Dealer-to-Dealer RV Wholesale Platform is in Expansion Mode – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
Dealer-to-dealer RV wholesale platform DealerBackStock.com has expanded significantly since its soft launch in mid-March, according to its creators.
Among recent notable developments, the business has:
- Grown the number of dealerships signed up to make use of the web platform from roughly two dozen to about 200 currently, with more joining each week. Notable dealerships listed on the website as supporters of the platform include Campers Inn, Lazydays, Bish’s, Giant RV, Bretz RV & Marine, LaMesa and El Monte RV.
- Increased the number of RVs listed on the platform from a few dozen to about 160 currently, with another 60 or so waiting to be posted once dealers complete their listings.
- Expanded the platform’s reach to where RV dealers in Canada can now use it to buy and sell inventory. It is possible for U.S. and Canada dealers to do business with each other, as well as with dealers in their own respective countries.
- Made several strategic hires. Industry veteran Carrie Richards now serves as the leader of operational ventures and the business has hired six sales representatives and one customer success representative.
DealerBackStock.com’s recent successes come as no surprise to Joshua VanValkenburg, who created and launched DealerBackStock.com with a close group of dealer friends and associates after spending about a year developing and beta testing the web platform. The owner of Landon’s RV in Mesa, Ariz., VanValkenburg said the industry has long needed a platform where dealers can buy and sell inventory, because of the difficulties they face in procuring used inventory that is well-suited to their business.
“Now we are over 200 unique dealers. And then, if you were to count rooftops, it would be significantly more, because of a lot of (these) dealers multi-location or enterprise dealers,” he said. He added that he believes it’s a realistic goal that the web platform could grow to 500 dealerships within the next six months.
As part of the web platform’s recent expansion, it can now be used by Canadian dealers—and those dealerships have given DealerBackStock.com a warm reception, according to Ryan Beckmann, a co-founder of the business, who notes DealerBackStock.com is an RVDA and RVDA of Canada associate member.
“That was a big undertaking for us,” VanValkenburg said of making the website useable for Canadian as well as American dealers. “So, our site now operates with kilometers and miles for distances and includes Canadian postal codes and selections between countries. It was a pretty big developmental change to where we can offer it in a way that was still extremely user-friendly.”
Meanwhile, VanValkenburg said the web platform recently updated its pricing model. Specifically, DealerBackStock.com is requiring that dealers who list inventory on the website price those models at or below JD Power base model prices. Previously, some dealers were listing inventory at prices nearly matching retail pricing, which is counterintuitive to how a platform for buying and selling wholesale RV inventory should operate, he said.
Beckmann said inventory listed on DealerBackStock now runs the gamut, from $5,000 for a travel trailer to upwards of $230,000 for a luxury motorhome.
DealerBackstock provides access to its platform through a low monthly membership fee, according to Richards, the company’s leader of operational ventures, who has spent the past 30 years working for various RV website development and dealership management software companies.
“We are committed to offering something different than other existing options, with no buyer fees and no seller fees, so it doesn’t cut into your profits,” she said.
Richards, who previously knew VanValkenburg as a dealership client, said she jumped at the opportunity to work for DealerBackStock.com after he demonstrated the web platform for her late last year. She joined the business in a full-time capacity in April.
“When he had me come out and take a look at this product, I was just blown away,” she said. “This code is so new and shiny and clean and functional, and the site is fast, with all of the good things and none of the bad. It’s just really well done.”
