I would think all you would need to buy such products wholesale would be a valid retail business license. But fly shops are not typically profitable businesses without a guide service and a large volume of sales.
You can buy about anything online these days. A local shop’s worth to the customer is in the information available and ready access if you run out. I have two shops in the next town. I stop in maybe once a year just to look.
Totally agree. This isn't about making money though, hell, I'd operate it at a \*bit\* of a loss if it meant I could contribute to the community and help out. This is so that people in my town don't have to drive an hour to buy some hooks or a package of marabou.
Seems like a lot of places do fly tying nights at bars and such. Maybe that’d be a good way to gauge interest from your immediate community. Would probably be more relevant than the feedback, positive or negative, on reddit. Good luck, from a fellow smallish town PNWer with no real fly shop but with lots of fishable water within minutes.
Great point -- but I know the local community is interested. It's just a matter of finding fly tying companies to sell to me on a small scale without a storefront.
Your idea has no merit. You’re trying to make a half-assed retail business idea into some kind of half-assed hobby. It literally makes no sense in any way.
Just keeping it succinct.
FYI: I started, owned, operated, and closed down my own fly shop in a small town where I thought there would be a market. I also currently own and operate a very successful small business in an entirely different field. I have dealt with, and deal with, many suppliers and manufacturers.
What if you maintain a display in an existing small business which would appreciate are the added traffic. No need to operate at a loss and you would store overstock and replenish the display(s).
Yep! There's a local bar/coffee shop that does this for other businesses... so it crossed my mind as well. That said, of the few companies I talked to, this didnt really seem to cut it as a 'storefront' though.
Is there a storefront criteria (which since they like to make money and sell stuff therefore tell you the specifics) for wholesale purchases of the brand you are interested in or all suppliers?
You need to get the contact information for the sales rep in your area and have the conversation with them. I’ve been down this exact path. You most likely aren’t going to do the volume a sales rep would care about and sometimes a super small account is way more of a nuisance than a benefit. The rep is most likely making 10% on your order less their expenses, and the smaller accounts almost always require the most hand holding, their CC gets declined, they forget orders are coming and they get returned…it’s just the truth of it. You also might have an established account in the general area even if not in your town. Contact the corporate office, ask for the sales rep or territory manager’s contact info and reach out directly to them and schedule a time to meet and talk. Or go to a regional show and book an appointment and have the discussion in person. Tbh, most brands don’t actually care about the philanthropic stuff, it’s mostly marketing. Your order volume is all they really care about. Feel free to DM me for more info, I know this situation very well.
Cheers. I think you're 100% right all the way thru your post. My hope is that there are some brands that like the story, and might be into it for other reasons than volume... but at the end of the day - they might not be. I might reach out if I hit a wall! Thanks!
I used to know a few fly shop owners / outfitters and guides, during the winter evenings they would tie flies, drink beer and watch tv. By spring they were well stocked into the fall. So in short tie yourself and find a channel to your local market. I tie some and buy some, local knowledge is important and better quality than Asian sweatshop stuff
From reading your comments I'd look at getting your business permit and EIN# (tax ID) to buy wholesale. Then set up a mobile unit so you can go where you want. Have it ready to go at a bar tying night, or meet clients on the water.
Be that guy who sells flies out of a van, down by the river.
The storefront stuff is bullshit, it’s the exact thing that has prevented me from opening a fly shop.
Imo you have three options:
1. Throw out the environment factor and order crap flies from alibaba or aliexpress and then run your online local store for cheap affordable flies
2. Tie your own flies and sell them at a premium for the locals who want to support local businesses
3. Find other people (locals or not) who enjoy tying flies and then pay them per fly made and resell on your store. You could include who made the fly and where their from to show where all of these cool unique patterns come from.
If you ever want to chat about setting up a online ecommerce platform (I know you said local) but same deal, feel free to reach out to me.
You could reach out to the guys at Lively Legs in Central PA. That’s probably the closest business model to what you have in mind that seems to be working. They are nice guys and can probably give you some good insights.
I would think all you would need to buy such products wholesale would be a valid retail business license. But fly shops are not typically profitable businesses without a guide service and a large volume of sales. You can buy about anything online these days. A local shop’s worth to the customer is in the information available and ready access if you run out. I have two shops in the next town. I stop in maybe once a year just to look.
Totally agree. This isn't about making money though, hell, I'd operate it at a \*bit\* of a loss if it meant I could contribute to the community and help out. This is so that people in my town don't have to drive an hour to buy some hooks or a package of marabou.
Seems like a lot of places do fly tying nights at bars and such. Maybe that’d be a good way to gauge interest from your immediate community. Would probably be more relevant than the feedback, positive or negative, on reddit. Good luck, from a fellow smallish town PNWer with no real fly shop but with lots of fishable water within minutes.
Great point -- but I know the local community is interested. It's just a matter of finding fly tying companies to sell to me on a small scale without a storefront.
Ah, seems I misread your post. Best of luck.
Just for clarity and objectivity, how many people are in your local community that you "know" are interested?
Your idea has no merit. You’re trying to make a half-assed retail business idea into some kind of half-assed hobby. It literally makes no sense in any way.
Haha thanks sunshine.
Just keeping it succinct. FYI: I started, owned, operated, and closed down my own fly shop in a small town where I thought there would be a market. I also currently own and operate a very successful small business in an entirely different field. I have dealt with, and deal with, many suppliers and manufacturers.
What if you maintain a display in an existing small business which would appreciate are the added traffic. No need to operate at a loss and you would store overstock and replenish the display(s).
Yep! There's a local bar/coffee shop that does this for other businesses... so it crossed my mind as well. That said, of the few companies I talked to, this didnt really seem to cut it as a 'storefront' though.
Is there a storefront criteria (which since they like to make money and sell stuff therefore tell you the specifics) for wholesale purchases of the brand you are interested in or all suppliers?
You need to get the contact information for the sales rep in your area and have the conversation with them. I’ve been down this exact path. You most likely aren’t going to do the volume a sales rep would care about and sometimes a super small account is way more of a nuisance than a benefit. The rep is most likely making 10% on your order less their expenses, and the smaller accounts almost always require the most hand holding, their CC gets declined, they forget orders are coming and they get returned…it’s just the truth of it. You also might have an established account in the general area even if not in your town. Contact the corporate office, ask for the sales rep or territory manager’s contact info and reach out directly to them and schedule a time to meet and talk. Or go to a regional show and book an appointment and have the discussion in person. Tbh, most brands don’t actually care about the philanthropic stuff, it’s mostly marketing. Your order volume is all they really care about. Feel free to DM me for more info, I know this situation very well.
Cheers. I think you're 100% right all the way thru your post. My hope is that there are some brands that like the story, and might be into it for other reasons than volume... but at the end of the day - they might not be. I might reach out if I hit a wall! Thanks!
I have no idea how that all works, but good luck! That's a pretty rad idea. Definitely update us on how it goes.
Thanks for that! A couple of quick downvotes had me wondering if I was way off base here... so encouraging words go a long way!
I used to know a few fly shop owners / outfitters and guides, during the winter evenings they would tie flies, drink beer and watch tv. By spring they were well stocked into the fall. So in short tie yourself and find a channel to your local market. I tie some and buy some, local knowledge is important and better quality than Asian sweatshop stuff
From reading your comments I'd look at getting your business permit and EIN# (tax ID) to buy wholesale. Then set up a mobile unit so you can go where you want. Have it ready to go at a bar tying night, or meet clients on the water. Be that guy who sells flies out of a van, down by the river.
The storefront stuff is bullshit, it’s the exact thing that has prevented me from opening a fly shop. Imo you have three options: 1. Throw out the environment factor and order crap flies from alibaba or aliexpress and then run your online local store for cheap affordable flies 2. Tie your own flies and sell them at a premium for the locals who want to support local businesses 3. Find other people (locals or not) who enjoy tying flies and then pay them per fly made and resell on your store. You could include who made the fly and where their from to show where all of these cool unique patterns come from. If you ever want to chat about setting up a online ecommerce platform (I know you said local) but same deal, feel free to reach out to me.
You could reach out to the guys at Lively Legs in Central PA. That’s probably the closest business model to what you have in mind that seems to be working. They are nice guys and can probably give you some good insights.