How to stock keys to be effective in the Vehicle Locksmith world (what they do not tell you)

I WISH I did not have so much time and effort into trying to figure out what keys I need to stock to do all vehicles. Fobik and bladed keys throw a huge monkey wrench into the whole operation. For these two specific keys you most likely will need to stock keys that have FCCID codes already programmed into them... which is sad for us here in the aftermarket. There is a lot of money to be maid even at 1/3 the price the OEM charges but stocking keys is the largest singular expense.

Everyone raves on Autel keys and they have a starter pack of 10 keys that are common although the set does not include 2 of everything. You really should buy 2 starter packs to have 2 of every option (at the very least). And, looking at the style of the fobs you know which applications are going to be easy to do with the KM100.

Xhorse is the the aftermarket king of vehicle applications but their product line is NOT intuitive and now one seems interested in doing a YouTube video on it. In fact they no longer even make the starting set of keys/fobs these days.... Remote keys (a key fob with a non folding blade attached to them) is getting harder and harder to source. They have a horrible distribution network beyond UHS hardware and there exists almost no information about what you should stock outside of their XM38 industry exclusive Toyota keys (that work for applications no one else's keys do).

Fobik keys are the true nightmare in this process. They make a universal Mercedes one but that is it. The rest you will have to purchase pre-programmed with FCCID's for specific vehicles meaning... lots of inventory needed for Dodge/Chrysler/jeep applications.

Smart keys are straight forward. Xhorse has the best application list and it only really requires stocking 2 different lines of their keys. Autel has great quality keys but you still need to stock at least 2 different key part numbers to have complete coverage.