Book Distributor - 'shop-at-work' - ANYONE DONE THIS?

mrsjanejane

Hi,

As anyone done this work as they claim you can earn about 26k if you put the work in. 20 drops a day. I have searched the internet and can not find anything in terms of reviews.

I have been out on a day with a distributor and see how people can make their money. All the work places I have ever worked have at least 1 or 2 of these people come around and people do always buy. Don't get me wrong sometimes it is only £10's worth bought or £20 but if you have 20 drops and averaged out at £20, I would walk away with £100 for the day. I know in some places when I went out, the guy got £40 and £50 of stock sold.

Anyway, what do people think if you know about this work or you know of somebody who does it? Another question, would you give up your day job?

Caroline73_2

Don't forget cost of petrol and van, your tax and NI as imagine it's self employed. You would also need somewhere to keep the stock as with these things you always get the books when they collect the money.

nexuss

Do not forget usually you have to pay 20k+ franchise fees,pay for a van,fuel,public liability insurance,goods in transit insurance,business insurance,van insurance,book storage fees,tax,national insurance and also compete with many other businesses like the book people.If business goes on a downturn then you will be earning nothing and stuck with a franchise.

LizD_2

You could look at Barefoot Books or Usborne books instead of Book People or the like.

http://www.barefoot-books.com/uk/site/pages/home.php I don't have kids or work for them, but I've seen some of these books and they are beautiful

http://www.usborne.co.uk/

mrsjanejane

Hi,

There is no franchise fee. It is the same as Premier Direct Group (don't exist now). It is Index books which come under the The Book People. I have a large MPV, garage, mobile and internet which they want. People at my current place of work always buy from these people (normally totals £20-25). The commission is 25%. I do need to get public liability insurance. I can see how they make their money. I was just wondering what other people think if they know someone who does it or do these people come to your workplace and do people buy from them?

Thanks

mrsjanejane

Forgot to mention. There is no upfront fee. They deliver the stock and what you don't sell they take back every 6 weeks when they bring new stock. They do have two other agents covering the area as well but they have different stock. Distributors never have the same stock at the same time.

nexuss

You also need to ask the commission structure and get it in writing.You can maybe trial the opportunity for a few months if there is nothing tying you to index books for a specific period.Try renting storage space at those storage depots that seem to be everywhere now.You can rent space from as little as £5 a week.Judge index books after a few months and not simply based on a day with a distributor.

jo-chris

i dont understand how bare foot works...
do you have to buy your stock up front like most do with usborne book??

paulwf

How often do you visit each workplace? Assuming once every 4 weeks to get a decent order then to run it as a full time business that's 20 drops per day times 5 days a week times 4 weeks which equals 400 companies you need to deal with on a regular business.

Sounds like a good "up your income" job but very hard to make it work as a full time job.

mrsjanejane

It is over a 7 week period, so 700 businesses in all covering a few major towns and then your smaller towns. The first few months will be hard as you have to get your customer base which most people will let you in but for every business you get in, one will knock you back. I have a garage for storage so don't need to rent.

paulwf

My "gut feel" - and I admit this isn't based on thorough research - is that finding 700 businesses that are both large enough to place a viable order and don't deal with a competitor and are not too far away is going to be next to impossible in a realistic timescale.

If your setup costs are minimal and you aren't relying on it as a full time job then by all means go for it. If however you have to pay a lot for stock and franchise fees up front and you intend to do it full time I'd class it as very high risk.