AIBU to ask your opinions on a potential business idea part 2

[rebeccachoc]

I really hope this and my other post are allowed, even though I'm being a bit cheeky I just wanted to have the opinions of mums, especially stay at home mums, using the vote options.

So I'm thinking of starting a business or 2 and these are more aimed at mums/SAHMs. So I'll post one here and one on another post so I get 2 clear votes if they are good ideas or not.

So this is less a professional business idea and more a way to get a bit of extra spending money to SAHMs while making people happy.

So I collect different things as I'm sure most people do to a greater or lesser extent but a lot of the time I find stuff on eBay, Gumtree etc that is collection only and not financially viable for me to drive the other end of the country for. My plan is to get a network of SAHMs (or anyone with spare time really) that would collect stuff locally to them, box the items up, post them off to however bought it and get paid for your materials and your time. So very rough figures, say you collect something like a coin, you get money to cover the cost of the postage, the packaging and £10 for your time. If it's a bigger thing you need to collect like a pile of DVDs that will take longer to pack you'll get £15+ etc. If something is very rare and profitable to the buyer then there is no limit to how much you would get paid for your time in my mind but this is just first musings at the mo.

I hope to do this as a trust thing, just a network of friends that I can call upon so you get a bit of spending money and I get something nice for my collection (or a friend of a friend would want something collecting). And doing it in the way of friends helping friends it will be just thank you money rather than wages so not taxable but I'll get full legal advice before starting this.

I'd just like to know if anyone would be interested in doing the collecting as a vague first idea before I take the idea any further.

Any views/votes greatly received.
YABU No I wouldn't be interested for whatever reason
YANBU I'd consider it for the extra bit of me money

Thank you all in advance

Ok so my opinion is I can't see it being a great business idea to be honest.

I don't see where the 'business' aspect of this is. You are just looking for people in areas too far away from you to be available to collect & post on so basically a courier. Can't you just contact couriers local to that area & ask if they will do a collection & packaging service? How would you cover the cost of reimbursing them for the postage & for the £10 or whatever token payment? Say on average postage would be £3, you're looking at £13 extra at least on every item you buy.

I also don't think you'd get away with it being 'friends doing you a favour' if it did become a working model, because you would be employing or contracting those people, so either way they would be earning money & would have to eventually pay tax on it. It's not thank you money, they're not doing you a favour, they are doing it to earn money.

Sorry if it's not what you wanted to hear, but I can't see how it would work.

Thank you for your reply Middle123, please don't apologize for being honest, that's what I needed.

As I said this isn't a business as such really but couldn't think of a better word.

So to try and explain better, say I want a coin that's 100 miles away that costs £50 which is a total bargain but it's collection only. I'd happily pay a lot more to get the coin because it's rare but I don't want to pay more than £100 in total as then it's too expensive. My options are then:

1. Collect it myself for £50 fuel making the total cost £100.
2. Pay a local courier to collect and deliver to me £45, making the total cost £95.
3. Pay someone like a SAHM £40 to collect and post it to me, making the total cost £90.

So I was thinking I'd prefer to pay someone nice a bit of spending money and maybe save myself a few quid while still staying within my total budget for the item, rather than going through a courier.

Obviously I'd be very clear on the legality of it before starting, giving someone money as thank you rather than wages. But basically the overall idea is if I've got to pay to get it to me I'd prefer to give the money to someone who could use the money rather than a big courier business.

Hopefully that makes more sense!

There is no way HMRC will say “oh yeah, that’s just a thank you gift, don’t worry about tax”

If I want something collection-only that badly, then I’ll pay a courier to collect it. A courier who will be insured, handle it properly, provide tracking...

What are you going to do, the first time someone says, “she seemed really friendly and kind, but I never got my Xbox, the buyer says I can’t have my money back, and the collector has deleted her profile?”

This isn’t a business idea.

I just can't see it working, because most collect only stuff is because it is too unwieldy to post, so furniture, breakables etc. Very few of the collect things are easily postable.

Also, if it is eg a teapot, collectable, cost £300. Gets broken in the post, who pays?

I think you are overestimating

1. the quantity of valuable things that are being sold and only collectable
2. how much of a bargain they are. I think many things go for a market price, so people are not willing to add loads to the cost.
3. the amount people will pay for someone to collect and post. Bearing in mind that signed for postage is something like £7, plus £10 thank you money etc, that is a lot on top of the value of something that cost £50

Sorry, pressed too soon! It isn’t a business idea. It’s a cut price courier service with no enforceable standards, and no protection.

I do like the idea of friends helping friends. I’m in some hobby Facebook groups where this would happen informally. Even with the “courier” paying and being paid back. Genuinely friends helping each other.

And in your example... you have to think about why the seller chose collection only. £40 to the unofficial courier? I expect the seller would have posted afterall for £20. Often, for collectibles, it’s not to avoid the hassle of the post office, but because they want you to buy only having seen and approved. What happens if you disagree on “very good condition”?

How would you market the business idea to people? How would you find these people in all these areas?

You know what I would do instead? If I saw something in an area, I’d find a Facebook group in that area, maybe a business group or related to the hobby/collectible & ask in the group if somebody would be willing to collect & post to you. Obviously you’d have to reimburse the cost of postage & packaging, maybe even offer a little extra as a thank you but I don’t think it would ever be viable as a business. The margins just aren’t there & there are so many risks to think about. As others mentioned, what happens if it arrives & it’s not actually as good quality as the description stated? What happens if the item breaks in transit?

Also, what about the items where sellers insist on cash on collection? You couldn’t expect the person collecting to pay the money & then be reimbursed but then equally you’d be risking it if you transferred the money to them & they just did a runner with your money.

Honestly just too many risks & I can’t see there would be much money in it.

If I was getting a £50 coin, I'd want it to be in the most secure way for the finance possible.
I'd rather spend that extra £10 to drive up and collect it myself, than trust someone else to collect it, parcel it up and deliver it to the Post and the post not lose it.

And you'd have to think what happens when it isn't what the recipient wants or it is broken in transit, or disappears somewhere on the line.

Thank you all so much for your thoughts. It does seem it is a non starter for various reasons you have come up with. I do know the stuff is out there and the cost is worth it I just got carried away with the idea when it's not really viable, so I'll just stick to people I know and my car in future.

Thank you all again ☺️

@rebeccachoc

Thank you all so much for your thoughts. It does seem it is a non starter for various reasons you have come up with. I do know the stuff is out there and the cost is worth it I just got carried away with the idea when it's not really viable, so I'll just stick to people I know and my car in future.

Thank you all again ☺️

It doesn’t have to be your own car - if you’re thinking of this in business terms (I’ve just commented on your other thread so I see where this question has come from) you have to factor in your time - a day in the car is a day away from earning money, which is obviously the aim. So you’d be better off paying cheap courier fees to get the items to you, insured and tracked, during time that you can be using for another revenue-raising activity. If you’re serious about it you have to be focussed and make sure you are maximising every minute you devote to the business, or your profits will never be enough to earn you a living.

By paying extra for the courier, you would have insurance against damage/lost items etc. Would you offer that?