Bike business

 Feeling kind of happy.

For those who don't know, after years and years of faffing with bikes,
and old bikes in particular, I realised that (a) I could probably make
some kind of living out of them and (b) I knew rather more about them
than most, though obviously not as much as some.

(b) leads to (a), I suppose.

Anyway, late in 2010 I formed a limited company to deal in classic
Japanese spares, and in January this year we started trading with a
paid-up capital of £100 sterling. Say $1600. With absolutely every
expense paid, except the corporate tax (we file our first accounts at
the end of the year), we now have rather more than a hundred times that
amount sitting in the bank. Not bad for a business that is run entirely
in my spare time, because I still have the 'day job'.

The company is being run as an eBay business, but in the last couple of
months I've had customers starting to beat a path to my door and place
orders for this and that, and the next stage is to set up a proper
website.

And the company is branching out into having components restored.
There's a good chromer and stove enameller a mile away and after an
experimental batch of parts, which he did nicely. I'm shovelling more
stuff his way.

Furthermore, I've been asked if I can supply a containerload of Japanese
classics to Spain, where th classic restoration business is thriving,
but they don't actually have many bikes to restore because under the
Franco regime, importing Japanese bikes above about moped or 125 size
was next to impossible.

It's odd how things turn out, sometimes.

--
BMW K1100LT  Ducati 750SS  Kawasaki GPz750  Honda CB400F  
Triumph Street Triple  Suzuki Freewind, TS250ERx2, GN250.
So many bikes, so little garage space....
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com

 On Sep 7, 6:35 am, totallydeadmail...@yahoo.co.uk (The Older
Gentleman) wrote:

That's great.  I've wondered if it would be possible to make money on
e-bay based businesses.  People who buy there tend to be frugal and by
the time you pay e-bay, paypal, and shippers it doesn't seem to leave
a lot of room for profits.

Selling something rare like vintage parts may be the way to go if you
can get ahold of the parts inexpensively and know of good sites where
such people gather.  I've always done best selling my old stuff
directly to newsgroups of people who ride the same model.

 

Not surprised. I'm *utterly* legit. Limited company, accountant, all
paperwork, etc. It's the only way to do it.


--
BMW K1100LT  Ducati 750SS  Triumph Street Triple  Honda CB400F
Suzuki TS250  Suzuki GN250  chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom
Nothing damages a machine more than an ignoramus with a manual, a
can-do attitude and a set of cheap tools

 

You scenic cynic.


--
BMW K1100LT  Ducati 750SS  Triumph Street Triple  Honda CB400F
Suzuki TS250  Suzuki GN250  chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom
Nothing damages a machine more than an ignoramus with a manual, a
can-do attitude and a set of cheap tools

 

This can be very true. Well, the buyer pays for shipping in most (but
not all) cases.

The thing about classic bike parts is that their rarity, and the number
of people seeking the, means prices can be *very* high, as long as you
know what you're selling, and give a scrupulous description.

As a rough rule of thumb, the profit margin is 200% before expenses.
Take off cost of collection of the bits, tools, all internet and
paperwork costs, PayPal and eBay's own fees, and basically every single
other overhead you can think of (except corporation tax) and it falls to
100%. But that' still not shabby.




--
BMW K1100LT  Ducati 750SS  Triumph Street Triple  Honda CB400F
Suzuki TS250  Suzuki GN250  chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom
Nothing damages a machine more than an ignoramus with a manual, a
can-do attitude and a set of cheap tools