THE FUTURE OF RRB

[deorman]

Nothing for free is worth having!

This remark is disproven by the rest of the post. Thanks for 3 years of good clean (figurativly speaking, of course :lol: ) fun, Steve. 8)
As to the topic, maybe something along the lines of a "vendor's row" in the swap meet section, where companies and people in the business could highlight/update individual products and sales items as another source of revenue. :|

 

[yoothgeye]

I wish I had seen this post yesterday... not because I had something great to add, but I just had to read through 3 pages of long posts. :roll:

Anyway, you mentioned a bike, a couple other people did. Remember Porkchop's Landrace cruiser? Of course you do, well, he doesn't have any left for sale. How about the Skullskates cruiser? Also, none available now. Make a limited edition F&F or a complete, run a Kickstarter program and make some money. Not enough to have you quit your day job, but enough so that you could have a vacation more than once every 10 years. I've seen some Kickstarters on some lesser known things go through the roof.

It has been said, and it seems silly, but reality TV, think about these fools that live maybe an hour from me, Lizard Lick Towing, I've never even seen the show, but people have stickers, hats, license plates, shirts, etc... all over the place! The show would have to be stupid and totally scripted (like any other reality show) but you get a couple bike nuts digging in dumpsters, fighting other bike nuts at a swap meet for a set of handlebar grips, etc... you'd be selling big numbers of shirts. Start a post asking if someone's club would be willing to be your actors... I mean documentary group. :lol:

Just keep putting Him first Steve, and everything else will fall into place.

 

[IB57]

I've been in the T-Shirt business for 17 years... designing, printing, selling, etc.
I'm the art director for a nationally distributed shirt company.
It's a very difficult business because trends come and go so quickly. I think licensing is probably the best way to make money on a brand that already has a name for itself like RRB.
I'm not sure if it has enough of a name yet to get any buyers seriously interested but it might.
Having someone else handling all the printing, manufacturing, distribution and sales is way easier than trying to do it yourself and far less overhead.
All that being said the smartest business plan for garments that I've seen has to be threadless.com.
I don't know if your familiar with it but if you aren't it's basically an online design community that is based on voting on your favorite designs that are submitted by the online community. Anyone can sign up and submit a design and if it's chosen the artist gets paid and than the design is printing.
The brilliance of the business model is that there are never any designs that don't sell because the voting community has already told you that they want the design.
The hardest part of the apparel business is coming up with designs people want so your not stuck with a bunch of merchandise that doesn't sell.
I know that they have no sales force and only one store in Chicago and they made over 30 million dollars last year.
I'm not sure how this could be applied to RRB but it's great business plan and maybe there's a way to adapt it to what is going on here.
Just my 2 cents.
Good luck, Ian

 

[danthrift71]

While I don't post much here, I do get quite a bit of knowledge and entertainment here. So 1st, Thanks for all of your hard work. I believe there is value in both. I don't think a premium for an enhanced membership is out of line. Maybe $20 buys you a "Rat Daddy" :wink: membership with access to classifieds.
Also, one of the things that really caught my attention here early on is the "Un-Commercial-ness" of RRB. I especially liked the "Built Not Bought" slogan/mentality. Selling complete bikes may contradict that but some RRB brand tools, finishing products, and accessories may be worth a look. New and existing members may like some help in personalizing their rides.
No matter how you proceed from here. I'm looking forward to whatever is next.

 

[ozzmonaut]

Try to think of small items with higher resale values to save space.I know that these are small ideas, but here goes: 1)You know those generic grips that look like schwinns with the teardrop but no "Schwinn" script in them? Have a company engrave or mold your logo in that teardrop 2) Have some small plates about an inch in diameter with your logo and a small threaded stud on the back made. For what? you ask. Plug them into your grip ends. Then put the ones that don't sell into leather straps with a nut on the back and you have hubshiners. It seems like the sort of things you could get in batches of 50-200 and wouldn't take up much room.

 

[Turtlesixfour]

Try to think of small items with higher resale values to save space.I know that these are small ideas, but here goes: 1)You know those generic grips that look like schwinns with the teardrop but no "Schwinn" script in them? Have a company engrave or mold your logo in that teardrop 2) Have some small plates about an inch in diameter with your logo and a small threaded stud on the back made. For what? you ask. Plug them into your grip ends. Then put the ones that don't sell into leather straps with a nut on the back and you have hubshiners. It seems like the sort of things you could get in batches of 50-200 and wouldn't take up much room.

I'm all about that. Just bought a $2 leather belt from Goodwill to make a custom hubshiner. Thought about how cool it would be to have RRB stamped into it! Just because.

 

[KZ1000]

Many, Many people do not wear black t-shirts, just saying, I bet the sales would've tripled because the logos are great, especially the last one. Black is fine but if you want to make money you need to make a style to fit everyone.

 

[Henry morgan]

tell us more about the hall of fame for ratty bike stuff..

 

[Rat Rod]

The discussion over shirt color and art placement is always kind of funny.

I printed the "Speed Forum" shirts in black originally and they sold out quickly so I thought I'd appease all of the "non-black" shirt lovers out there and I had them made in brown, blue and gray. Those didn't sell nearly as fast and I got emails from people saying..."I can't believe you didn't make this shirt in black!" :lol: :lol: :lol:

I also get the occasional...."I want big art on back and small art on pocket area!" That's cool if I was making shirts back in 1987, but the trend right now is art on the front and I've found more folks like that layout better so I try to please the largest group.

I guess if I had thousands of dollars and lot's of warehouse space to fill I could try to make everybody happy, but it just isn't a reality.......yet. :mrgreen:

 

[user 135]

Or Short sleeve vs. long sleeve. :wink: :wink:

 

[Wildcat]

It's good that you can do just about anything, you don't need to get permission from the government other than some fees probably. That's what makes America great.

I would say go for it, whatever you decide, just make sure it can be restored to the way it is now if it doesn't work out. Or, go ahead and go for broke, that's how the best things came about.

 

[cashman]

Steve,

First of all, thanks again for a wonderful site! I think your biggest asset is in the name Ratrodbikes. You might want to pursue a licencing agreement with Dorel Industries or someone of that nature to use your brand on their products. Those guys are always looking for a new and fresh idea when it comes to marketing and you could have a say in the style and promotion of Ratrod branded products. Thanks!!!