becoming a DN dealer?

[bajadudes]

Hello all,

As a starband dealer that sells and installs a very large number of systems (many OCONUS) I am frequently asked about TV reception. I usually sell them a BOW kit and then tell them to find a Dishnetwork dealer to get the TV package. I am starting to think I would like that business and why should I turn it away. I notice that one of the things they want is a picture of your retail location. Well my whole business is internet driven and I have no interest in a retail location, I work out of my home and do quite well. Been that way for over 6 years. will they still let me be a dealer? Anyway around that requirement? Is it hard to become a DN dealer? Any tips on getting a dealership? We have excellent credit if that is an issue.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[hobojoe]

I'm in the same boat just passed all sb testing submitted all the paper and got my numbers from starband this week for sb dealer/installer. i want to sell and install for dn also but calling dn got me no where. i don't want to work for someone other than dn directly. if i find any thing out I'll post asap! i cannot believe how high starband prices are compared to hn. i have a used 360 i want to activate temp for a month or two but they say no way do you know how? i will eventually get a 484 demo unit. how many units do you average? I'm looking to do this part time. I'm very formulae with hn and very new to sb

 

[bajadudes]

in some cases yes starband is more expensive, in others HN is. You can get a refurb 481 with a life of contract warranty for $399 equip and $49 per month with a 3 year commitment. Now that they are part of Spacenet they will be launching Their new SE modem @ 299 for equipment, $49 a month for the service with a 12 month commitment is a much better deal than anything you can get out there. (available in a few weeks, beta testing one now)

The nature of the service is also different, for instance with HN pro-plus plan you have a 500Mb fap bucket which you can deplete in about 3-4 hours and will take about 15 hours on average to recover from if you continue to try to use your system in any normal way. Average this out and it's about 5GB per 7 days rolling period.

With SB you get 3.5GB per rolling 7 day period but you get to go full speed ahead until you hit more than 3.5GB in that 7 day period.

I like that better, to me the analogy is driving in a city with a lot of stoplights vs cruising @ 65 mph on the open highway with a few toll booths. For the extra 1.5GB that you get with HN it's not worth the stop and go to me and many of my customers. I'll pay the tolls and take the highway anyday to avoid city traffic.

I also like starband better for mobile applications.

don't waste your time on the 360, it's old technology, the software is buggy and does not play well with other programs, It's a bandwidth hog and the activation fees for BYOE (bring your own equipment) are anywhere from $35 to $112.

Sell it back to SB for $100 and get a 481 refurb.

If you are thinking you are going to get a showroom account for half the price, think again....you have to sell at least 5 systems per Q to keep the showroom pricing.

The one very nice thing about SB is the 20% commissions on subscriber revenue and no chargebacks.....no one even comes close. That keeps me highly motivated to keep my customers happy and intervene if they have issues. I also have better access to their engineering staff, tech staff, billing staff and sales staff. I can contact them directly via IM very quickly to resolve customer issues.

I have about 450 accounts.

ask about the hibernation program. they turn you off and it cost about $50 to get turned back on.

Good luck

 

[hobojoe]

your right on the 360 its junk now. like a dw4000 is. the dealer and installer programs are excellent!! there tech support is easy to get a hold of and are American! the billing is also. i have had some bad info from them like i could start service with the 360 month to month. found out later that was wrong. and now i hear the demo unit must have quarterly sales. i found out about hibernation but i think that's expensive hn is free. sb said for vacation stops like a month or two is $15/mo. again hn is free. the fap for all three company's are changing all getting to be the same. this new modem coming out where can i get some info about it? is it worth waiting for? and how do i have sb buy back modeoms i have two 360's to get rid of. your web site looks good! very informative.

 

[bajadudes]

Call billing, tell them you had an account long ago and don't remember what tel# you had then.

they won't give you anything for them if they do not work. If you got them on E-bay beware....many are junk.

Go to www.spacenet.com and look for the skyedge IP modem. lots of info there. Great new generation product and scalable up to 2 meg up and 4 meg down with a simple NOC firmware update ( and extra per month of course). Certain volume dealers will also be able to offer increased FAP thresholds to customers willing to pay for it.

Hibernation does not have any monthly fees associated with it unless you want to keep your e-mail addresses active and have POP access to them. With how easy it is to get gmail and other accounts I don't see why you would want to pay $15 a month for them.

HN limits the number of times and length in a year you can go into vacation mode, SB does not.

This is going off topic, If you want to continue a discussion on VSAT internet start a thread in the internet section and put the subject in your next post.

What I really want to know are tips and suggestions about becoming a DN dealer, Better to go with a VAR? How strict are they on having a retail location? Are there required volumes to maintain dealerships? Stuff like that....anyone know

 

[Jared Twomey]

in response to your original question... as far as I know most distributors require that dealers have a storefront... if this is something that you can not get around... another option you may consider is finding a reputable local dealer and doing sales for them.... you may be able to work out something profitable

 

[hobojoe]

good points! i think dn needs to loosen up and let more people sell for them regardless of store frunt or volume.

 

[Jared Twomey]

good points! i think dn needs to loosen up and let more people sell for them regardless of store frunt or volume.

just my personal opinion, but i disagree... i think dish needs to crack down on their retailers and start spot checking them...
there is a local dealer in my town that is basically a thief.... he charges a rediculous amount for everything, and seems to target older people.... just my opinion....

 

[hobojoe]

wow i thought they were closely regulated and all billing was done by dn including install?

 

[Jared Twomey]

wow i thought they were closely regulated and all billing was done by dn including install?

thats not hard to get around though... all the retailer or installer has to say is "ok, dish will take 49.99 out of your credit card and you will receiver a credit on your first bill.... and here is the bill for $??.?? for the additional installation charges"

and unfortunately a lot of people dont ask questions, they just pay it.
and to be clear, i'm not talking about legit charges, I personally charge extra for wall fishes, and pole mounts (just the cost of materials though). But I have seen this guy tell a customer that they had to charge for anything over 50' of wire, ect....

 

[hobojoe]

and rightfully so! fishing and pole mounts are not norm. but i thought it was added to the dish builling? maybe thats what they should do to regulate it!

 

[Jared Twomey]

and rightfully so! fishing and pole mounts are not norm. but i thought it was added to the dish builling? maybe thats what they should do to regulate it!

nope, dish doesn't charge anything when the retailer does the sale... i dont know how the DNSC side works... but the retailers collect the 49.99 and any additional charges