When was the last time you purchased a used product? If you answered “never” to this question, then you might be surprised to find that you’re actually in a minority. There are actually a huge number of people that purchase used and second-hand goods. This is a great way to save money and practice frugality, hence why so many entrepreneurs and first-time business owners enjoy starting up some kind of refurbishing or used goods business.
But does it still make sense to try and get into the business of buying, refurbishing and selling? And what kinds of products does this business model work for? In this article, we’ll be talking about all of those factors to help you decide if it’s worth your time and investment to try and break into this type of industry.
You can cover a surprisingly large audience
One of the greatest things about this type of business is that it works in a variety of scenarios. For example, you can refurbish old computers and salvage components to create your own fully-built systems and sell them on your own website or a marketplace. Alternatively, you can get into the business of refurbishing furniture to resell as restored antiques. You can even try to buy and sell used cars, starting up your own dealership and working with customers to help them finance a vehicle.
There are countless options when it comes to the business of buying, refurbishing and selling. This is what makes it such a great business opportunity–because there are always options available to you. You can also use whatever expertise or knowledge you currently have to improve the overall service that you provide. For example, if you’ve worked as a computer technician then you’ll have plenty of knowledge regarding the refurbishment of computers. You can use this knowledge to your advantage to help you set up a reputable and trustworthy refurbishment business.
You might need some specialists to help you in certain cases
Depending on the type of thing you’re buying and refurbishing, you might need some special assistance from specialists to help you out. A great example of this would be the buying and selling of used cars. You’ll need to communicate with an insured ASAP insurance agency to cover your vehicles that will be sold to your customers. With insurance, it offers your customers more peace of mind and will help draw in more buyers. It also helps with your reputation and ensures that people see your business as a trustworthy one that is worth their money.
Another example would be the refurbishing of antiques or other timeless pieces. This will require a lot of knowledge about specific products, some of which are now extremely difficult to find or acquire. In most cases, hiring a freelancer is usually enough, but you might want to consider investing a bit more money into hiring a full-time specialist to help you. Ideally, you’ll want to be the specialist yourself, such as a technology expert that is refurbishing computers and other handheld devices. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible depending on the type of business you want to run and if you want to capitalize on a niche.
You’re going to need to scale your operation at some point
One of the issues with a business like this is that you’ll eventually reach an upper limit of the number of jobs you can do alone. For instance, if you’re the only person that is actually rebuilding computers and putting together components for resale, then you’re limited by the number of projects you can personally take on. Unlike many jobs, for you to scale this operation you need to hire people who are like-minded and also possess the same skills as you. That’s a difficult thing to do especially if it’s a niche.
This is why you need to consider training your staff or using different methods in order to scale up your operation. For example, something like refurbishing electronics might be easier to find employees for, but something like restoring antiques will often require you to teach your employees. As a result, you need to think carefully about your goals for your business and how you want to scale up your operations in the future.
The business of buying, refurbishing and selling can feel great because you’re saving the planet by turning unwanted products into something useful. However, growing a business does have its challenges and you need to be passionate about your subject if you want to take it far.
