Product Supplies

[baker]

Hello All:

A question for the professional detailers here. While I realise your main business is detailing cars etc., do you also retail detailing supplies such as cleaners, polishes, waxes, etc. to the public as part of your business? Second question, do you buy these products, if you sell them, from the manufacturers, middlemen, or where? I see this need in my community and just wondered about suppliers. Thanks for any and all responses.

 

[Jngrbrdman]

It would probably be profitable business to offer supplies as well as service. The problem is that your customers for detailing would likely (or at least 'hopefully') not be your best customers for products. You don't want them buying the product and doing the job themselves. It would be more profitable to supply other detailers and dealership detail shops than supply to normal consumers. That means you would need to have product available in bulk industrial sizes. 5 gallon and 55 gallon drums of product would be something you would want access to. Its totally possible. eshine.ca has managed to get some fine products up to Canada. I don't know if they sell industrial sizes, but they have managed to become a distributor up there. You could work out a similar deal with suppliers of products for professional detailers. I'm sure you could have an operation like eshine has and still detail cars without much trouble, but it might cut down on your detailing clientel if they can just buy the product and not have you come and do it for them. I've lost several customers because I told them where they can get some of the things I use. No great loss. More time for me to detail other cars.