borderline unethical to me. (If all or most do go actually buy it, it's probably not so bad.) If he caught wind that you were doing this, you'd probably forfeit the potential partnership. – rbwhitaker 11 years ago
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Yeah, the second is probably not one of my best.....You definitely would have to make sure your friends follow through. It would probably be better to offer the product on consignment where he pays you when they sell. – Jeff Dombach 11 years ago
