Hiya Chuck.
In the USA it seems to me that there are a few big suppliers like PDU etc and most guys keep little stock and buy and sell from catalogue. Problem with that is that everyone stocks the same thing and margins seem low.
I would apporach it a different way if you really want to make money. I would develop my own range and be a lot more creative which will remove the problem of keeping stock and will also set you apart from the crowd.
Just taking something like figurines , to offer choices one has to keep many different models , in different sizes and in gold and sliver , often that can translate to 1000's of figures. And that is only figures , if you get into assembly and need components then you need tubes , stems , feruules , rods , nuts , caps , bases and so on.
With a laser , you can EASILY manufacture your own custom awards at HUGE profit margins. You really need very little in stock barring some perspex , laserable materials and all you need to do is find a decent woodwork shop to make bases and plaques for you , the rest you can do from raw materials. Margins on cost of materials doing stuff this way can range from 400% upwards. Apart from any other advantages , each award is one of YOUR creations and is far more satisfying than cutting a rod and assembling.
Even stuff like medals can be created by you (make a master out of pex , send it to a spin caster whou would spin and plate your OWN medal - a 43mm diameter 3mm thick medal cost us about 30c to have spun and plated)
My suggestion would be this. Start off offering customized stuff where you DONT have to keep stocks and use materials you always use. I would see how it develops from there and if needed would then develop the line to incorporate the more traditional stuff. Apart from that , I would also have a look at importing components from Europe and China/taiwan as even tho the initial investment is high in terms of the quantites etc , the margins are correspondingly higher.
However , before getting into any of this , you need to do some market research. firstly , size up the competition , IE see who around you is offering what , this will allow you to gauge the market and the trends. Then ask yourself the questions - Who will be MY potential customers - What is the market worth- why would they want to deal with ME and how do I reach them.
In terms of the trophy market , the retialers tend to shape it , IE if there were only PDU stockists in your region , then the market will be for their products. We have found that customers will willingly pay extra for custom type awards , even in the higher volume cheaper lines.
To give an example , we import a marble block from china , a 2" x2" x 1" block which lands here at 25c (you could have a nice wooden block made locally , perhaps a retiree woodworker working from a garage?), We cut a square of 5mm black pex with a slot in it to cover the top and then laser and cut 3mm pex and glue it into the slot.
Apart from time and labour , the material costs of that job are well under $1 and the selling price you can get is easily in the $8-10 range for something 15cm (6") high. We often do high volumes of these instead of the traditional stuff.
In terms of engraving lams for awards or plates , Gold/black is what you need mostly so stock up on this (we use romark flexibrass and the thicker brushed gold black mostly). Learn a little about pex and plastic glueing , bending (so easy to do , so profitable) and fabrication.
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