GenuineHookahs Posted September 2, 2006 Share Posted September 2, 2006 thanks guys, you all made me feel better and more at home here knowing some of you guys would consider purchasing from me now. But like I have been saying. Buy from me and you'll be satisfied. There was another guy here too that said they bought from me and was waiting for it to come in and everyone on the forum told him he made a big mistake...hookah came in and he was 100% satisfied...but whats been said has been said, me and mushrat haven't reconcilled 100%, but i guess we've managed to live with each other (not literally, lol) for the time being...much of my anger came from people who haven't purchased making negative comments about my business and from others who were calling my items "fake" cause they were so cheap. I mean all I was trying to do was stay competitive because im small time, and not really known by many out there...being from jersey I hate having to tolerate that stuff, but I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I cant control what someone says over the internet..anyways glad you guys like the hookah, and hope to be shipping out plenty more of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GenuineHookahs Posted September 2, 2006 Share Posted September 2, 2006 wats wrong with this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 Nothing particularly...why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GenuineHookahs Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 it says pre approved all over my one post and jthemes post didnt show up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostofdavid Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 I am very confused. A post was deleted? I am waiting on my order. Genuine Hookahs: Do your hookahs contain leaded solder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GenuineHookahs Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 Not that I know of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostofdavid Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 I need to get into the hookah business... Soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GenuineHookahs Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 like selling hookahs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djbomberto Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 i would like to sell them but cant really find a supplier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pope Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 That's a really great looking hookah. The price is outstanding. As for the exchange... people do stupid things. This situation wasn't handled perfectly by anyone, but ATM I think Genuine is doing alright. Hopefully everybody benefitted from this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostofdavid Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 Yes, selling them. I am wondering what it would be like to set up shop locally versus becoming an online retailer. However, I am wondering if it would even be profitable since the market is already so saturated with retailers. I've spoken with Mr. Badawi over the phone about it for initial investments and what kind of deals one can get for a store front shop vs. online retailer. We'll see how it goes and what I decide to do as I am not sure how much initial capital is required for a tax ID, potential tobacco licensure, etc. I am trying to do my homework! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GQ_Playboy Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 that would be really cool.... and to be honestly ghostofdavid i see the hookah market growing significantly in the next few years... especially in North America and the UK. I think this will be due to the public smoking bans in NY, all of canada, and the UK.... I understand people like to smoke at cafe's etc etc. but they are not going to give up on hookah just b/c they can't go out and smoke it..... they will buy their own hookahs and invite people over and such... like i do in london... i think you would do well if you opened a hookah store.... ESPECIALLY in toronto.... where they are significantly overpriced... my local hookah shop sells the stargate for about $400 CDN.... which is absurd lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 GH: you pre-aproved post is the one I sent you the pm about trying it again. That means it can't be seen but hasn't been erased. As for jtemes, his post is right there.There are 3 active mods now and we occasionally Mod. on this and several other threads for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalliwag Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 [quote name='ghostofdavid']Yes, selling them. I am wondering what it would be like to set up shop locally versus becoming an online retailer. However, I am wondering if it would even be profitable since the market is already so saturated with retailers. I've spoken with Mr. Badawi over the phone about it for initial investments and what kind of deals one can get for a store front shop vs. online retailer. We'll see how it goes and what I decide to do as I am not sure how much initial capital is required for a tax ID, potential tobacco licensure, etc. I am trying to do my homework![/quote] Pros and cons to online vs. retail shop. Storefront equals more overhead $ and reliance on local interests.Depending if there is local competition and their pricing, etc. directly effects you.Online sales if you have space to keep product local or arrangments with suppliers for direct drop shipments (from your supplier to the customers door)from them to keep your operational cost to a bare minimum is key. Online is more competetive but if you did it from home you won't have all the bills coming in each month for running a storefront plus you could work a day job and fill orders at night for the online biz. You could do both. Use the profits from online sales to startup the storefront since startup costs online are WAY lower and that gives you more time to find the perfect storefront and study the demographics of your area for the place with the most potential.just do not over extend yourself by getting more product than you can afford that you have to wait (and hope like hell) it moves before you lose your ass. Supply and demand bro. If your area is covered by Craigslist you could start there as well with buying just a few at a time, taking some pics and posting them there. Talk about affordable marketing.... free Tell the people that buy what you are working on starting and for them to call you for shisha, supplies, etc. for the hookah you just sold them. It's an easy place to start and even easier to get out of if it's not working out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvansLight Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 it is easier to start with an online one. Just find yourself a web designer/engineer that is hooked on the hookah and will work for free hookah supplies, like me, and get yourself a web site set up. If you know were to shop you can get extremly good web hosting for $2-$7 a month, and i mean extremly good hosting.Then just use the profits from the site to really open the store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostofdavid Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 [quote name='GQ_Playboy']that would be really cool.... and to be honestly ghostofdavid i see the hookah market growing significantly in the next few years... especially in North America and the UK. I think this will be due to the public smoking bans in NY, all of canada, and the UK.... I understand people like to smoke at cafe's etc etc. but they are not going to give up on hookah just b/c they can't go out and smoke it..... they will buy their own hookahs and invite people over and such... like i do in london... i think you would do well if you opened a hookah store.... ESPECIALLY in toronto.... where they are significantly overpriced... my local hookah shop sells the stargate for about $400 CDN.... which is absurd lol[/quote] Thank you for the encouragement. I really appreciate it. I think that the hookah market will grow. If Middle-Eastern politics become increasingly sour and we allow our brothers and sisters from there to take political asylum in the United States, sales will go up. I would never want that to happen, morally speaking as I pray that their homelands can become safe for them to continue living. Since the culture that I currently live in (United States) is very socially consious to diversity, hookah smoking might catch on. Several soldiers brought back hookahs with them out of the Stryker unit my friend was formerly a part of. Speaking with Mya Saray, I was told that 15% of their total sales are only in the United States. There is definately room for improvement for the market. In London, I wish you well and that you and your friends can continue to enjoy hookah well beyond the cut-off date of next year when they try to strip you away of your rights and try to put a ban on smoking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostofdavid Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 [quote name='Scalliwag'] Pros and cons to online vs. retail shop. Storefront equals more overhead $ and reliance on local interests.Depending if there is local competition and their pricing, etc. directly effects you.Online sales if you have space to keep product local or arrangments with suppliers for direct drop shipments (from your supplier to the customers door)from them to keep your operational cost to a bare minimum is key. Online is more competetive but if you did it from home you won't have all the bills coming in each month for running a storefront plus you could work a day job and fill orders at night for the online biz. You could do both. Use the profits from online sales to startup the storefront since startup costs online are WAY lower and that gives you more time to find the perfect storefront and study the demographics of your area for the place with the most potential.just do not over extend yourself by getting more product than you can afford that you have to wait (and hope like hell) it moves before you lose your ass. Supply and demand bro. If your area is covered by Craigslist you could start there as well with buying just a few at a time, taking some pics and posting them there. Talk about affordable marketing.... free Tell the people that buy what you are working on starting and for them to call you for shisha, supplies, etc. for the hookah you just sold them. It's an easy place to start and even easier to get out of if it's not working out for you.[/quote] Thank you for your comments, I appreciate them. I have thought about doing something similiar, but with firearms, only it cost roughly half a million dollars to start up a firearms store. Why? Because you've got to have inventory. Any yahoo can order a gun, but if you have it in stock, you are much more likely to sell it and cater to the "I want it now!" attitude that most of us (including me!) have. The Craigslist is an excellent idea for free advertising. Cincinnati doesn't have much in the way of Hookahs except for what the local hookah bar sells (suspect quality of what they sell versus what they USE in the store), local headshops (210 bucks for Mya copies), and one legitimate bodaga that sells them in the GHETTO. Maybe I could open up one in a touristy type town. I have a few picked out, mentally. Unfortunately, the career field I've picked will probably force me to move about every two years or so... so, we'll see how it goes. Let us know when you receive your UAE hookah from Dubai! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostofdavid Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 [quote name='EvansLight']it is easier to start with an online one. Just find yourself a web designer/engineer that is hooked on the hookah and will work for free hookah supplies, like me, and get yourself a web site set up. If you know were to shop you can get extremly good web hosting for $2-$7 a month, and i mean extremly good hosting. Then just use the profits from the site to really open the store.[/quote] Any recommendations for hosting services? Godaddy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakemonster Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 noooooooooooooooooo!!!!...Dont do godaddy....... *shudder*Register your name name with Namecheap.com and I highly reccomend eMax hosting. They have been seamless over the last year.I can tell you some hosting nightmares.... shop wisely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalliwag Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 [quote name='ghostofdavid'] Thank you for your comments, I appreciate them. I have thought about doing something similiar, but with firearms, only it cost roughly half a million dollars to start up a firearms store. Why? Because you've got to have inventory. Any yahoo can order a gun, but if you have it in stock, you are much more likely to sell it and cater to the "I want it now!" attitude that most of us (including me!) have. The Craigslist is an excellent idea for free advertising. Cincinnati doesn't have much in the way of Hookahs except for what the local hookah bar sells (suspect quality of what they sell versus what they USE in the store), local headshops (210 bucks for Mya copies), and one legitimate bodaga that sells them in the GHETTO. Maybe I could open up one in a touristy type town. I have a few picked out, mentally. Unfortunately, the career field I've picked will probably force me to move about every two years or so... so, we'll see how it goes. Let us know when you receive your UAE hookah from Dubai![/quote] I am not sure about the career you are in but moving every two years unless you are choosing the location a retail storefront seems out of the question.. The only was I see pulling that off is if you have enough time to establish a very good one and sell it when you did move. That or if you have a friend interested in being a business partner and have him run it and start another where you move. Simpler to let him buy you out though. For the hell of it buy one good hookah at a good price and post it on Craigslist at a reasonable profit. See how much response you get. It would be one way to test the waters. Remember that people that get one have friends that may want one later as well. so some word of mouth sales start coming in then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvansLight Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 [quote name='ghostofdavid'] Any recommendations for hosting services? Godaddy?[/quote]godaddy is the devil. Just look around, its not too hard to find a free one. Make sure you get one with Cpanel and Fantastico, that way you can install OSCommerce through cpanel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuschultz Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Ghost:I use dreamhost.com for my host, and godaddy.com for my domain registrar. As a domain registrar, godaddy is top notch. Dreamhost isnt too bad either, and you get massive space and bandwidth allotment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GenuineHookahs Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 yahoo all the way baby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtysamurai Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 i also use dreamhost.com for my web host, but i've been having a ton of problems with uptime. lately, it seems that my server (and only my server...) has been shutting down or not forwarding correctly. however, for the price i paid and the amount of space/bandwidth/features i have, i can't really argue.and besides, it's not like i'm using my website to make money... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuschultz Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 What server are you on? I havent had any problems as of yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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