 Looking to set up a little outdoors shop to gather some income whilst im at college. I believe that because it will not be my main income i can undercut some big guns maybe. Does anyone here do anything simular or can reccomend any wholesellers?
Help greatly appreciated,
Keith
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Thank you, i will give them a ring later!
First enjoy a little of this sun..
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 "I believe that because it will not be my main income i can undercut some big guns maybe"
thanks, you just made me spit my coffee over my keyboard.
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 Enjoy; attempting to open trade accounts, making forward orders, balancing books, undercutting the other guys and making no profit, being asked to price match, not opening letters from the bank, not being allowed an overdfraft due to no track record, applying for a loan to cover your orders so yopu can still buy next season before they cut you off and call in the burly men in leather coats...
Running your own company is not as easy as you'd think.
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 A thread you may learn from - the OP is now running his own business but it took a lot of time and sweat (and money presumably!) to set up. You'll either need tons of cash to invest in a lot of stock or else mail the goods out very slowly after you get them yourself in which case your customers will put the word out and melt away. http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/forummessages.asp?URN=5&UTN=8265&last=1%20&%20SP%20=%20%20&%20V%20=%208
because it will not be my main income i can undercut some big guns maybe
What has it not being your main income got to do with profit margin? How will being a small trader get you over the bulk-buying discounts that the 'big guns' will get due to economies of scale? Have you any experience in: - running a small business? - retailing? - supply chains? Good luck.
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keith,
As somebody who runs a small business, although not outdoor gear, i suggest you read PTC*s post 10 times then find yourself a job behind a bar and enjoy your college life!
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As someone who has a small business, I'd agree with ptc* and Michael.
Also, the post:
Thank you, i will give them a ring later!
First enjoy a little of this sun..
- If that's your attitude to life, then tbh I don't think you have a "business head"!
;o)
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| Edited: 27/07/07 11:09 |
 Hold on folks, for all we know, Keith might be the next Branson!
I say go for it. If it proves to be too tough, then you'll fail just like many others. I suspect this is the only way to learn, and at least if you do it now, you aren't risking your home & pension over it!
I haven't got any personal experience of this, but perhaps it might simplify things to become an eBay Shop owner?
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keith,
if you are planning on a non stock holding web window, then my recomendation is dont bother,
the best net shops, hold stock deliver quick, etc, i.e. good service
taking money then waiting for supplier to deliver isnt gonna work
there are too many of these in the outdoor market already,
and if you think you can undercut people, think again, its ruthless out there, you dont need to be cheapest just offer good service with it, you will notice threads here about poor web service, and good, most good come from real shops, some web only do it right, they are few and far betwen though
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He would still have supply and demand problems which would only be eased by capital purchase of stock which then may not sell. If he is setting up a proper "Ebay Shop" then AFAIK he needs a separate decent website or pay a designer; and then wait for the designer to produce the goods. Using the normal Ebay front end without a 'shop' is cumbersome.
And on Ebay everyone wants the bargain of a lifetime - and don't think for one minute that the Revenue and Customs don't watch traders on there very carefully!
Re Glyn M's post above - Glyn has a great deal of retail experience and does know what he's talking about in this regard.
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NPC et al,
I don't doubt that all your comments are justified and that it is a tough market to get into. Keith will probably struggle and later understand your warnings.
What bothers me is that I feel Keith should be encouraged to be adventurous. In my business there's an old and rather infamous quote "failure is not an option". I absolutely disagree with this attitude. If you aren't prepared to fail then you won't dare to attempt anything of note. It's true on the climbing wall, on the mountain, in life and in business. Failure is best avoided, but has to remain an option.
So helpfully warning him of potential pitfalls is great - suggesting he says "sod it" and gets a bar job is a little defeatist IMHO.
An aquaintance of mine had a very successful little internet business during college selling, would you believe, condoms over the net. We laughed when he suggested it, and he laughed back when he started turning a healthy profit (pun intended).
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 I don't get it? :-/
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safe-sex = healthy I suppose... when I re-read my post I didn't want someone 'funny' jumping on it. But it made you take a closer look didn't it?
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 Its better to aim high and fail, then to aim low and succeed.
Thats what I go by, or try at least, obviously if there is no hope its not worth trying.
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 good luck in getting accounts, you will need it......
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 Sounds like a huge undertaking Keith, rather than a part-time, bit of money on the side while studying kinda thing. Reasonably, if you work 8 hours a week you'll earn £50 a week. I feel that it will take you much longer to get this set up than 8-hours in a bar/shop job.
I haven't worked this year at uni as I wanted to take the time to settle down and see how much free time I really have. I have found however that it's worth looking at university departments as many offer cash for help in experiments. For example at my uni the Psychology department give you around £20 for an hour's help. I've also been really successful in the Experimental Economics department, winning nearly £200 over the course of 3 experiments, taking no more than 3 hours in total. It's hardly a reliable and steady income but its enabled me to replace my broken camera this year.
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When I was at Uni the Jobcentre was always advertising inside for young male students to be paid to take part in Police line ups as well, dunno if they still do that. Easy money, no chance of being done if you're wrongly picked out and you are built for the job!
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John,
I'm not being defeatist by suggesting keith gets a bar job. The point I'm trying to make is that he should concentrate on his studies while at college and if he needs some extra cash he can get a P/T job. and John i might be showing my age here but what is IMHO?
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 Keith
Before you start, the question you must be able answer, is "why would anyone want to buy from me".
Until you can answer this and make a coherent case you cannot begin to work up a business case, or P&L prediction.
Good Luck and remember the 6p's proper planning prevents p..s poor performance.
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