I Need Feedback on my Business Idea.

Here is the thing, as I stated before shipping is going to kill you. It takes a lot of volume to get decent rates from UPS or FedEx. Trust me I know first hand about FedEx rates and discounts. What might work for you is to make a hell of a good product and go out directly to the public and try to sell it. Set up a booth at expos and frag swaps. Get your name out and show off the line. Have some small stands available for customers to just take home with them.

There is a tank manufacturer who has sets up and sells at shows all over the country. They show up every month or two at fish and reptile shows with tanks to sell to cash and carry customers as well as all the tanks customers have pre-ordered.

Their business model is this, order your tank on their site and schedule to pick it up the next time their truck is in a city near you. You save a lot on shipping and its really the only feasible way to buy one of their tanks online.

I wont give them a plug, but it rhymes with "mass pages".

 

Here is an idea for flat shipping a stand: make it an assembly required metal stand, angle iron, square tubing etc. Then, an attachable "skin" to give it the LOOK the consumer wants. This can be upgraded to look better and better. Crown molding, rosettes, stain colors, modern carbonfiber look etc. Maybe it's 3 panels for front, left and right that can be removed independently. Or, maybe it's a 3 sided skin that slides or rolls away from the stand.

Some other niceties that appeal to me:
* no center brace
* under cabinet working light
* cable management
* need places I can hang things from or screw things into.
* * might add carbon reactor, GFO, UV etc
* adjustable feet to level the stand
* access from the ends so I can change sumps easier
* power strip
* MUST LOOK FURNITURE GRADE! Pine looks horrible to me.

Another note, many manufacturers don't warranty their tanks unless they are on their stands.

Also, up in Dallas is are a couple of custom companies you might visit to do some research. Dutch Aquarium Systems and DFW Aquarium Supply (they make very nice furniture grade stands).

Good luck!

 

lots of good ideas out there, i volunteer to be the lab rat when you get a demo tank..no worries i'll advertise the crap out of it

 

Haha, get in line behind me. I'm building a business just so I can get out of trying to explain to my wife I want to buy a bigger tank!

 

lol, worth a try right?