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The Secondhand Store |
Written by Ron Maier
Sunday, 31 December 2006
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Often overlooked is the second hand store ability to produce a sensible income with a small investment and very little risk. Many people across the United States buy items extremely cheap and mark up the prices to 100% or more. The interesting thing is, people will actually buy these resold goods at such prices. In fact, it is coming into great style to wear vintage clothes or decorate with older styles. Even for those who do not seek resold goods for these reasons, the mark up still makes the items cheaper than if they were new, and though new things are very attractive, many shoppers' pocketbooks cannot support buying items new. These are reasons why secondhand sales are a stirring opportunity for the hard working entrepreneur. Resale has not always been so profitable. Secondhand stores of the past consisted only of Goodwill and Salvation Army, and often were associated to provide only for the extremely poor. Now, secondhand is not at all considered to be for the poorest social classes. Finding a secondhand treasure has become quite a fad in newer social values. People are becoming more practical in their shopping ventures, trying to really get a great deal, but they are also more accustomed to reusing products as recycling has begun to play a crucial part in every day living. If you can recycle glass, plastics, and paper, why not tables, clothes, and bowling balls. Not only have people changed socially, but retail stores have changed aesthetically. Rather than the old musky environments with disorganized clutter spread all over, newer, hipper, stores that show organized goods, well lit floors, and possess proper management and staff to keep the store fully operational. In some instances people have trouble distinguishing a secondhand store from another. Another strategy that accommodates these new secondhand shops is the focus on particular niche markets. For example, the Buffalo Exchange is a resale shop the buys and sells old clothing. The managers and staff decide what clothing is fit to be bought or sold, and generally the clothes are targeting the younger retro style crowd. As a result, these youth are pouring into these stores in several locations around the country, finding the clothes that are right for them. Cars are another niche market that is extremely popular because the mark up can be great. A smart way to approach this kind of resale is to sell cars on consignment rather than actually buying the cars before selling them. If you advertise correctly and use those sales techniques, you can reap a large cut from the final sale. In the last year of resale revenues, the numbers grew by 10%. Goodwill Industries increased their sales from $359 million to $513 million in 1995, and that was over ten years ago. Today Goodwill is bringing in a 2.65 billion dollar revenue. That should give entrepreneurs a hint. Secondhand stores can be a diamond in the rough and should not be overlooked. About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online provider of gridwalls. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com. Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com |
About The Author:
About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online provider of retail display fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.
About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online provider of retail display fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.
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