[oreunited]

Been landscaping for years 12 and about to make a move to be a retail supplier as well as continue and try to generate additional business with this home base/supply shop theory. My main research so far has been what can I buy products for and what can i sell for=RETAIL We have found that many supply shops are poorly managed and have unorganized time wasting procedures that make a competitive opportunity for us. YOUR THOUGHTS?

My main questions are if anyone knows of or actually owns a retail business, what products make a higher profit per unit. Example I am currently able to purchase sod for .90-.95 per yard and can sell for 1.4-1.55. basically this equates to making roughly 50 dollars per pallet. So I have been predicting about how much i can sell in a season getting est profit ect. Doing this for every product we will offer and again wondering where the main profit is. Anyone know about Brick, currently purchase for 1.74 sq unilock holland what would i get it for 1.00?? Love to discuss these things and take this to next level please leave your thoughts and ideas, profit knowledge ect it would be highly appreciated. Also any resources.

This questions comes on the heels of talking with successful supply owner and wondering where exactly is this major profit conming from? Thanks again.

[Stonehenge]

I'm a little worried about how it appears you're working through these numbers, looking at your wholesale price versus someone else's retail. Maybe you're not telling the whole story, but it looks like you aren't considering all the other things that go into a price.

For example, if you're going to do retail, you'd better have inventory on hand. That means buying a bunch of stuff that you hope will sell.

Next is care. Bricks don't need any while they're waiting to be sold, but sod sure does. Better keep it watered and mowed, or there won't be any money there for you.

Remember, talk is cheap (when considering your conversation with a supply yard owner). Most all of my competitors will always tell you this is the busiest year they've ever had, regardless of the kind of year they're having.

I think you ought to run some number on the kind of labor you'll need to have as well as facilities to be able to offer retail shoppers what they want, and from there figure out if you think you can make moneu doing that.

[oreunited]

I have considered most of this, care, labor, administration, rent, loan, maitenance cost ect. I have all my cost down on paper what i am trying to do now is figure out in simplest terms mostly with delivery included the costs wholesale of a unit, ex yard, ton ect then take the actual sale price and get an estimated profit for each product. I have done expense i need to know profit on each unit. And mainly interested in some higher spread items that i am not familiar with since i have not purchased much straight WH rather mioddle men in the past years. For example i purchase Boxwoods for 16-20 dollars for 3 gallons. I seen a ticket on one once for 8. So It looks like I could make 8-12 dollars per boxwood. AS I said truing to do this in simple terms so that i can see what to expect for profit with conservative figures to see if this is worth it or not.

For sod I was thinking a 24-48 hour notice get the sod and and deliver it same day or next morning at latest no sod farm or sod sitting. If there is then it will be sold to the consumers. If it is still left it is my cost.

Other thing to think about when considering my ideas is we will offer product to consumers and landscape co.s as well.

[PSUscaper]

Some questions.

You keep bringing up the fact you want to sell sod. I don't get this.

Most landscape companies would buy direct from a sod farm. If you can get it for that price, they most likely can too. I don't see much business selling sod other than getting the occasional home owner who doesn't know better and orders through you. It seems like being a middle man for something that really shouldn't have one. Besides a few garden centers that have a few hundred sq ft on hand, no one sells sod other than the sod farms themselves. Is sod in that high of demand in your area? Do you have a 'secret' sod supplier that no one knows about?

As for brick, most suppliers will flat out tell you there isn't much profit in a pallet of pavers. You need to sell volume to low hassle clients such as contractors. Selling a few pallets to homeowners can be a real hair raiser. They get it, disagree with the color, and make you take it back, and all that trouble for about $30 dollars in profit.

If you are talking selling big items like sod and brick, you better think about how much it costs you to own a 150k tri-axle and spider buggy to go along with it, because if you can't deliver it, you aren't going to get much business.

As for plants.....all I can is this. Around here, every other landscaper and his mom has a make shift garden center. Yes, you can make a good markup on the plants but keep in mind there is a LOT of work involved with them. Most guys that start a small garden center are doing it because they can use the material on their own jobs. They aren't necessarily making money selling to the public or other contractors, they make the money in the savings they incurr themselves by supplying their own materials for their own jobs. If you aren't selling anything to yourself, then you have to sell to others. This is the advantage a contractor run garden center has.

As for the other garden centers, they are either selling items that they grow themselves, or...they are BIG outfits with truckloads of materials going in and out daily. There are others, but most of them are well established places (like 50 plus years) that have a little niche going.

[oreunited]

Just mentioning sod becuase i have found the net WH price and know what I can sell it for as well. There is a sod farm a decent ways away from the area so there is a place that currently is a middle man for a mojority of scapers around. I am planning on setting up shop in another area west of there.

I am going to be using the products for our own services and maintenance as well and maybe this will be the main advantage but the way these shops around here are ran we knw we could do a better job good service plus quality price = repeat customer.

Thank you for the input im dying for any words of wisdom at the moment.

So you make about 30$ for a pallet of brick, where did you get this info, distributor your own sales? Let me know. Brick sales for us would be 90% contractor sales. I though I heard that unilock was about 1.00 sq and it is sold around here for 1.75-1.8 is this not true?

[phototropic1]

Here, check this out:

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu.McJY.../dp/0881925845

Tony is has a very successful nursery operation.