Every dealership has that one bike that haunts them. The one that arrived with high hopes — everyone thought it would sell fast. But it didn’t. New units arrive, promotions change, salespeople focus on easier sells. That bike just sits, quietly aging on the floor as attention shifts elsewhere.
No one wants to discount it. No one wants to wholesale it. And no one wants to admit what’s obvious: time has passed, and the unit is worth less than it was the day it arrived. Eventually, the loss surfaces anyway. It always does — just all at once, when the bike finally sells or heads to auction, and everyone feels the sting simultaneously. That moment is where The Dealer Lab stands right now — not trying to avoid losses, but learning how to recognize them early. The truth is, inventory doesn’t suddenly lose value at wholesale. It depreciates gradually every day it sits. So what if dealerships stopped pretending otherwise?
At The Dealer Lab, we’re testing a new mindset: seeing inventory not as something to shield until the end, but as an asset that depreciates over time. This isn’t a finished system — it’s a live experiment. The premise is simple, though its effects ripple outward: When a unit arrives, its pricing future is mapped immediately — not emotionally or reactively, but deliberately.
The unit starts at MSRP and holds there for a defined period. Before any price drop happens, the unit has to be seen. That means it must be live on the dealership website, promoted through social media stories, listed on national marketplaces like Cycle Trader, properly photographed and merchandised — given a real chance to sell.
Only after this exposure window closes does the depreciation clock start. From there, pricing steps down on a predictable cadence. For this first test, we chose a 90-day MSRP hold period. That may change — the trigger could be the end of free flooring, MAP expiration, or simply days on the floor. The exact trigger matters less than being consistent.
We’re starting with monthly price adjustments, though quarterly, weekly, or even daily changes are possible. Monthly seems right to begin; we’ll let data guide us on the cadence.
The most important thing we’re testing isn’t how much prices drop, but what happens when pricing becomes boring and predictable instead of emotional and reactive.
As prices step down, something else happens quietly: the economic reality of each unit is acknowledged in real time. Instead of pretending losses don’t exist until the final sale or auction, the dealership absorbs them gradually. Conservatism dictates inventory be valued at the lower of cost or current market value. If we agree a 240-day-old unit is less valuable than a fresh one, that principle applies at the unit level as inventory ages.
As cost is reduced, inventory value on the balance sheet falls. Because accounting must balance, that reduction flows into the P&L as an increase in sales department costs, often via an inventory adjustment account.
Here’s where the experiment gets interesting: If a sales manager’s pay depends on departmental contribution, the cost of aged inventory is no longer a surprise at year-end. Instead, it becomes a steady, visible pressure.
Incentives shift naturally. Moving older units sooner becomes the smarter choice. Choosing a newer unit with a bigger margin over an older one stops being “free.” The loss remains real — but it’s planned, expected, and spread out. The shock is gone.
At the same time, we’re testing a parallel adjustment on cash flow. As units age, a portion of sales revenue is automatically applied toward flooring principal, helping prevent sudden cash crunches later.
When sales are strong, balance sheets heal faster. When sales slow, cash stays protected. The system flexes rather than breaks. By the time a unit sells, the outcome isn’t a surprise. The future loss has already been acknowledged.
One of the most surprising changes we’re seeing isn’t customer-facing; it’s internal. Salespeople stop avoiding older units. Managers stop having emotional debates about “giving it one more month.” Inventory meetings get quieter, calmer, more honest. When the economic pain has already been recognized, selling an older unit no longer feels like taking a hit. The sting is gone. Inventory hygiene stops feeling like discipline and starts feeling like relief.
The first reaction from dealers hearing this idea: “If price drops are predictable, won’t customers just wait until it’s cheaper?” Some will. Some will miss the unit entirely. That tension is the feature, not the flaw. Urgency shifts away from artificial pricing pressure and toward availability. The price path is predictable, but the outcome is not. A customer can wait and hope the unit remains, or buy now and secure it. We see this behavior everywhere else: winter clothes are cheaper in summer; swim trunks go on clearance in winter. This is no different.
The goal is to hold margin while units are new and shiny, then strategically reduce price as time passes and dust collects. Discounts aren’t arbitrary; they’re tied to time, not negotiation. It changes the sales conversation. When a customer asks for a specific price, the answer isn’t “no,” but “not yet.”
With a known depreciation curve, you can point to a calendar date and say, “That price will be reached then. I’ll call you the moment it happens if it’s not already sold.”
If you’re already doing something like this, or you’ve tried it and backed away, I want to hear from you. What worked? What broke? What surprised you? You can email me directly at max@ownex.io. And check out the Dealer Lab Podcast, wherever you find your podcasts.
For most of its history, the powersports industry hasn’t had to explain itself. Riders created riders. Passion was inherited. The customer journey started in childhood and ended in a showroom. That flywheel is slowing.
The average powersports customer is getting older. First-time buyers are entering later in life. Meanwhile, participation in adjacent categories — outdoor recreation, overlanding, adventure travel, fitness experiences — continues to grow. People want experiences more than ever. They just don’t instinctively associate those experiences with us anymore.
This isn’t a product problem. It’s a market access problem.
If we want to grow again — not just shuffle the same customers between brands — we have to redesign how new people discover, enter, and stay in this industry.
And it starts with admitting a hard truth: we’ve accidentally built an industry that is easy to love if you’re already in it — and intimidating and not conducive to entry if you’re not.
Step One: Admit the customer has changed
The growth customer of the next decade is not the legacy rider. They are:
The outdoor lifestyle consumer who camps, hikes, overlands, and travels
The suburban family looking for shared experiences
The utility buyer who starts with work and stays for fun
The experience-first consumer who values access over ownership
The first-time buyer who has zero mechanical confidence and no tribal knowledge
These people don’t wake up wanting “a side-by-side” or “a motorcycle.” They wake up wanting adventure, convenience, connection, and escape from screens. We don’t need new products to reach them. We need new positioning.
Step Two: Stop selling machines. Start selling outcomes
Most of our marketing still speaks in insider language: specs, trims, performance, components. That language works for enthusiasts. It does not build new ones.
New customers buy:
A version of themselves
A vision of their weekends
A feeling of confidence and belonging
A story they want to be part of
The brands that will win the next decade will not be the ones with the best brochures. They’ll be the ones that translate complexity into confidence and turn ownership into a lifestyle decision, not a technical one.
The question every dealer and OEM should be asking is not: “How do we sell this unit?”
It’s: “What problem does this solve in someone’s life — and how do we show that clearly?”
Step Three: The industry has an onboarding problem
We don’t have a traffic problem. We have a conversion and confidence problem. Most first-time buyers are not saying no. They’re saying:
“I’m not sure.”
“This feels complicated.”
“I don’t want to make a mistake.”
That’s not price resistance. That’s fear of regret.
From the outside, powersports ownership looks:
Technically complex
Logistically confusing
Socially intimidating
And financially risky
We accidentally built a cliff instead of an on-ramp. The next growth phase of this industry will be won by companies that:
Simplify choices
Bundle smartly
Teach instead of overwhelm
And intentionally design the first 90 days of ownership
Confidence converts. Confusion delays.
Step Four: The sale is just the end of the marketing phase one
A first purchase is a transaction. A second purchase is a relationship. A third purchase is brand loyalty. Yet most dealers stop marketing the moment the unit leaves the lot.
Meanwhile, data across retail categories consistently shows that retention and repeat purchase are dramatically more profitable than acquisition,. Powersports has even more leverage here because accessories, service, upgrades, and trade cycles multiply lifetime value.
The real business is built after the sale:
Riding groups
Owner events
Service education
Seasonal rituals
Upgrade paths
Community identity
Belonging is the strongest growth engine in this category. And we underinvest in it.
Step Five: This is a business model shift, not a marketing tactic
What’s really happening in powersports is the same thing that already happened in:
Fitness
Outdoor recreation
Travel
Golf
Even automotive
Categories that used to sell products now sell identity, experience, and community first — then monetize through products. Powersports doesn’t need to change what it is. But it does need to change how people enter. We do not have a shrinking interest problem. We have a translation problem, a confidence problem, and an onboarding problem. The brands and dealers who fix that won’t just grow their own business. They’ll grow the entire category.
In this column, I wanted to frame the why and the what. Next month, I’ll lay out the actual execution model, so stay tuned to PSB.
Till next time, shiny side up and checkered flags!
Melissa Coffey is a longtime powersports and industry leader with deep expertise in brand building, demand generation, and growth strategy.