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little bit of "market research" and ask my potential customers what
they might want to see from my store if I should start one.

Of course, market guidance is a good thing, but keep in mind that this
newsgroup is probably far from representative.

So, what is the perfect homebrewer store for you all?

DigiKey, with some RF parts added.

1) Lots of discretes at low prices?

There are lots of places to get discretes. This is no longer the problem it
used to be. The problem is getting them at a local store. RS used to fill
that bill, and there used to be a number of local electronics retailers.
But to tap that market, you need to be everywhere. In a market large enough
to justify that sort of presence, there are already competitors.

2) Transceiver and other kits sold at slight markup?

What can you offer that AES and the like can't? Unfortunately, I think a
lot of stores suffer from spending time helping folks understand the
products, only to have the customer go get it at Texas Towers for five bucks
less. Hams are cheap. If you are going to sell transceivers you gotta be
near the lowest price. Now maybe a wide range of kits might be a market
with little competition.

3) Parts kits and boards for successful homebrew designs found on the
net?

There are a lot more homebrew possibilities out there than there are kits,
but that is a pretty low margin market. Still, I wonder if something simple
like providing parts kits for FAR Circuits boards might not be a
possibility. Provide a needed service and keep your costs down by
leveraging someone else's board mill.

4) A depot to drop off and buy antique gear and test equipment?

Again, you need to be everywhere. If your wife plans on working on a
reservation, it sounds like the place you will be might be a pretty small
market.

5) Home-made precision such as crystal filters, diode mixers, amplifier
modules?

Filters might work. Mixers, amps etc are already available from
Minicircuits. But filters for common homebrew IFs might be a market.

Anything I haven't thought of?

One thing that occurs to me is that almost any project nowadays involves a
microcontroller of some type, typically a PIC or AVR. Even though
programmers are trivial to build, the need for a programmed micro is a show
stopper for a lot of potential builders. That might make an interesting
niche.

Take a look at the successful guys.

DigiKey has almost a half million SKUs. Although they are shy on RF parts,
for almost anything else you want they are gonna have it. They have a
fabulous search facility on their website and the best customer service on
the planet. Their prices might not be the best, but they make up for it by
being terribly easy to deal with.

AES is an expert at lightening your wallet. Their prices are pretty low,
when you call them you will talk to someone who knows what it is you want.
And the next day the rig shows up on your doorstep. Simple, painless, and
close to the lowest price.

Ever call International Crystal for a crystal? Their prices may be high,
but they will make sure you get exactly what you need. If you have a
commercial radio, no matter how obscure, they know what kind of crystal it
takes. Doing something weird? Tell them about your circuit. They are
dedicated to getting you what you need.

If you are going to be out in the boondocks, like it sounds, then you need
something you can do online. The good news is that is relatively cheap.
The bad news is that now you are competing with an entire planet full of
competitors, so you need to come up with something really unique.

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