UpGarage USA opening in Torrance

[mav1178]

FWIW:

when I was in japan in 2005, I found a new (but open box) Nismo Super Coppermix clutch kit for RB25DET.

Bought it at Up Garage for $650 (after exchange rate). Sold it for $1650 and more than covered my airfare.

The problem in 2019 is that most of the (local) locations for Up Garage are constantly raided by US military personnel or folks living in Japan that know how to sell parts online. Add in 3rd party sellers like RHDJapan that are selling stuff for about 5% markup over distribution cost, and there's not a lot of margin and profit to be made for an operation like this in the US.

However, something that is still high margin is used wheels... specifically, if you can import used wheels, repair, and then offer to sell them for close to new wheel pricing since it is refinished.

[FTEIGHTSIX]

Originally Posted by mav1178

Every car enthusiast US military personnel that has been stationed in Japan for the last 20+ years has been selling these parts on Ebay and shipping stuff back from Japan for cheap.



I am well familiar with their business model. I was already trying to raid places in Japan back in 2005, when the JPY was at 125 to 1 USD.



All the people in the US military have an advantage... anything they ship via USPS is shipped using domestic rates, so they can ship items for very VERY cheap across the Pacific.



Sorry, I've been in this aftermarket business for 20 years now.

Originally Posted by mav1178

FWIW:

when I was in japan in 2005, I found a new (but open box) Nismo Super Coppermix clutch kit for RB25DET.

Bought it at Up Garage for $650 (after exchange rate). Sold it for $1650 and more than covered my airfare.

The problem in 2019 is that most of the (local) locations for Up Garage are constantly raided by US military personnel or folks living in Japan that know how to sell parts online. Add in 3rd party sellers like RHDJapan that are selling stuff for about 5% markup over distribution cost, and there's not a lot of margin and profit to be made for an operation like this in the US.

However, something that is still high margin is used wheels... specifically, if you can import used wheels, repair, and then offer to sell them for close to new wheel pricing since it is refinished.

I 100% agree.

I used to have buddies stationed over there grab parts for me when I was in the 240 scene.

I feel as if it differs from what I’ve seen because most retailers in the US only offer a very small selection of parts for the twins as well as a lot of other vehicles. Most times, we see the same brands over and over again.

RHDJapan opens the door to more of the Japanese market, but they only sell new parts almost exclusively plus their markup and shipping costs.

To my understanding, the used parts market can fit somewhere in between 3rd party sellers and overseas retailers like RHDJapan because they can offer parts not normally seen at lower than retail prices with much larger inventories.

Profit margins of course are dependent on what they acquire their inventory for and logistics.

It’s hard to say what kind of parts they’ll have for us, but I think there’s definitely a place in the market for them.

It’s the same reason why Japanese motor importers are still around in Southern California, specifically some of the same ones I’ve seen more than a decade ago.

[FTEIGHTSIX]

Whether or not it’s sustainable is an economics question.

The economy is good now, so the business can thrive. Problem is... as soon as we have another recession, the market will plummet and disappear, much like it did 9-10 years ago.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by FTEIGHTSIX

Whether or not it’s sustainable is an economics question.

The economy is good now, so the business can thrive. Problem is... as soon as we have another recession, the market will plummet and disappear, much like it did 9-10 years ago.

It's not that simple, but I will say importers that buy from Japan directly (in JPY) are more exposed to a recession than others that buy via USD.

When a recession hits, the JPY spikes in value and the exchange rate often falls below 1 USD = 100 JPY. If it's below this mark, most importers lose (lots of) money and it's hard to adjust pricing in a manner that will cover your bottom line.

Only those that buy overseas in USD will be better isolated from a recession. Namely, those that buy from vendors that export in USD, which is a lot of East/Southeast Asia countries outside of Japan/China/S.Korea...

[Lonewolf]

So is a physical location open yet in Torrance?

[Thaeyo]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

So is a physical location open yet in Torrance?

It's online only, and they were planning to do will-call pick up. They haven't settled in to do in-store shopping.

[Hanakuso]

IIRC, the old store called RRR in Gardena was owned by UpGarage as well. Hopefully they will last longer this time around.