Selling our own tubes / what do you think

So this is something i have wanted to do for a lot time now. I think here in the U.S. we have some great products but there are some other products outside the U.S. that are unique and I think worth looking into.
So far I have not had much success convincing these outside companies to join up with us or sell here to us and in the U.S. So screw it maybe we sell our own brand. I am currently looking at some options to purchase and resell float tubes.

I am wondering what everyone thinks of this possibility, would you buy from the FTFF, and what would you like to see. What options would you like to see ie..oars, removable bags, inflatable seats, big or small sizes? I will post some pictures of some that I find and think might be worth a deeper look. We would have to start off with one type and then in time if it works out well hold 2 or 3 types. My hope is to keep the cost low and from what I am seeing there might be some ability to get some high-end tubes for some very good prices.

I would like to get some input from everyone on this subject, what do you think. What do you fill the pro's and cons would be I am serious about this but I just need to get some input and thoughts before I really fill comfortable doing this. There would be a big cost to get started and I am ok doing it if I know there would be interest from the forum members.

OK so these are examples of what I am looking at what does everyone think.  The brands are either the same I am looking at or very close to what I am looking at.

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I think it sounds like a pretty sweat idea but from a business perspective I would worry about storing inventory and the time it could take to move through it. But if the prices were good for better products that met our needs better than what's out there I would buy it.

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This can be quite completcaited. I have quite a lot of experience manufacturing products for mass production. Specifically overseas production. I can talk to you more about your different options and help prepare any manufacturing documents you might need.

Ok that sounds great we will tall soon.

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Jeff...Have you tried to reach out to Dave Scadden Paddlesports. I just bought the Rampage pontoon boat (used from a member of my fly fishing club). You can check it out on www.davescaddenpaddlesports.com. Phone # is 801-392-5404. Might be worth a try (the company seems to want to promote their products)...and this forum would be a great place to do so.
If you decide to make/sell your own, let me know if I can help in any way.

Best,

Ron Beltramo
Founder of Wader Skins

As far as product line goes, their have been times when I wish my fatcat had oars.......I notice that outside the US these r big sellers. A float with oars that r removable, to me, makes a lot of sense, ie, fighting tides, winds and area covered. Smaller waters leave the oars at home. I also like the removable compartments. You could purchase compartments for freshwater, salt, LMB, etc. As I get older I will be moving to a float with oars and if it has removable compartments, hell yes............GT

All great information guys i like GT's input and yes that is true overseas they seem to like oars. Looks like most are removable. The bags are a great idea as well and will be tbe other idea i will look into.
My idea is to order product for personal sale. I am thinking 20 to 25 pieces at a time. But this is going to take some time and is proving so far to be kind of expensive so far. Not undoable just expensive out of pocket. The other idea is to do something like drop shipping. But that would mean more then likely selling what we already have here in the U.S.
Please keep the info coming it is all helping. I will be talking with rjb_Skins and Singletrack soon for some advice as well.

Lots of removable storage and a soft seat! I wish I had both on my fishcat. The bags on my Colorado XTS pontoon are more in line with what I would like on a tube.

FYI savage gear just came out with a new tube with oars. Looks like I might be in the market for a new tube.

Yep they did it looks nice to, I know of one that was recently bought and am waiting for a review. They have there listed for up to $500. I would like to at some point sell through the forum, and I think we can beat that price, at least that is the goal, to bring new styles to us here and make them a bit more affordable.

Maybe we could do a survey on size and cost.
Do we need it to fit in a trunk? Or SUV, or truck bed?
Oars or not?
Frame or Frameless.

I like the Fish Cat Scout and Stealth, but at $650 to $1000 it is a no go.
Over the last few days I have seen sales on Classic Accessories Colorado as low as $330, this would be a go if I knew to save up the cash.

I hope this helps