Resellers

[CarlW]

I get that EUCs are a relatively new sport/hobby.  Curious as to why there appear to be so few companies distributing these products in North America?  Too many liability issues? 

[RockyTop]

Sure they are new but they have been around longer than the hoverboard.  
 

Having tried to assimilate mass portions of the population into our madness I can tell you that most people just aren’t interested. They either get it or they don’t and most people know instantly the first time that they see one. They instantly say to themselves, I have to have one or they are crazy, goofy etc. Not for me. Unfortunately some instantly think, We have to stop that guy. They have to be illegal!!! 
 

And as you said, they would be a liability that many companies do not want to step into. I mean gosh, You have to put labels on coffee explaining that it is hot! They should put labels on bricks saying, brick is hard. Don’t bang over head! 

 

[Surfling]

I'd the assume the same sentiments towards pedal unicycles. The steep learning curve makes it less enticing  =  less consumer demand  =  less sales  =  less profits...

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by Surfling

[GoGeorgeGo]

Lack of regulation has to be the number 1 contributor. For instance a company like tesla i have seen many people wish would develop a machine. But under what specs would you even begin to consider it? Currently there is essentially no limits, so do you develop a sherman tier wheel? What happens if a speed/power restriction is put in place? Maybe you make a mid tier wheel just incase. But a law gets passed banning their use from all roadways. Well now most of your customers are not interested in a wheel that can do 30 mph because they cant do 30 mph safely anywhere. So you develop a small wheel. But then sidewalk and bikeway enforcement decides to actually step up and start fining people for any motorized vehicles. 

Until we have some guidance on what is for sure going to be legal going forward, no one will dare invest hundreds of thousands of dollars developing the products. And as long as they are just cheap chinese made "toys" they are not going to be carried by any big name reputable dealers.  Segways ninebot series was our one true hope, and they fizzled out. And all that ignores patent issues and safety requirements and insurance and registration and liscensing. We are just no where near main stream adoption yet

[.....]

Money, availablility, liability and demand. The rules of business are pretty damn predictable.

[Kekafuch]

It has to be patent legal issues preventing more companies to make these devices. Self balancing robotics is like first year level stuff in college. There are kids who given the resources, can scale up their lego projects to EUC levels. 
 

we are likely biased as EUC riders. Car owners already have a means of transportation. Cyclists are getting fit. Skateboarding has a lifestyle. Scooters got government support and taking up global manufacturing. So how big of a market is adult incomes who can have time to roam around the streets and not for health reasons? parents don’t want their kids speeding around 100kms away. Maybe Goldman Sachs knows this is a niche ?
 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by Kekafuch

[RockyTop]

I would expect to see several US based resellers that ship out wheels and we have that. Resellers sell on eBay and Amazon. ( Amazon is slim picking) 

To be honest, Brick and Mortar stores only sell food and household items now. I remember when going to the mall was an adventure with all the new items to see. Now it is a place for expensive shoes and candles. Not the place to be.

[.....]

11 minutes ago, RockyTop said:

I would expect to see several US based resellers that ship out wheels and we have that. Resellers sell on eBay and Amazon. ( Amazon is slim picking) 

To be honest, Brick and Mortar stores only sell food and household items now. I remember when going to the mall was an adventure with all the new items to see. Now it is a place for expensive shoes and candles. Not the place to be.

Don't underestimate the power of CHEAP! Everyone says they are willing to pay more, but they really arent. Everyone claims they would like to support locally as they understand how it helps feed their neighbor, but they don't. At  the end of the day, its ALWAYS about money. Its not just the euc market, cheap chinese products with minimal liability concerns are just how it has to be, when price is the motivating factor. Hell, people wont even pay 10% more to patron a local 3rd party seller for euc's, as they can buy direct from a place that skirts import fees, offers no real support and can't even respond to inquiries or speak english...  And yet we still wonder why things are made where and to the quality standards that they are. People arent even willing to pay a small price increase to have an actual store to go in to. CHEAP means there's no money left to pay rent or hire people to offer customer support. Brick and mortar stores come with luxuries that cost money. Ironic that we bitch about a store's markup, then we bitch when the store cant afford to stay open.  What we see now with no support or local stores, IS the obvious end result. Im too old and I still find it hard to consider it a business, when there's no actual building involved. Hell, I can sell shit from my basement, doesnt make me a REAL store owner or business man.

USA has a couple resellers. I like to patron them whenever possible and it doesnt anger me to KNOW that I've paid more. Of course, there a limit to how much more. I dont know how my joy of buying used helps, as maybe Im also part of the bigger problem because of it?

Edited April 30, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[meepmeepmayer]

EUCs are sold online and shipped (specialized niche market, local stores don't make much sense here), and for that you only really one shop. Or you have a few competitors with one of them being the big one (see: Amazon). For EUCs in the US, that's ewheels, with freemotionshop and whatnot as also-rans. Multiple shops can exist as equals if it is about local stuff (brick and mortar stores, where location matters; or think Euro stores where location matters more for shipping times, language, prices, warranty etc. so one one-per-country can make sense).

I don't think that's related to EUCs, just how the online economy tends to turn out. Winner takes all if there is no unique advantage everyone can have, like location.

[Tawpie]

eWheels made an announcement that they've licensed patents that allow them to sell in the US, from that I'd surmise that if you do want to be a reseller in the US you must pay some patent holders for the right to do so. Depending on what the license costs, it could be a significant barrier to mom and pop shops.

[Unipilot69]

23 hours ago, Surfling said:

I'd the assume the same sentiments towards pedal unicycles. The steep learning curve makes it less enticing  =  less consumer demand  =  less sales  =  less profits...

 

That's why they are usually special order from a brick & mortar bicycle shop or online ordered. Most end up being sold very cheap in the classifieds when people realize that unicycles don't offer instant gratification.

[RetroThruster]

On 4/30/2021 at 2:32 PM, RockyTop said:

I would expect to see several US based resellers that ship out wheels and we have that. Resellers sell on eBay and Amazon. ( Amazon is slim picking) 

To be honest, Brick and Mortar stores only sell food and household items now. I remember when going to the mall was an adventure with all the new items to see. Now it is a place for expensive shoes and candles. Not the place to be.

I say we rent Northgate Mall and turn it into a massive riding park, how cool would that be?!?!  I'd leave the candle store open though, always liked it:)

[HighEndScooters]

We recently started providing electric unicycle on our site in the UK.  We only started in October so we are very new to the euc worls however we have been providing scooters for 3 years. 

Id confidently say that deciding factors a distributor will look at are as follows

Demand

Margins

Logistics

Aftercare this is a big issue with EUC just look at the forum for complaints about this an that lol

Legislation is another hurdle that is vital to the success or dimise of any form of transport. 

We love the scene and try to spread the positive vibes by growing the community. 

The EUC market needw growth to increase the desire for new company blah blah blah 

This is all generic but biased to uk where we operate. 

This is just my 2cents it helps. 

[kiduxek]

@RetroThruster Northgate mall? You a YEG rider?