Business & Tech
Success is Not Hidden at the Spy Shop
Surveillance is big business at the small showroom on York Road since 1997
It looks like a plain old watch but it's not.
It looks like a tissue dispenser but it's not.
It looks like a key chain remote control for your car but it's not.
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No, much is not what it seems at the Spy Shop.
Opened in 1997 at 227 York Road by Scott Black, the small store is doing big business.
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"The recession has had no effect," said Black. "We just had a banner year. ... People's problems aren't going away because of the recession. ... Our revenue has improved every year and that's with retail prices dropping every year."
Black lists among his clients area law enforcement agencies.
"When they conduct an undercover drug buy, we outfit them," he said.
Other clients include prisons, Verizon, Wawa, Boeing and U.S. Airways, Black says.
His biggest seller is hidden cameras, from major systems to the $99 car remote that records video on an SD card. The tissue dispensers and watches are actually DVRs. The hottest trending product is GPS systems, and the Spy Shop also has night vision equipment. The soda cans and books disguise safes.
"Everybody has a different issue and everybody needs a different application," said Black, who provides installation, training and tech support. One of the newest products is a small flashlight that can also deliver 1.2 million volts to an attacker.
"It will put any assailant down," said manager Erich DiMatteo.
Black says his business has no real retail competition because similar products can generally only be bought online.
"There are some alarm guys who sell surveillance stuff but it's apples and oranges," Black said.
"When you buy online you don't know what you're buying," he added. "There's really no evaluation process (by the seller). We test everything. We probably evaluate 20 different types before we are comfortable selling something."
Black, 45, is a Philadelphia native and Bucks County resident with a master's degree in science education. He owns three Spy Shops, with the others located in Ardmore and Quakertown. Before starting with the national chain he was a television engineer and owned a mobile TV production company.
Why is Warminster a good location?
"It's not a hotbed of espionage," Black responded with a smile. "But it is close enough to suburban townships and Philadelphia."
