Selling Espresso Machines and Grinders - Page 2

by **zin1953** on Sun Jul 05, 2009 1:00 pm

Bluegrod wrote:Jason, I appreciate your insight and you raise several good points. My purpose of putting this out there is to get responses like that so that I can more accurately judge if I have a decent idea or not and if so then I will develop a plan to present to the owner. I would have to say that life in CA is a little different there. I can't see alot of people driving all the way across the state for machines I just think you guys have a different mindset out there and it's just a question of geographic location as to what people consider a long road trip or not. And, your right I can't have every machine made for people to look at that is why I was thinking of just the most popular items that people seem to buy on a regular basis. Chris coffee does have to charge sales tax here and shipping is only free over 50 dollars and I would like to stock alot of stuff that falls under that range so that people here could get it now without waiting.

I think you misunderstood. The point I was trying to make is that -- while driving isn't as big a deal in California as it might be in upstate New York -- I won't drive . . . please note that the vendors from which I have purchased all of my equipment (even little things like tampers, baskets, etc., let alone the big ones) from vendors outside of California -- no tax. And so, IF people are willing to drive, Chris' Coffee will (apparently) offer potential customers a larger selection/showroom than you will, and more opportunities to try "hands-on" than you will. OTOH, 1st-Line (just down the interstate) is close by and out-of-state (no sales tax!).

Click here to see Chris' showroom.

Greg, let me ask you a question. Sticking with machines (not parts) for the moment, think seriously about what kind of machine(s) you want to carry. I've not been in upstate New York in years, but look at the population base. How many espresso machines can you sell locally? And will they be of the $1K-3K+ HX/DB "prosumer" machines, or of the sub-$600 "consumer" variety (Gaggia, Rancilio Silvia, Breville, DeLonghi, etc.)? Remember that all those consumer models are not only available at places like WLL, 1st-Line, and Chris', but also at places like Amazon.com, Williams-Sonoma (both online and in stores), Sur la Table (online and off-), Macy's, and the like . . . and while not every store will have every machine, they are all readily available between the choices. And so why go to you?

Bluegrod wrote: . . . in a conversation with the owner he has gotten several requests for higher quality machines and grinders along with higher quality accessories such as knockboxes. tampers, filter baskets and portafilter handles and stuff like that which he doesn't sell as does not know where to send anyone hence my idea of putting the parts and machines there. As far as service work that is something I need to explore and see what my options are. I have a good working knowledge of home based machines which is where I would put my concentration . . .

Inquires: higher quality (and thus higher-end, more expensive, prosumer) machines.
Expertise: home-based machines.

(Greg, again, I'm not trying to "beat you up," but having been in the retail trade [wines and spirits] for a very long time, these are things you have to look at.)

As far as parts are concerned, browse Espresso Parts website , and see how many parts they carry. Now, even if you carry parts only for what you sell, that's a sizable inventory, and a substantial capital investment . . .

Further:

chipman wrote:As a customer of Great Infusions I can safely say that their business has survived and succeeded because of Internet sales and regular commercial customers. He also does a lot of equipment repairs. Something the OP is not currently equipped to do.

Keep in mind that commercial equipment requires more repairs than home equipment. 1) Are you going to repair equipment? 2) How are you going to acquire the training? 3) Why should I use you, rather than the authorized factory tech?

These are all questions that you need to have rock solid answers to, as well as having the budget, the capital investment, and the capital reserves . . .

Think hard. Calculate again. Then do it all again . . . and again.

Cheers,
Jason

by **Bluegrod** on Sun Jul 05, 2009 3:43 pm

Jason

Yet again you bring up some very good points. As far as the machines I would carry I would probably tend to gravitate towards the machines in the quickmill or pasquini line and maybe a few lever machines. I will not have anything to do with commercial type machines. I would hope that even though the selection won't be huge I was hoping to maybe set up a drop ship program with another vendor or something like that. I would also like to have a few of the more popular grinders so people could actually come into the store and see/hear them grind and make a cup of espresso to try there. The owner of the store now makes espresso for his patrons upon request and I would like to just expand onto that. As far as repair goes that is yet one more thing I need to look into but, it's been my opinion that once people move up to machines such as in the quickmill line they tend to do alot of repairs/mods themselves. I would be willing to offer a small in home repair such as gaskets, pressurestats or gicar boxes and other stuff that is along those lines. I would imagine that any major problems with a machine under warranty can be handled by sending it to a factory authorized repair center and in that case I would pick up the machine and handle any of the packing/shipping/ and return and hook-up of the machine. As far as parts go I would only like to keep a small amount on hand and they would be the most popular/needed repair stuff and maybe like burrs and hoppers for the grinders. This is just something I am threw out there to get a feel for what other people think of this but I must say that some of the thoughts I have gotten have not been what I expected.

by **zin1953** on Sun Jul 05, 2009 3:49 pm

Greg, in re-reading what's been said so far, I think you've gotten some very good advice so far. No one has absolutely said "DON'T do it!" -- rather, you've gotten what I suspect is a reasonable dose of "cold reality": things that you need to think long and hard about before starting any new business venture, let alone one in these particularly difficult economic times.

Cheers,
Jason

by **Bluegrod** on Sun Jul 05, 2009 4:57 pm

I agree 110%. I guess I was misled by my own desire to have something like this near me. It is a huge hurtle to try something like this in this economy I should know as I do custom furniture and we have seen a huge slide in custom orders as people are just not spending the money right now. I guess my idea was that since I had a location and outlay for a small supply of machines, grinders and accessories would not be that bad and in the worst case scenario I would have to offload them on e-bay to re-coup my original outlay of capital. I must say that some of the responses I have gotten have really opened up my eyes to what the customers want and what they are willing to through to get what they want.

by **da gino** on Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:29 pm

I agree with the OP that the idea of walking into a shop and seeing and trying a machine in person would be a huge bonus for an espresso fanatic, but I do think there aren't that many of us out there in any given town, which makes it hard to make a living.

On the other hand if I were deciding between the Vivaldi and the Duetto and a Quickmill, for example, (or for that matter any other machines out there) I'd love to be able to see them before I bought them. Would I be happy with how the first two look in person? My guess is yes, but it is hard to tell just based on pictures. Would I be happy with an HX instead of a DB - now I know the answer is yes, but that is only after I was able to use both types of machines. Is a Super Jolly too big for my kitchen? A Robur? I'm glad I saw a SJ before I bought it so I knew the answer was no (the Robur's answer is probably yes).

Obviously the first thing anyone who wants to get into the coffee business should do is become a sponsor of HB! :wink:

(I can't believe no one mentioned this before).

Hugh

by **Bluegrod** on Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:49 pm

That is an awesome idea I just don't have anything to offer HB!

by **antipodes** on Mon Sep 21, 2009 11:10 am

I have been reading the comments in your forum on espresso grinders and am constantly surprised at the difficulty and complexity of getting/setting the right grind. I recently saw a Swiss Ditting espresso grinder in operation and would be interested in whether or not your members had any experience with this machine and what their opinions of it were.

by **Dodger1** on Mon Sep 21, 2009 11:37 am

Maybe a better idea would be to look at opening an espresso cafe, that also sells machines through Chris etc.

I can count on the fingers of my one hand the cafes in my hometown that make a drinkable espresso and since you love this hobby and would like to share your knowledge?

Just rambling but you could use something along the line of a Vivaldi II, a GS3, etc. for your machine(s). You could offer courses on how to make espresso etc. and prove to people that they too can make an outstanding cuppa, in their own homes.

Just my two cents.

by **zin1953** on Mon Sep 21, 2009 12:05 pm

antipodes wrote:I recently saw a Swiss Ditting espresso grinder in operation and would be interested in . . .

Jessie? I'm not sure about Australia, but here in the US, Ditting offers at least a dozen different grinders. Which one?

by **Richard** on Mon Sep 21, 2009 12:22 pm

antipodes wrote:I recently saw a Swiss Ditting espresso grinder in operation and would be interested in whether or not your members had any experience with this machine and what their opinions of it were.

The Ditting KE640 and the Mahlkoenig K30 grinders are identical, and the same grinder is also available rebadged as an Astoria. So if the query is about the Ditting KE640, the only espresso grinder visible on their websites, observations about and reviews of the Mahlkoenig K30 are applicable.


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