Time to Rethink Radar Detectors?

By Mr Retail

Our store started selling radar detectors in the early 90’s and made a major push when Beltronics came out with a dealer-focused line. We have been hooked ever since.

Nowadays, the industry is made up of these major brands in alphabetical order; Cobra, Escort, K40, Radenso, and Uniden. What many people may not realize is that this category can be a major profit center if given the proper attention. For example, I am doing a private event at my facility and registration sold out in less than a day with 72 total people from a prominent automobile club coming to learn more about this category. Interested? Let’s explore in more detail.

All of us have probably been asked to hardwire a power cable for a portable radar detector.  But how can you make that profitable? You begin by offering the detectors in your store and partnering with a brand that can let you add laser shifters or defusers to it. You will hardwire the power, add in a custom Blendmount to hold the unit, and then sell and install the permanently mounted laser pieces.

You are now taking that $600-850 detector and adding anywhere from $1,200- $1,400 worth of add-ons along with several hours of labor. The end result can become a ticket well north of $2,500. We often see these exceeding $3k depending on the vehicle. And while that is great, the big ticket item is custom installed radar. Let’s explore that next.

In our store, we sell more custom installed radar than portable detectors or the hybrid system of a portable with custom installed shifters.  The fully custom product is going to retail anywhere from $2,500-$4,500 at good margins. Then you are going to add in anywhere from 10-40 hours of labor depending on the complexity of the install.

We break down the systems in our store into “front protection” and “360 degree protection.” The vast majority buy the more expensive solution, but the front option gives you a lower cost of entry for clients. Most of our systems end up costing $7,500-$9,000 installed. Add in the fact that once you do a similar vehicle multiple times, your techs will get faster at it and if you pay them on a percentage of labor, they will really want to get the job. The products are very reliable overall, and once a client buys one once, they often become a client for life in this category.

I would be lying if I didn’t tell you there isn’t a learning curve. And yes, it does make sense to own a radar and laser gun to test the systems when finished. But you can grow into it. More than one of the brands I mentioned earlier will help you develop technical expertise and you will find other like-minded retailers doing these who will share information.

There is also a growing category of “super integrated” systems that is along the lines of an ultra-high end audio system. Lots of IR Acrylic and 3D printed parts can bring a radar job to $15,000 or above.

So, is it worth the effort to invest and learn this category? You already know where I stand on it. Maybe this is the year to seriously look at this category or to look at it again. And one last piece of advice would be to NOT try and be the aggressively priced shop. My research says the vast majority of business is getting done by the shops that are more expensive and are doing better work.

If people are going to make a major investment into their vehicle in this category, they want the best, not the cheapest. As always, I wish you well and invite feedback. It’s what makes us better.

Mark Miller

(Mr Retail)

Mark  is the CEO of Westminster Speed & Sound, an award-winning retailer in Westminster, Maryland. The company was founded in 1969, and Mark took it over in 1990 at the age of 23. He first started in the industry in 1986, so he has been at it for a while. He has served on the board of MERA, taught seminars in over a dozen different cities, and served on the SEMA New Product Awards judging team. He has been married to his wife Dawn for 33 years now and has four grown children and four grandchildren. His hobbies include being a sound engineer, doing life coaching, and being active in the local and national Porsche community.