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[walkerdogman85]

i have been kicking the idea around about becoming a dealer i currently have a hardy but there are too many around here. My question is is it worth being a dealer and what does it take to get started?

[Scott7m]

Full time or part time?  I could talk your ear off with dos and donts

I could literally type all day lol

Call if ya wanna talk

[AirForcePOL]

Let me know what you decide to do.  I have tossed up the idea a little as well just as something to do on the side.  There's not a whole lot of Hardy's in my area but that could either be a good thing or a bad thing.  I'm curious to find out what you decide and what the process is as well. 

[walkerdogman85]

Well after talking to scott on here I don't believe I will do this anytime soon! Just seems like you have to put in a lot of time to make money! Oh we'll it was a thought Anyhow

[Scott7m]

Yea, dabbling in it as a side business is what ruins the reputation of the industry and ultimately leads to poor service. 

To do a good job and take care of your customers you can't have other jobs, I do this year round and wish there were more hours in the day many times, to think I could do this on the side would be impossible

Unless you can devote a lot of time to it, the headaches will outweigh the rewards

Plus doing it on the side, you'll never get good pricing because you won't be able to move units in volume and get good breaks

[oldchenowth]

My thought was to be storage / showroom / middleman.  Get a fork truck to unload and load from manufacturer and load onto installers trailer.  Like a hub for installers.  Deliver to an area with few or no distibutors for many brands, if someone wants to see a stove in person instaed of a brochure.  No sales, no install headaches, no calculation, just slide me a few bucks to "hold".

Dumb work!  Like the commercial  " I pick things up and set them down"  I'd be perfect for it.

[yoderheating]

 Everyone wants to sell them, no one wants to install or service them. The best way to be out of the business in a few years is to do a poor job of the last two. Gaining a reputation for installing properly and doing service calls will make you successful. 

[MattyNH]

Everyone wants to sell them, no one wants to install or service them. The best way to be out of the business in a few years is to do a poor job of the last two. Gaining a reputation for installing properly and doing service calls will make you successful.

You say that no "dealer" one wants to install them..The problem is people either do it themselves or have there own contractors and  plumbers  that will install them..I had that option...I partially installed it myself then hired a plumber to hook everything up..If i was to hire a dealer it would of cost twice the money..Ive often thought of becoming a owb dealer, since I'm a huge fan of these boilers..

[Scott7m]

I've had people be afraid to get me to install and hire there own hvac and plumbing people, then it wouldn't work right, and most of them spent double what I would have charged and still had to have me fix it for them, it's happened more than a couple times

Fact is, most dealers do not install around me, they wouldn't know where to start, they try to sub it out

It don't work, and it make me happy

[MattyNH]

I've had people be afraid to get me to install and hire there own hvac and plumbing people, then it wouldn't work right, and most of them spent double what I would have charged and still had to have me fix it for them, it's happened more than a couple times

Fact is, most dealers do not install around me, they wouldn't know where to start, they try to sub it out

It don't work, and it make me happy

so do u actually do the install yourself? have your own equipment?.. licensed plumber? I can see  the customer going else where for sure..Usually the customer can beat the dealer for installation price....I know what your saying though..trying it themselves and then hiring you to do, its  double instead of doing it the first time  ...I can compare this to suspended ceilings which I do...

[Scott7m]

Yes I do the installs myself, that is my business, I don't understand how or why someone would buy a furnace from a dealer who "couldnt" install it.   It's why I am doing well I think, when folks want an install, they want a one stop shop, they don't wanna hire or man for the ditch, one man for the electric, one man for a plumbing tie in, Il to get 3-4 people together on the same job in any time frame is near impossible around here

As far as being licensed, ky requires no such things.  The only time anyone does have to get a plumbing inspection done is on a new structure, I've plumbed water plates in with the inspectors on site with no questions asked

If a person is capable of installing themselves, great, but for them to buy from a dealer who can't even answer a simple install problem is troublesome

If you hire an electrician here, they ain't gonna talk to ya for less than $500, a plumber if he even will look at it, will charge maybe $1000, and then of course the contractor for ditches etc. 

I've seen folks be afraid to get me to do it not because of lack of experience, but due to the fact they assumed I would be to high.   Later they'll call with trouble, I'll show up and the "plumber" has installed 30 things it never needed, and the customer has 3000 tied up in there install, I'll have to redo a good portion of it and charge them $500, then I break there heart when I say I woulda done it turn key for $1500

It's just like if you do ceilings, ur gonna be hard to beat on it.   It's like hiring a general laborer to do ceiling work and thinking there gonna be ahead, he'll have to charge more because he's unskilled and don't know how to do it efficiently, and then you will have to come fox it right later on

[XJCraver]

(snip)

As far as being licensed, ky requires no such things.  The only time anyone does have to get a plumbing inspection done is on a new structure, I've plumbed water plates in with the inspectors on site with no questions asked

(snip)

Funny how that works...  Here in IL, NONE of the trades need a license, EXCEPT a plumber and a roofer.  Anyone can build a house, wire a house, remodel, dig foundations/pour concrete, etc., just have to have licensed plumbers and roofers.  Makes no sense at all....

The loophole with these OWB's, is that IL classifies a residential hot water heater as an appliance, and not a fixture.  So anybody can install / replace them.  Goofy.   

[yoderheating]

I have found you build your reputation on the way the furnace operates. A poor install can make a furnace seem as if it is a piece of junk. I go out of my way to make sure people understand that they either need to get me to install or to install according to my instructions. I can't tell you the amount of times I had to go behind some HVAC contractor who screwed up a job. I charge a rate of $1700 for parts and labor ( except for ditch work) on most job. Most HVAC contractors can't touch that price because they don't buy in basic parts in bulk. My advice to folks that want to be dealers is that just selling works if its a side job but if you want to become the big dealer in the area you need to do the installs. I think the reason I sell stoves is because I have a reputation of being able to install a furnace in a day and it puts out much better heat then the sorry heat pump they were using before.

[Scott7m]

Exactly yoder, most hvac and plumbing guys turn things into such a mess that it can't work correctly. 

Forgot my thermostat wire on a job a while back, had to have an hvac guy hook my stat up as I was out of town the next day.  Took the dang fool 5 1/2 hours to do what take me 6-8 minutes...  I even explained go him on the phone what to do, it was like he had no clue what to do.