Online audio store

rycrow69

Ok, as strange as it may sound, I would like to develope an online (mostly car) audio store.
I have been looking intently around the internet as to what may be out there as competition... So far I have see what appeares to be some DIY web pages, probably hooked up with DOBO or shopster, but other then say Circuit City or Best Buy .com I don`t think that I can find any online audio store that I could trust.
Now metioning DOBO and Shopster, I don`t seem to be able to find a reliable wholesaler that is not already charging about the same as any other "retailer" out there.
Does anyone know of a wholesaler that may do dropshipping that does not charge retail for wholesale?
My goal here, over time, is to create one of the best and most comprehensive sites on the internet, which also goes to say the best prices also.

enlightDan

Crutchfield is a fierce competitor in that market. Maybe you could work out a wholesale relationship with them? It`s a great name with huge consumer confidence levels.Also, providing a value added service like an area where users can post tutorials on how to mod out systems would be cool. 

espeed

    I come from a 12v back ground.  It is extremely competitive market especially online. The problem is margin`s will not be great i.e shopster.com .  The advantage to using there service is you get the store backend , dropshipping etc.
   The toughest part is getting customers to your store then keeping them.  Which is where your service model comes into play.  Great  Customer Service online is (Marketing) nowadays.  So utilize all of the technology tools at hand affiliate marketing/ forum sponsorship/ppc/ cpa  etc. 
   It will be a tough road for sure..pm me for any help need or advice.
 
Thanks,
Tom

TheButtonStore

The problem is a field like this, is that margins are crap.  That cant be argued.  With places like Future Shop and BestBuy, your only real option to compete on is service on high end product, as you will not be able to compete on price against giants with better purchasing power.Since you are looking to use another company to drop ship, you are in an even tougher spot, as you can compete even less on price due to the fact that you have a middle man trying to get a buck out of everything too.My suggestion would be to find a specific niche in the high end market, and try and use expertise to sell things, not price.If you cant compete on something that sets you apart, you are becoming a "me-too" type site, in the sense that you are not offering anything that they cant get anywhere else.