From: Oregon Dome (oregon_at_ordata.com)
Date: 11/14/97
Message-ID: <346CA338.C1E@ordata.com> Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 11:15:04 -0800 From: Oregon Dome <oregon_at_ordata.com> Subject: Re: Corrugated polyproplene
Oh! That would be us! I don't know about the other manufacturers, but
we operate on "just-in-time" principals. We have a good sized shop, but
this space needs to be optimized, especially during summer production,
which means that we could not operate as a warehouse for specialized
building materials. Since we are panelizing the entire dome, including
custom building the natural opening walls, extensions, and other parts,
we simply do not have the space.
As for the feasability of such a business, I would say that the co-op
method would be the most plausable. Have someone act as the contact or
coordinator, and when this person has gathered enough demand for an
experemental material, it can be ordered in a quantity that the supplier
can themselves profitably produce and ship.
I could see a website storefront maintained by a "virtual corporation"
co-op. This would allow you to reach other experemental builders, not
just those interested in dome that have managed to find these discussion
groups. If you were dedicating yourself to experemental products and
proceedures, I can not see you being initially profitable, but as many
idea labs have shown, experimentation can be profitable in the long
run. As members of your co-op and other customers develop viable
solutions, you could become the primary source for these materials and
information about the ideas that worked.
You should expect to find yourself cut out of the loop at a certain
point as an idea becomes a success, but that is why you are a co-op,
rather than a corporation. Members of the co-op could perhaps "get in
on the ground level" of a good idea, spreading the benefits of a good
idea to others who have been an integral part of the process, even if
they were not the ones who made the breakthrough.
I do not see this as a viable business as a for-profit venture. The
number of people willing to spend their hard earned cash on an
experemental building system is pretty low. Once an idea has come out
of the garage and proven itself successful, then it can be profitable.
But supplying people with experemental building materials seems to me to
be a good way to get stuck with a lot of inventory when something
doesn't work or get sued when a product you sell fails. This is why I
suggest co-op.
So, get someone to sign up as the coordinator, have them find out what
product everyone is most interested in experementing with, and then have
the coordinator get out and find out what the market wants to supply.
Set a price and make sure you can order a supplyable quantity, then
gather the funds from those who want it and start buying. Simple as
that.
anthony kalenak wrote:
>
> Ya know, stocking and re-selling dome related construction materials
> might be a good business opportunity.
> Or maybe a co-op might be a more applicable concept. The goal would be
> to enable dome experimenters, contractors and entrepeniers access to
> materials that are usually only sold wholesale to industry. I know
> there are dome businesses that subscribe to dome related lists. What do
> y'all think ?
-- Thanks, Nathan Burke, Oregon Dome, Inc. E-mail: oregon_at_domes.com Web: http://www.domes.com Address: 3215 Meadow Lane, Eugene OR 97402 Fax: (541) 689-9275 Phone: (800) 572-8943