Using Knowledge to Sell Bearing and Seals
There is a retired gentleman in our town that was locally famous for being able to find and sell parts that nobody else could find. His strength was in bearings and seals. The bearings and seals came off of no telling what and nobody was going to find the application in any catalog. He used a micrometer to measure the old bearings or seals and then looked up the bearing or seal by size in old paper catalogs. These are his instructions. We start with ball bearings. You will need to measure the inside diameter, the outside diameter and the width. The inside and outside diameter measurements need to be accurate to within .001". In most cases the width can vary some but not always. The seal is measured the same way. With seals if you are measuring an old seal you must allow for wear. On the inside the old seal may measure less than the new one. On the outside diameter the old seal may measure as much as .005" smaller than the new seal. That is because there is a press of .005". In other words, the new seal is .005" bigger than the hole it is going in. For taper bearings you must also measure the radius, that is, the taper of the inside of the bearing.
Labels: Auto Part Store Software, Bearings, Parts store, seals, Store POS System, successful automotive jobber
Buying Tips from a Very Successful Jobber
Over the last 30 plus years I have dealt with hundreds of automotive parts stores. One jobber consistently makes much more money than any other jobber that I have seen. He credits his success to buying habits, managing expenses and good employees. His management style is labor intensive but it pays big dividends. Here we will discuss his buying habits. He pays his bills as soon as they come it. He does not hold his money as long as possible and he is, of course, never late. He does not haggle over charges unless there is an obvious mistake. His suppliers are willing to put up with his weird buying habits because they know they are going to get paid quickly and with no hassle. He buys from multiple suppliers. He buys direct on his three largest selling automotive lines and he buys from secondary manufacturers. Because these are secondary manufacturers, he and his staff watch closely for defectives. If the defectives for any manufacturers were larger than for a major manufacturer, he would switch. Defectives are not a major problem.
For the remaining items that he stocks, he stores the price from each of his suppliers in his computer. He continues to be amazed at the differences in prices from one supplier to the next on the same item. When he orders an item, he orders from the cheapest supplier. When he sees a price increase for an item from a manufacturer, he tries to buy a large supply at the old price from one of the suppliers before the price update makes it into their system. These buying habits allow this jobber to be price competitive with mass retailers and still make an excellent profit. Mass retailers have taken some of his walk in trade. Their late store hours and advertised specials are a definite draw. However, his large inventory, knowledgeable staff and competitive prices have allowed him to keep his volume up.
If a customer wants an item that he does not stock, he and his staff will work hard to get the item. In many cases that special order item becomes a stocking item. For example, several years ago somebody wanted to buy a 50 gallon drum of hydraulic fluid. The jobber found it and bought it for him. They now stock it and sell it regularly.
Labels: Buying habits, successful automotive jobber
