http://www.radarsforrent.com/
Just curious if ANYBODY has taken advantage of this or have even seen this!
Interesting.
And no, I am not part of that website!
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http://www.radarsforrent.com/
Just curious if ANYBODY has taken advantage of this or have even seen this!
Interesting.
And no, I am not part of that website!
Old idea finnaly put into motion!
God speed to the buisness.
:wink:
Hmmm.. decisions, decisions. :lol:
V1
Short Term Rental: $55.00 for 7 days (including shipping)
Whistler Pro 73
Short Term Rental: $45.00 for 7 days (including shipping)
55 * 7 = 385Quote:
Originally Posted by ELVATO
45 * 7 = 315
MSRP V1 = 399
MSRP 78 = 180
Doesn't sound like so great a deal :lol:
Umm, I think $55 is for a full 7 day V1 rental including shipping both ways.Quote:
Originally Posted by SmaartAasSaabr
Thats not bad. I might rent a V1 for a week since I'm not keen on doing the 30 day trial with VR since for my needs my STi and 9500i suit me perfectly. Still, I would have fun trying out a V1 for a week just to become thoroughly familiar with it.
Jump the gun on that. The base price does include the first 7 days, then 8 bucks each additional day after the first 7.Quote:
Originally Posted by SmaartAasSaabr
:wink:
All I'm saying is if I had to be a week w/o my X50, I think I would pay the extra 10$ for the V1 :lol:
I wonder what revision he has.
Uh, I'm not really sure how much I'm allowed to say here... I'm a lurker on the site and just saw you post about my business, Radars for Rent.
The address is a UPS mailbox. I am a small business, only been in operation about 6 months. No need for a store front, and don't want to list my house address :) Also, this guarantees that packages are always signed for, even if I'm not there.
Phone number is Skype so that I can always be reached, even while away from my home office, to answer questions.
No business hours, because it's an online store. If you call, you'll probably reach me; if you email me, you'll get a response back almost immediately. It's my approach to good service.
Prices listed are full 7 days, including 2-day, insured, signature required shipping both ways. It gets lost in the mail, USPS pays for it, not you. If it gets delayed in the mail, your rental doesn't start until the day you sign for the package, so you don't lose out because of slow shipping. Unfortunately, shipping costs an arm and a leg nowadays, so of that 7-day rental price, almost half is shipping alone.
I am an honest person, with a love of cars, trying to help people out who might not have a wad of cash to drop on a product they may never have tried before, or on something they wouldn't use day to day.
I appreciate the kind words. I'm treading in new territory, so pricing points, discounts, etc are all experiments as I go. If anyone is interested in a rental, I promise you will be satisfied with your experience with us.
With free shipping both ways doesn't sound too bad. I have lent out my RDs to friends a couple of times, and in one case a friend happily shipped it to me after driving back (for ~$10). They saved one ticket on that trip so it was worth it ;)
Yea, shipping sucks. But yea, as I said if I ever had to go 7 days w/o my X50, I'd rent the V1. 10 dollars well spend, over the Pro 78 :lol:
What revision is the V1?
Good luck with your business :)
i think this is a great idea as long as the system is not abused. i can see this used more as a way to really test out a RD before spending the full amount on a purchase when the person may be unsure if that RD is right for their needs.
All the detectors I carry are the latest revisions for that particular make/model.Quote:
Originally Posted by ELVATO
And thank you very much :) It's always encouraging to hear people's feedback!
He needs to have the newest revisiion#.Quote:
Originally Posted by ELVATO
I think the users want to hear revision numbers.Quote:
Originally Posted by 986Girl
like a V1 might have 3.861
or a X50 may have rev. 6.1
and so forth. In some unit there is quite a bit of performance varriance between specific revisions.
The 8500's are 6.3 & 6.1
V1 - V1.8—POP2 with Euro Mode (3.863)
Bel 995 - Purchased these 6 months ago, can't give revision number because only their service people know those numbers, and they don't share them (ala a long phone conversation I had with them a few months ago, that still irritates me to this day). Called today to verify that there have not been any firmware improvements since then, and they said I do still have the latest versions.
Whistler Pro 73 - Purchased about a month before the 78's came out. These are set to be upgraded to 78's very shortly (I believe they are still in Rev C now).
hmm, interesting concept
prices are too high though imo
X2Quote:
Originally Posted by whiterabbit05
Dont forget shipping included both ways, also including 7 days rental.Quote:
Originally Posted by davekr
Good point money.....Shipping does cost these days...Quote:
Originally Posted by amoney
Yeah, unfortunately shipping is something I just couldn't price down any cheaper. And believe me, I did a lot of homework on it.
It's fully insured (which when you are talking products that start to touch $500, the insurance costs are pretty pricey), guaranteed 2 day (so you can accurately plan your rental, if you are just going on a road trip), with signature required so that you and I both know exactly when/by whom the detector was received by on the other end.
Almost half of each 7-day rental cost is shipping. If anyone has any ideas around that, I'd be more than open to suggestions!
I do appreciate the feedback on the prices though!
Well welcome to the board 986 and good luck with your business! I think it's a cool idea..... :D
they could do flat rate priority mail for those who dont need it that fast
thatll help cut the cost
I question the business. Not the owner's intentions or anything like that, but I worry about the wisdom of it. Since the business owner is posting in this thread, I figure I'll ask the question that's on my mind (and would keep me from ever doing something like this):
How--if at all--are you covered if you receive a reservation from a Nigerian with a stolen credit card who has you ship it to a sweetheart drop in America? I understand that keeping credit card numbers on file limits your risk, but if the card is stolen in the first place, then what good is having it? You end up with bounced credit card charges, no V1, and a victim who was suckered by the thief into serving as a drop house for their stolen goods, then mailing those goods along to Wheretheflipever, Nigeria.
Just an idea... USPS Priority is pretty efficient for 2 day delivery. Perhaps it could cut down on your costs if the customer didn't need the guarantee of 2 day shipping.
If they need it quicker say overnight or two day, make um pay the extra over priority.
Just thinking out loud :)
First, I require the credit card number up front (probably pretty obvious), and then I run an authorization on it for the full retail cost of whatever model is being rented. An authorization tells me if there is enough limit on that card or not to place the full retail amount. No one gets charged until the detector gets back to me... so if it comes back fine and dandy, you get charged the rental amount. If it never comes back, I charge you for the full retail amount and purchase a new one.Quote:
Originally Posted by bcorby
As for credit card theft, etc. The best any online merchant (and we're talking bigger places than myself, like Amazon, Banana Republic, etc) can do is require information about the cardholder (name, address, etc) and only ship to a verified address linked to that card. Nigerian scams with sweetheart drops are unfortunately out of our power to detect/prevent against. Another reason why it is important for everyone to be checking their own credit card statements!
As for my stakes in it... I am as liable to be had as any other online merchant. But I could also wake up tomorrow to find I have a third arm. Or I could suddenly be bought out by some super rich power company.
I don't let the fear of WHAT could happen stop me from trying. I believe in the services I am providing, and have a real passion for the business, and so far things are going really well, especially how young the business is. I'm receiving great response from this thread (which I thank you all for!), and word about my services are spreading.
Edit: Oh, and I do not keep credit card numbers on file. All credit card transactions are run through a major credit card processing company that keeps the information stored and secured on their own servers.
Have you done any advertising 986?
Brainstorming, I love it :)Quote:
Originally Posted by thestaton
USPS Priority is what I am currently using for shipping. It is much cheaper than UPS, DHL or FedEx.
My thought with guaranteed 2-day shipping was this:
If Person X wants a rental to start next Thursday. Shipping via 2-day lets me know exactly when to ship the rental out, and tells Person X exactly when they are going to receive it. Since I require a signature, so that we both have proof of the day you received the detector, ala the day your rental begins, I know it's important to people to know exactly what day it is going to arrive so they can make plans to be there. Also, if I shipped a detector a few days in advance, via regular mail, and it gets to them...lets say in one day... does Person X's rental start on the day they received it? Or the day they scheduled their rental to begin? Being the type of person I am, I would say the day their rental is scheduled to begin; but I have to be realistic about the cost to the business to be without that detector for several extra days - that's potentially another rental that could be placed.
But you have definitely got me thinking about all of this again (dang, and here I hoped I was done with all this shipping drama!)
Mostly local, and very small time. I go out to every car meet I can with vinyl on my vehicle, wear shirts/sweatshirts, hand out stickers and buddy up with several online automotive forums for banner rotation and cross promotion at their own internal events. I also participate heavily in local motorsports events, and am an active member of the SCCA, so I grab the microphone and announce myself whenever I get the chance ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by davekr
I'd like to go bigger, but it's unfortunately just not in the budget at the moment. It's tough being small beans, but I'm trying to do things that are "one off costs," like my shirts and vinyl, that will continue to promote even after the initial cost is paid off.
Due to the overwhelming response I've gotten here, I'd like to offer any member of RadarDetector.net a 15% discount on any rental! When asked for your discount code, enter Radardetector.net and I will apply the 15% discount!
Also, if anyone would like a sticker for their car, I'd be more than happy (and very appreciative!) to send one your way. Just send me a PM!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2272/...69932a2d_m.jpg
I don't have any more of the larger ones at the top, but I still have the bottom three. The second one down is full color vinyl, perfect for windows, 4"x1". The third one is about 5" x 1", silver vinyl. The fourth one is 6.5" by 1", orange vinyl.
I thought USPS 2 day shipping is actually 2-3 days... isnt it called Priority mail? Or is there a specific 2 day guaranteed express mail option?
USPS Priority is considered 2-3 days. I ship 3 days early to guarantee that it is there on the proper day, or one day early (and you do not pay for that extra day). It was the best compromise between price and guaranteed time delivery that I could find.Quote:
Originally Posted by amoney
Also, I've shipped a lot of things from my location to California via USPS Priority, and it's always gotten there in 2 days (other than Hawaii and Alaska, that's the furthest distance from me that I can ship). I'm not BANKING on it being there in 2 days, which is why I send it with enough time for 3 days, but I've never had it take longer.
:)
Another option to stay competitive is to not individually insure everything through the shipper. You can buy third party insurance, not to mention that if you cut your costs on every rental then in the end you will bring in more profits and be able to buy replacement detectors (if one is lost) out of those profits. This is what most bigger retailers do, you have to figure out how much sales you need and the risk you want to take... but it can leave to reduced prices which can in turn make rentals boom and take your business to the next level.Quote:
Originally Posted by 986Girl
Cool stuff, now i don't need to feel guilty trying out a V1 for 30 days and sending it back, now i can do a 7 day test run for a small fee. 8)
My concern wouldn't be taking advantage of their 30 day trial... I would be more worried I would just like having another toy and keep a second detector that I don't need :DQuote:
Originally Posted by CJR238
lol, x2 :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by licamell
You're realistic about it, and you have a plan in place. Honestly, it looks like you do just about everything you can to avoid losing a detector, and I commend you for that. I would have been concerned if your reply was "Oh, I'm just a small business, they'll never target me," because I've heard those words (almost verbatim) before--right before they got hit and practically lost everything as a result.Quote:
Originally Posted by 986Girl
I'll say this, you're definitely filling a niche. I'm somewhat inspired, honestly. Retail management is a decent paycheck, but it's not the sort of thing that expands your horizons while allowing you virtually unlimited earnings potential. That's what identifying a need and creating a service to fill it does for you, and you've definitely done both of those. Props to you--now I'm off to find my own idea that gets me off the closing shift. :lol:
Thank you so much bcorby, I really do appreciate all of your, and everyone else's, responses! I know I said it before, but I just can't quite get across how overwhelmingly positive this has been for me. Just having a sounding board to bounce my thoughts off of (especially since you are all a perfect section of my core target audience) has upped my confidence about this whole endeavor, and I'm more confident than ever that this is an idea that can and will work.
I'm also going to definitely look into equipment insurance (instead of shipping insurance) as a way to possibly save my end customers a few dollars, so thank you licamell for the idea!
Now if everyone can just pass the word along to two other people, I'll be set! ;)
Rent a detector...interesting idea. Perhaps you could expand to rent to own.
Rent to own was my initial idea for the business. After some market research, I discovered more people were interested in just short term rentals. However, I do have a few customers here and there who still ask for rent to own, and as long as inventory control is going well, I do my best to oblige :)Quote:
Originally Posted by camkuhns