Wholesale/Import LED Lights

9

911psl

Member
Member
Jan 23, 2011
88
CT/USA
Hello Everyone.


I was looking for some information about wholesale lights. I found a few Chinese companies, but I don't want to pay more for shipping than I do for lights, and frankly, I feel like the lights will suck. I want to open a small store for local volunteers. I will sell dash lights and some body mount lights along with other supplies (apparel, license plates, radio equipment, etc.). What I am looking for is the best import/wholesale LEDs or the best distributors. I am not looking to threaten any online competition or try to sell here, so please don't get the wrong idea.


If anyone has any personal experience with distributors or wholesalers, I would love to know. I haven't looked at Whelen, Code3, etc. just because of cost. Thanks so much.
 
im sure this board can help you alot, do you have a storefront already? do you have a business set up with the govt?


not all import lights are up to par, believe me i been buying them for along time and lost alot of $ on import - no name lights, it took a while to weed thru them to get some that were satisifactory...


my advice is, get a store front, get a corp.... and then look for distributors........ alot of people want to "sell" lights , its not as easy as it looks.........
 
I'm in the process of applying for a fictitious name, FEIN and tax permit. I have an area picked out, but I will need to find some lights before I decide to open up. I was just afraid of buying overseas..
 
I say talk to member Pimp, and see if he will allow you to sell his pimp pods, they are among the cheapest tir style surface mount lights out there!
 
yeah, i would try pimp like fast said.........


but there is alot more out there...... once you get established, alot more companies will talk to you and will be more than willing to open a account for you if you meet the min. orders.


you need a good variety of stuff in the shop to sell...........


with this being the internet age, alot of people look on the net for the cheapest price.......


are you planning on doing installs too?
 
Yes, the place I am looking at has a bay, an office and a store front.
 
Thank you! I was looking in particular for dash lights like the D12 that NHLeds offers. I had one just like it before, but through all of my research I can't find that light. If you were to buy locally, what kind of light would you buy?
 
Fair enough. That is the problem that I am trying to solve for all of these local volunteers.
 
911psl said:
Fair enough. That is the problem that I am trying to solve for all of these local volunteers.
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Get in contact with master distributors in your region. Find out if there are any dealers in your area - if not, ask those master distributors if you could be their dealer. They're always looking for more business!
 
every customer is different......... some people have more $ to spend than others......


you need to offer lights of all price ranges, sizes, colors etc.


what happends if a guy comes in and wants a lightbar? would you tell him, no sir we only sell dash lights?


sounds like a perfect place, the install bay will drive in more income !!!


i suggest you start contacting all the companies you wish to carry once you got a corp. in place with a physical address and go from there


i use to rent a bay in a gas station for storage, but the owner of the gas station sold and i had to move out......... i moved all my stuff into a 40' sea container....


but once you are in place, you just have to wait ,and see .......business is not built overnite
 
im jelouss. id love to have nutz big enough to go full blown like you are. its a risk and i wish i could take it lol


the spot sounds like a great starting place. is the bay large enough to fit an engine/tanker/ladder in it?


you never know how big your business will get!


dont forget. word of mouth advertising is simply the number one best form of advertising. even better then tv commercials.
 
shott8283 said:
is the bay large enough to fit an engine/tanker/ladder in it?
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The bay is not large enough for any fire apparatus..that would come later. It would fit an ambulance or medium size rescue vehicles. However, I would need lights that are KKK-1822 certified to install on ambulances. This would mean a larger company such as Whelen, Soundoff, etc. Talking about it, I might as well try shelling out the extra money to distribute those products.
 
911psl said:
The bay is not large enough for any fire apparatus..that would come later. It would fit an ambulance or medium size rescue vehicles. However, I would need lights that are KKK-1822 certified to install on ambulances. This would mean a larger company such as Whelen, Soundoff, etc. Talking about it, I might as well try shelling out the extra money to distribute those products.
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Some of Whelen's master distributors don't require minimum orders to start carrying their products as a dealer. Just a heads up. I'm just starting out myself and have lined up agreements with Whelen/Federal Signal/Code 3/Pimp Pods/etc. :thumbsup:
 
Very nice! Hopefully I'll get to that point. What kind of storefront are you thinking of? Any installation bays?
 
911psl said:
Very nice! Hopefully I'll get to that point. What kind of storefront are you thinking of? Any installation bays?
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As of right now... no store front. No bays. No building. We're working out of my home and doing small installs on the side in our garages or at on-site buildings. We have our Federal Tax ID (better get that, if you want government customers), state sales tax stuff filed, and incorporated as an LLC. We'll also be selling online. Our logo and website are being constructed as we speak and hope to be launched some time around February 4th.
 
sbparkcop said:
Some of Whelen's master distributors don't require minimum orders to start carrying their products as a dealer. Just a heads up. I'm just starting out myself and have lined up agreements with Whelen/Federal Signal/Code 3/Pimp Pods/etc. :thumbsup:
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Exactly, that is what I did with my small lights setup here, even in Canada I found a US master Distributor that allows me good prices and excellent shipping even across border. I just wish that I could find a Master Distributor for SVP/Signal that would allow me to deal for them without a buy-in.


Too just stick with one line and one price range will cause u to shoot yourself in the foot so to speak


Just my $0.02 CDN worth.
 
firemedic105 said:
Exactly, that is what I did with my small lights setup here, even in Canada I found a US master Distributor that allows me good prices and excellent shipping even across border.

Too just stick with one line and one price range will cause u to shoot yourself in the foot so to speak


Just my $0.02 CDN worth.
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Agreed. Find a good master distributor that offers an array of products. That way you have options for your customers - from light bars, to beacons, to dash lights. You name it, you can have it available.


We don't even have to carry an inventory, since the warehouse is 3hrs away and we get same day shipping. Now, that will change obviously, as we plan on actually having a functioning storefront/shop and installation bay in the future.
 
i buy thru another local dealer........ he carries whelen federal signal shome streamlight


and some others........... we work together, the more we buy in bulk, the bigger the discount....


sometimes i dont go thru him b/c he likes to wait to place a big order.....


you will find out things as you go along, nobody taught me , i started by buying surplus lights and reselling them...... and to this day i still sell alot of used equipment.
 
911 said:
i buy thru another local dealer........ he carries whelen federal signal shome streamlight

and some others........... we work together, the more we buy in bulk, the bigger the discount....


sometimes i dont go thru him b/c he likes to wait to place a big order.....


you will find out things as you go along, nobody taught me , i started by buying surplus lights and reselling them...... and to this day i still sell alot of used equipment.
Click to expand...


Surplus lights are definitely a good area of equipment, plus getting good deals for people by searching on here as people request lights. I have done that a lot for people.
 
911 said:
you will find out things as you go along, nobody taught me , i started by buying surplus lights and reselling them...... and to this day i still sell alot of used equipment.
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This is how I got interested. I was purchasing and selling used Blue Lights for firefighters around here. It wasn't really profitable, so I thought that I would try to do a little more. Maybe working from home selling the lights would be a little better before getting caught in a lease contract in a commercial building. What does everyone think?
 
911psl said:
This is how I got interested. I was purchasing and selling used Blue Lights for firefighters around here. It wasn't really profitable, so I thought that I would try to do a little more. Maybe working from home selling the lights would be a little better before getting caught in a lease contract in a commercial building. What does everyone think?
Click to expand...

That's how I'm winging it, for the time being. Do it from home... once the word gets out and business is more steady, then I'll open up a shop and installation building.
 
I am just getting started as well but it is hard while in the Navy. However, I am just selling used and overstocked items for a local dealer here. At some point I would like to move back to IA and open my own storefront and installation shop, but I will just sell this stuff for now...maybe if i clear the back bay out he will let me do a few installs in there.
 
I know what you mean. I think a home based store will be better at first until I can make a little more profit. I have had tremendous support from everyone on this forum, so definitely ask around. I have received PMs from at least 5 people/businesses that want to help. I am working on a beta website right now, so if anyone wants to test it or look at it, send me a PM and I will give you the link. :woot:
 
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Right now what I'm doing is just telling the customer they have to provide me a place to do the install. It works for right now until I can get a house bought with land. My plan is to build a nice shop beside the house. That way if the business goes under, I've still got a nice shop on my land that I can use for other stuff and it increases the value of my property instead of renting to someone else.


I've been dealing with some basic used stuff for right now. And there is definatly a market for affordable decent used stuff, but you just have to be in the right place at the right time.


Paul
 
A friend of mine runs a nice install business tied into a car dealership. It's located on the dealers site which sells state bid cars and then offers emergency equipment installs. It's not his primary business, but it is a well run process and top notch operation. The owner hired an installer that installed audio and related equipment.


Several large PD's have their installs done there along with other agencies statewide. It's quite an operation when they get all the same model cars come in. One guy readies the cars, removing parts ahead of time(grills, head lights, trim, etc) and then they head to the install bays. A metal shop made car specific brackets to speed the installation process. They've also had specific power distribution blocks made to their specs. I've seen the whole process and it's impressive work....excellent wiring and labelling.


The owner doesn't sell knock off lighting, only brand name stuff with most on site and some bought locally(Star).


I guess my point is, he had direct contact with folks that need lighting and took advantage of it, great installers and stand behind their work. On the other hand, most volunteer firefighters are always looking for a deal or inexpensive stuff and the market won't be as large. The internet is tuff competition.


If you choose to open a store, I wish you luck and hope it all works out.......
 
911 said:
i buy thru another local dealer........ he carries whelen federal signal shome streamlight

and some others........... we work together, the more we buy in bulk, the bigger the discount....


sometimes i dont go thru him b/c he likes to wait to place a big order.....


you will find out things as you go along, nobody taught me , i started by buying surplus lights and reselling them...... and to this day i still sell alot of used equipment.
Click to expand...

does that supplier let you buy from him at cost or does he mark up on your part of the order?
 
i pay what he pays......... most of it is net 30 days........


so when he gets the bill, i send a check in.


i also have a small 12' x 12' store in long island, that i use for a showroom and to have a commercial address......... its small, but i dont have to pay rent ,b.c its my family's buidling. and i have a 40ft container in the rear for storage. my sisters company is adjoined in a bigger store, so her workers are there to accept larger deliveries for me, that i dont want ship to my home.
 
you guys are inspiring me!!!


i already own my own plowing business and this emergency lighting i do on the side is more of a hobby and some play money.


i dont think anyone will run enough business locally to go full blown store front especially in my exact location. so maybe a nice size heated insulated steel building with a small show room and then do a lot of online business.


i guess i would want to talk to some local master distributors and talk about cost pricing so i can figure future profits so i could see if its worth while.


i dont even think my area is zoned for commercial.


WTF! thanks guys.. now my gears are turning.
 
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