Buying and selling?

ChampagneIT

I'm thinking about buying and selling stuff on gumtree/ebay etc. but would like to know what the best way to go about this is, have looked on here before and people have said you can sell sofas putting ad on the shop window by getting the sofa from gumtree.

I don't see you being able to buy and sell on gumtree walking away with a profit because, generally if nobody buys it off the original seller, then neither will you sell it on unless it's a quick bargain (you buy it within hours of the ad going up) then selling that on.

But I see it's likely you can profit off people that see street ads as they don't look on gumtree, do not realize how cheap you can get it, have thought about buying and selling cars, riskier, could make a bit of profit.

I'm 23, and have no job, focusing on employment, but need more income.

soolin

ChampagneIT wrote: »

I'm thinking about buying and selling stuff on gumtree/ebay etc. but would like to know what the best way to go about this is, have looked on here before and people have said you can sell sofas putting ad on the shop window by getting the sofa from gumtree.

I don't see you being able to buy and sell on gumtree walking away with a profit because, generally if nobody buys it off the original seller, then neither will you sell it on unless it's a quick bargain (you buy it within hours of the ad going up) then selling that on.

But I see it's likely you can profit off people that see street ads as they don't look on gumtree, do not realize how cheap you can get it, have thought about buying and selling cars, riskier, could make a bit of profit.

I'm 23, and have no job, focusing on employment, but need more income.

Personally I think cars or sofas might be a bit ambitious to start off, for a start- do you have storage room for them and for cars do you have a trade license for driving multiple cars via insurance etc?

It Is possible to make money but working the margins between buying and selling, but it is sometimes not quick so you will need working capital in case you get stuck long term with an item that won't sell. To explain that lets say you manage to buy 6 widgets cheaply, one sells straight away, 2 more take 2 weeks to sell another a month and the last 2 linger- you would need to have had the money up front to buy all 6 and hold them safely until you can resell.

The key to all this is research, check what is selling, look at prices, perhaps try not to get into competition with dealers who have a lot of experience plus the ready cash and a lock up to hold stock. Find something a bit different to start with , something you can move around easily without having to hire a van, make sure you have sufficient storage to hold goods.

Remember also to register with HMRC .

Kayalana99

ChampagneIT wrote: »

I'm thinking about buying and selling stuff on gumtree/ebay etc. but would like to know what the best way to go about this is, have looked on here before and people have said you can sell sofas putting ad on the shop window by getting the sofa from gumtree.

I don't see you being able to buy and sell on gumtree walking away with a profit because, generally if nobody buys it off the original seller, then neither will you sell it on unless it's a quick bargain (you buy it within hours of the ad going up) then selling that on.

But I see it's likely you can profit off people that see street ads as they don't look on gumtree, do not realize how cheap you can get it, have thought about buying and selling cars, riskier, could make a bit of profit.

I'm 23, and have no job, focusing on employment, but need more income.

I've done the eBay route, I started off selling garden things and that was a total flop, moved onto shoes and whilst it sort of worked, to many returns, loss, and people complaining about silly things and eventually moved on to what I'm selling now (which I won't state) for the past 3 years - but now that's fizzing out because of the competition (although I have another business as a wedding photographer now so it's all good)

I'd suggest, unless you have a really good solid idea to not decide to sell on eBay first - I mean you should have a product to sell before deciding to sell something, and the above cost me a lot in investment before I finally settled down in something, I was constantly buying new things (actually thinking about it their was all sorts of trial products in-between those businesses) and putting money into the business to find out what worked.

As you have a lot of time on your hands, why not start with little jobs, most leaflet companies pay around £20-£40 depending on area for 1000 leaflets posted, or offer an ironing service, or car washing.

If you drive, plenty of delivery driving jobs about (esp takeaway places) as they tend to have a high turnover of staff.

I'm sure if you put your head to it you'll find something.

Kayalana99

ChampagneIT wrote: »

But I see it's likely you can profit off people that see street ads as they don't look on gumtree, do not realize how cheap you can get it, have thought about buying and selling cars, riskier, could make a bit of profit.

If you have an interest in cars theirs a lot of money to be made in this area but I think you need the knowledge to pull it off - buying broken cars and selling for parts is supposed to be a good one but again, you need to know what you are doing.

lincroft1710

ChampagneIT wrote: »

have thought about buying and selling cars, riskier, could make a bit of profit.

And also make a big loss!

Selling cars "for profit" means you are a trader. As such if the car goes wrong within a short time because of a fault present when you sold it (whether or not you were aware), you will be liable to repair the fault. The cost of repair may well swallow all your "profit".

Don't forget you will need to register as self employed with Mr. HMRC as he wants a share of your profits.