MONETIZING SMALL PARTS

Maximizing $mall Part$ $ales

Sometimes, profits come in small packages.

Consider the real value to your bottom line. BY MICHELLE KEADLE-TAYLOR

More and more recyclers are selling “deeper into the car” and finding ways to add to their profit by sell- ing small parts that were, at one time, overlooked. This has become a necessity as the face of the automo- tive recycling industry evolves and more business is done online. Online sales databases powered by info imported from Hollander, Checkmate, and Pinnacle categorize auto parts according to various inventory details about the part. They have played a key part in helping recyclers sell parts that were once difficult to sell. As the Interchange in the industry evolves, the opportunities become more plentiful. Mike Swift, co-owner with his brother, Steve, of

A 50 Automotive Recycling | March-April 2015

Swift’s Trails End Auto Recycling, and ARA First Vice President, says that as body parts become harder to sell due to price matching by manufacturers and acquiring good quality salvage, selling small parts has become the trend in the industry.

“As the list of body parts that we can sell grows short-

er, we are using the Interchange for all kinds of small parts that we used to just give away because we didn’t know how much they were worth or didn’t know if we

utomotive recyclers are known for their ability to adjust business process to profit. Staying flexible and open to opportunities sets the successful entrepreneurs apart from the pack. Let’s consider just a few ways that small parts could add to your net profits without too much additional work.

had it in our inventory or not,” said Swift. “Thanks to the Interchange, Hollander, and Checkmate, we have immediate access with a one-button search. We can look up Crash Books and price our parts accordingly. “For example, we didn’t use to have an Interchange for rocker moldings so we used to just give those away. Now we have an Interchange that shows us that one new is worth $290. Now, I have a price comparison and can sell my part at a fair price and stop throwing money away.”

Shannon Nordstrom, Nordstrom’s Automotive, Inc., also feels the Interchange and quick access to infor- mation opens up vast opportunities and taking the time during inventory to take multiple pictures helps sell more small parts. “I would never say, by any means, that I’m an auto- motive recycling expert,” said Nordstrom, “but over the years, we’ve tried a lot of different things. We’ve always inventoried a lot of parts because we are blessed with 65 acres of real estate. We usually inventory between 70 and 170 parts per car. “We do that to automate and connect online and to