Muscling in with the big boys

[5129frederick]

Browsing at various items up for sale from private sellers and their corrresponding feedback, it would appear to me that there are still several struggling entrepreneurs whose feedback have yet to reach the pschyological feel feel good 1000.  Many of us are struggling to reach the lower hundreds unless we run a shop.  Several of us just don't have the collateral to expand.  Interest rates being offered by building societies on £100.00 are nothing short of an insult, and with banks it is virtually non-existant.  Bank managers are unprepared to take a chance on those with the entrepreneur spirit even though the agree with you when they see a breakdown of you sales/profits properly set out with auction receipts etc.  (I got eight minutes of my manager's time "My hands are tied" was the diplomatic reply - lol).  Providing full receipts and terms and conditions are set out, a syndicate of ten colleagues each putting £100.00 into a kitty with a guarantee of at least a 10% return stake after twelve months cannot possibly fail.  One person should be allotted responsibility on the auction bids, and two people should agree at what price each item goes up for.  On cheaper items a 200% mark-up profit margin would be achievable.  On more expensive items a mark-up profit of between 80% and  120% would be reasonable.  Unless you can more or less guarantee the mark-up profit percentages set out above, it would not be worth bidding.  Colleagues with specialist knowledge should be available at short notice for advice if advanced catalogues are available.  Ex plant hire items for example.

I'm no expert - Lord knows, I've bought stuff that's ended up in a charity shop before now, but it's all part of a game. 

Ten people taking a chance on £100.00 each - that's NOT a king's ransom, and you'd be in a different league.  You'd be playing with the big boys.  Antbody tried that tactic?

[spawnjohnuk]

are you asking for a ten percent share in your business ?

[5129frederick]

Not me, I'd want it 100% for myself!   No, this was just as an aside as to how, if you can get nine colleagues or close members of your family to chip in, you being the tenth member, it is quite possible to get the ball rolling.  Before I retired, I ran two syndicates at work.  One, a lottery syndicate and two, a Premium Bond syndicate, limited to ten peeople, where everybody ended up with a couple of hundred pounds worth of Premium Bonds in their own name after eleven months.  In this case though, you're far better keeping it in the family providing all members chip in at the same month.  This, I think, is how the Co-op started off.  From little acorns grow mighty oaks although a little compost doesn't do any harm in the early years.  At the end of the year, if you haven't managed to turn that £1000.00 into £1,100.00 you're in the wrong business!  Get outsider involved, and you're running an official business and man, for £1000.00 it wouldn't be worth it!  Like stocks and shares, there must be official companies out there running this sort of thing.