What's it take to start a store for flashing/selling phones?

[ownmart]

this is what I'm guessing:
-Business license
-Lease
-Gas/Electric
-Sign prices
-Internet

For franchising cricket (to do esn changes and get percentage from bill pays and esn changes)
Anyone know the amount required for this?

I'm just seeing the ballpark range to see if I should invest more into business than school..
I've already got my aa and like 80 more units than needed haha

[whitey10tc]

this is what I'm guessing:
-Business license
-Lease
-Gas/Electric
-Sign prices
-Internet

For franchising cricket (to do esn changes and get percentage from bill pays and esn changes)
Anyone know the amount required for this?

I'm just seeing the ballpark range to see if I should invest more into business than school..
I've already got my aa and like 80 more units than needed haha
To get a definative answer you would need to contact cricket. I can tell you that I have the dealers contract that is about 100 pages long. Alot of rules regulations disclaimers non disclosure agreements etc.
For the first 5 items you have listed it is going to depend on location, location. There are some stores in my valley that would run $1000/mo and others that are the same size that run $5000/mo.
As for franchising... There is none, there are cricket corp stores and cricket dealers. There are on the other hand different levels of dealers. For the amount required you will need to contact cricket as it could be different from market to market and most of us who either are dealers or are working towards it have most likely signed non Disclosure agreements preventing us to disclose those figures.
For the location I would like when it becomes available in Nov. 2010 it will run me in the ballpark of $6000.00/mo for what you listed above plus insurance, alarm monitoring, 1 employee and my self.

[Mr._Pseudonym]

:^/ Another approach might be to start out small. Acquire the appropriate hardware and software to flash a selected range of phones, and then freelance out to existing shops. If your equipment is portable enough, you could even travel to a shop, flash the phones that they've set aside for you, then continue on to the next shop on your list.

Invest whatever profits you get into expanding your capabilities. While you're making the rounds of the town, you'll also get a feel for which neighborhoods get the most business, etc. Take notes as you go so you'll be well prepared when you're ready to make the leap into your own storefront.

[whitey10tc]

Well said Mr._Pseudonym

I flash phones out of my home office (my fulltime job is a freight broker) for 5 dealers and a pawn shop here in my valley. I have a 24-48 hr turn around. I don't make alot but neither do they, each one charges different and pays me different. They just get the perks of the ESN changes, activations and that $1 on bill payments.

[ownmart]

thanks for all the info, so far ive flashed some phones for a cricket authorized store and they send me phones they cant do, but I do need to test other models I have not done so that I can stop turning people away saying "oh I cant flash that model"

[whitey10tc]

thanks for all the info, so far ive flashed some phones for a cricket authorized store and they send me phones they cant do, but I do need to test other models I have not done so that I can stop turning people away saying "oh I cant flash that model"
I have found that ebay, craigs list and some local auctions are the best for test phones. Some colleges and universities will auction the lost and found after a certain amount of time.

[Mr._Pseudonym]

:^/ Time to invest a bit of your profit into a few second-hand eBay phones to practice on, then. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

[Edit]
:^( Dang; Whitey beat me to it....

[Tannus]

I'm hopeing 2 get in2 2 an actual shop this next month with an assosiate I've known 4 a while now. I've been freelanceing 4 2 long now

[whitey10tc]

And don't be pissed if you brick a couple!

[meanngreen04]

From experience, you don't have to go all the way at first. Just like Pseudo said you can work your way up. A great way I found was to sub lease from a dealer. I have subleted from a dealer for over a year. We're opening another location of our own now, but we will continue to sublet from them as well. You gain instant customers and cuts out a lot of need of advertising. Plus, if you get the right person you get free internet access lol.

Oh, and don't forget a lot of the wireless places make their rent alone on accessories.

[ownmart]

oh ive got that :) i bought a big box full of random phones on ebay, most work too older ones and ones i could care less if I brick so figured hell might as well try so I can later offer them heh.

ive done alot of lgs, cricket monsters, htc phones, droid eris, blackberries, now just gotta test out those mmcs ive gotten from here and mess with other samsungs and such

[airteckwireless]

**Mod Edit**

Please no hijacking of threads for your spamming/advertising needs.
This is your first warning on thread hijacking/spamming.

[ownmart]

ok another question on my topic

Say I got an office space say 300sq ftish something small
would I still be required to have a buisness license and/or tax id?
I believe you don't tax for services such as flashing, but if I were to sell phones and accessories I'd have to tax those right?

[whitey10tc]

ok another question on my topic

Say I got an office space say 300sq ftish something small
would I still be required to have a buisness license and/or tax id?
I believe you don't tax for services such as flashing, but if I were to sell phones and accessories I'd have to tax those right?For taxes it will be State/County/City dependent.

[ownmart]

oh well I live in cali so if thats the case I'm sure it would they wanna tax us for everything lol

[gabmab]

you should write a tutorial... seriously.

[leadnerd]

In all reality I can only utilize the state I live in but if you make over a certain amount regardless of what you do. You Will need a license and to pay the L & I and B & O taxes plus the Income Tax so they will require a Business License most likely. But on the plus side it leads to a lot more business write offs ;)

[ownmart]

resurrecting this thread cuz I've got a couple more questions :P

Here it goes:

Insurance (which is required here) whereabouts can I shop around for this? like does anyone have a suggestion on where they got theirs online or something?

Business License & Reseller License - Its only for the county im in or is it statewide?

[whitey10tc]

resurrecting this thread cuz I've got a couple more questions :P

Here it goes:

Insurance (which is required here) whereabouts can I shop around for this? like does anyone have a suggestion on where they got theirs online or something?

Business License & Reseller License - Its only for the county im in or is it statewide?
I can't speak for insurance because I am a home based office and not an actual retail store, as for the licenses it again depends on your state/county/city.
Here in Utah the business license is issued by the city, but generally covers the state. Although some cities here require a separate license for things like door to door sales or mobile employees. In my case I evade around that because I base my primary business (Brokering Freight) as a home based business. "Which also has a whole different tax, insurance, and license requirement on local/state and federal levels." But I have to have all of them covered.

Also if your looking at a cricket dealership I know they have certain criteria as well.

[whitey10tc]

Also another great source would be
[Only registered and activated users can see links]
The SBA has offices in most major areas and also do seminars. They are a great resource not often used. They also have the ability to help (referrals) with such things as licenses, insurance, loans, grants, business plans, etc.
They also provide very sound and strong advice.

Also check here for license and permits info
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[ownmart]

Also another great source would be
[Only registered and activated users can see links]
The SBA has offices in most major areas and also do seminars. They are a great resource not often used. They also have the ability to help (referrals) with such things as licenses, insurance, loans, grants, business plans, etc.
They also provide very sound and strong advice.

Also check here for license and permits info
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

thank you very much this will definitely help, if anyone from cali has any intel feel free to toss in

[ELHULK]

Just please by all means do not charge $5.00 or free like this dumb guy in az


we offering free flash friday 7/9/10 all day long for our new cricket customer

we can open ur new account too

call or text 602-332**** free flash )

free flash ==================================free flash *****cricket authorized dealer*****
free flash ==============free flash _+_+_+ free flash+_+_+_+_
free flash

[johnnyboy14981]

I just spoke to a good friend of mine and he said he got approached by the area Cricket rep. They said it would be around $50,000 to start a direct retail store. In my market that is all they are offering for new stores. The downside is that apparently you have to offer all your inventory, signage, etc... from their supplier. I am not for certain on these figures, but I can tell you alot depends on the rep in your area. I have been trying to get a store for over a year now. And if you can get one of reps on the phone they blow you off if the market is not currently expanding. I am in the triangle area NC. The only other way I have seen people get into a store is if they currently have one doing computer repair, and flashing, or something like that. And Cricket will let them become an authorized dealer. But here they act like unless you already have a location, or are looking to open a couple stores they won't give you the time of day. Atleast that's my experience. My suggestion would be to try and get in contact with an area rep to see if they are even allowing any new stores in the area first.

[whitey10tc]

I just spoke to a good friend of mine and he said he got approached by the area Cricket rep. They said it would be around $50,000 to start a direct retail store. In my market that is all they are offering for new stores. The downside is that apparently you have to offer all your inventory, signage, etc... from their supplier. I am not for certain on these figures, but I can tell you alot depends on the rep in your area. I have been trying to get a store for over a year now. And if you can get one of reps on the phone they blow you off if the market is not currently expanding. I am in the triangle area NC. The only other way I have seen people get into a store is if they currently have one doing computer repair, and flashing, or something like that. And Cricket will let them become an authorized dealer. But here they act like unless you already have a location, or are looking to open a couple stores they won't give you the time of day. Atleast that's my experience. My suggestion would be to try and get in contact with an area rep to see if they are even allowing any new stores in the area first.You are correct on a couple of things. Although your buddy signed a non-disclosure agreement on those things. This might be market dependent but in my area even premier dealers can flash and sale non cricket phones. They just have to have a certain SQ FT of the store for cricket. I can't disclose much more detail because I am bound by that non-disclosure agreement and I know that as a fact that the carriers watch all the forums.

[ownmart]

You are correct on a couple of things. Although your buddy signed a non-disclosure agreement on those things. This might be market dependent but in my area even premier dealers can flash and sale non cricket phones. They just have to have a certain SQ FT of the store for cricket. I can't disclose much more detail because I am bound by that non-disclosure agreement and I know that as a fact that the carriers watch all the forums.

I talked to a cricket store that I used to kinda be subcontracted with and they said its only 3k to start for them and I'm gonna get the numbers directly for cricket instead of applying online

[ownmart]

Just please by all means do not charge $5.00 or free like this dumb guy in az


we offering free flash friday 7/9/10 all day long for our new cricket customer

we can open ur new account too

call or text 602-332**** free flash )

free flash ==================================free flash *****cricket authorized dealer*****
free flash ==============free flash _+_+_+ free flash+_+_+_+_
free flash

oh I won't be doing free flashes, I'll run some kind of special like $20 LG/moto monster flashes with esn change/new line or something though when I open up

[Crosstown Cellular]

Fabulous suggestions here. I do some freelancing as well. Highly suggest this start up avenue. This gives key view points and a stronger base line to build your business on. Thank you for the suggestions in these posts, for ex: to freelance with pawn shops. This idea has not occurred and I will try immediately to implement. Should I try to freelance to Cricket shops for phone flashing opportunities as well? Do their contracts forbid this? Like wise, I can not even get the area Cricket rep to respond to my many requests for information. I want to activate cell phones and accept payments for/with Cricket. I need to register a username and password to utilize CID, which I have the link to. I've tried Crickets internet links a couple of times requesting info and to be contacted. No result became of this, obviously. I contacted Crickets Headquarters and they said they would not help me and that I had to contact and go through the area rep they directed me to. Went to the area reps store/office, where he was not available during normal business hours. Left a message and contact information for the rep to return a contact with me. And obviously by this post, this did not occur. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Crosstown Cellular is newly establishing itself as well in the Omaha, Nebraska metro area. For our location we are required to pay tax for Services rendered as well as products sold. I am licensed by the state of Nebraska and operate a legitimate operation. Does any one have any other freelance suggestion that I might implement?

[whitey10tc]

Let's see if I might cover some of your questions. At least to my extent of knowledge.

Crickets contract does not forbid anything with regards to flashing, there are 15 stores in my area that have a main store that does the flashing.

For CID access you will need to be a cricket dealer, to activate you will need to be a cricket dealer, to accept payments you will need to be a authorized payment location.

To get ahold of the area rep, it might be hard but don't give up. I know the Area manager for my area very well, but I've also known his father for 10 yrs.

It sound like your almost there, if it's really what you want don't give up. It took me months for me to track him down and actually get a meeting with him.

[captainkirks]

Cricket have new guidelines for becoming a dealer on J15th so they are not taking any dealer app as of now. I have somebody wanting to buy one of my stores and they will not to him till after the 15th. Wait till after that date than try again.