Ron Stiko Estate Antique Phonograph Parts & Service Business

[Granby]

Although somewhat new to the hobby compared to many others - I do have a little bit of a business background. In my humble opinion, this would probably be a good opportunity for an already established parts/repair business to acquire and then merge the inventory and customer lists into their existing one.... It seems a little intimidating to acquire if you don't already have a ton of contacts or established clientele already....

Seems like a lot of the value in the business was Mr. Sitko's good reputation and knowledge.... That might be hard for someone to follow....

Just my opinion. I am more used to retail and funeral home business models - a whole other world....

[alang]

That's what I thought seeing it... A brave man, with lots of money, would be the one who bought it.. . JJudging for the size of the room-shop, and the hundreds of parts and stuff stored therein, I'd bet you'll need near a million dollars to buy it complete... There's no news on the starting bid?

The linked auction listing states that bidding will start at $50,000, even though new parts alone are over $100k. I think it could be an opportunity for someone to start a business or for an existing business to expand.

Andreas

[Inigo]

How high were my expectations! 50k for starting a business doesn't seem to much!

[rgordon939]

I tend to agree with soundgen that there is a good chance this may eventually get parted out. I don’t think it will sell for a very high price. The return on investment will be slow and will probably take several years to become profitable. It may be an opportunity for a young person who could continue it for 30 to 40 years as a sideline business until it becomes a profitable. But I do believe there is a good chance that it will be purchased and parted out. That may even serve our community better. A horn and crane guy, a reproducer parts guy, a mainspring guy, and a misc parts guy. Remember that it to years to get to this point adding new items every year.

Rich Gordon

[52089]

I tend to agree with soundgen that there is a good chance this may eventually get parted out. I don’t think it will sell for a very high price. The return on investment will be slow and will probably take several years to become profitable. It may be an opportunity for a young person who could continue it for 30 to 40 years as a sideline business until it becomes a profitable. But I do believe there is a good chance that it will be purchased and parted out. That may even serve our community better. A horn and crane guy, a reproducer parts guy, a mainspring guy, and a misc parts guy. Remember that it to years to get to this point adding new items every year.

Rich Gordon

I concur with Rich. I doubt there are even 10 people in the USA who have the knowledge needed to turn this pile of parts and boxes back into a viable business. If someone actually buys it (which for $50K, I kind of doubt), look for most of it to be split up. Frankly, the 'guarded' contacts may be more valuable to someone than the parts!

[soundgen]

Good Morning,


The business and inventory are located in upstate New York. The real estate and premises are not included. The inventory, equipment, stock and machines that are being sold are located in a garage that is approximately 20x24 feet. It could be condensed and housed in a smaller area than that.


The product will have to be moved after purchase within 30 days unless other arrangements can be made prior to the completion of the sale.


Feel free to email or call me for additional information.


Sincerely,


Steven E. Stanton
517-331-8150
[email protected]






are the premises included in this deal ? if not can they be rented or does the whole stock need to removed on sale if so what is the square footage required

[soundgen]

If the Garage is Mrs Sitko's she would be more likely to get a buyer locally if she allowed the buyer to sell from the existing location and charge a monthly rent , I guess she could get $500 a month from that , No ? Removing the lot and finding 2,500 square feet would be an extra problem for a buyer

[soundgen]

By the way what what was his name ? Sitko or as Stantons say Stiko

[rgordon939]

Looking over the inventory list with a friend some of the prices look like the retail prices Ron sold things for and others look like his cost to produce. There also a couple with the decimal point in the wrong place. To bad it’s not being sold as lots, but I know this was Ron’s request.

Rich Gordon

[Curt A]

If the Garage is Mrs Sitko's she would be more likely to get a buyer locally if she allowed the buyer to sell from the existing location and charge a monthly rent , I guess she could get $500 a month from that , No ? Removing the lot and finding 2,500 square feet would be an extra problem for a buyer

$500/mo. plus a $50,000 initial investment makes this a "no go" as a business, even if the rent was only $500/mo... It would take a lot of diaphragms, gasket material, springs, etc. to sell just to make the $6,000 annual overhead from rent, let alone a return on investment. Basically, you would be giving away $6,000 in parts to cover rent, before the business made $1.00...

Ron's business was based on incremental but necessary items for sale reasonably, not generally $1,000 plus orders, or high dollar items. It worked for Ron, since he accumulated parts over time and had the space and equipment to make it work. I would be curious to know what Ron actually made in profit off of this business. I'm sure he ran it as a hobby and was not dependent on sales to support his family. I would say that it would be a bad investment, unless the business had at least $75,000 or more in annual sales, which I doubt, but what do I know?