Vintage Motorcycle Business 101

Greg,
I have purchased parts from you in the past and your price and service have always been excellent.
I think you might want to change your business plan like other shops. Charge for parts and hourly labor rate. Your work is excellent and you should be compensated.
George
 
Greg,
I have purchased parts from you in the past and your price and service have always been excellent.
I think you might want to change your business plan like other shops. Charge for parts and hourly labor rate. Your work is excellent and you should be compensated.
George
You're probably right but I don't for a few of reasons. Primarily, I've loved bikes since a was 5 years old and switched to motorcycles the day I was out of my father's control. Today, I don't find much pleasure riding, but building/working on bikes remains enjoyable. When I was in my 20s and extremely poor, working on bikes and cars was a sideline that made ends meet and I charged properly for my time then.

Today, when I'm pissed at a stupid IT customer, the Government, etc. I can work on a bike and put the nonsense out of my head. Old Norton, Triumph and BSA motorcycles are not rocket science - sometimes just sit and polish a fender and smile as the shine comes up (did that today for about 30 minutes).

The only thing I'm really questioning now is parts. I worked hard to get the dealer accounts and some of them require large per year purchases to keep them. I got the accounts to get my parts for less, to sell on eBay, and to help forum and club members. eBay made it impossible to continue so many things will likely never sell. For instance, Tri-Spark for triples. At one time I outsold everyone on eBay put together - today I sell none but have a lot. When people buy by filling a cart on my website and requesting a quote without saying they are members of Access Norton, oNe, or NCNO, that pay more - still less than other places but I actually make a little money.

I've sold a lot of AMAL for Norton do to my add in the classified section, but that has slowed to a crawl - maybe everyone who wanted a new set has already bought them. I should have thought of that before the last $7000 purchase!
 
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