surplus question

so after a spending my adult life working for someone else i have decided to open/start my own business buying/selling/trading military surplus and collectibles .Im gonna start small , gun shows and such . So the question is what kind of surplus and collectibles the fine folks of CoAr15 would like to see at my table??? more gear type stuff , or more collectible type stuff .

so far its mostly ammo cans , gas masks , medals , challenge coins , a few vintage comics , and things of that nature .
im really hoping to have everything together by aprils gun show.
so please give me honest suggestions .
just to add a slight note , im gonna steer clear of clothing items as i have found the most regular folks would rather have china's knock off duds , guess they are trying to save a buck (silly them ) .
anyway thanks for the input in advance


[Beer]

oh forgot to add if anyone has some cool surplus or military collectibles just collecting dust , hit me up (pm me ) and im sure we can make a trade for something you do want .
thanks again

Keep in mind that most folks equate "surplus" items to "inexpensive" items. Anything I suggest would need to be leaning towards the inexpensive. Such as, if a say "knives/bayonets", we're not talking about $75+ items, I think you'd have a better time selling the up to $35 (maybe $50) knives and bayonets.


Just some ideas I have:
Packs, bags/duffles, entrenching tools, fire starting/heating items, sleeping bags, lighting equipment like flashlights and lanterns.

well i do hope to keep prices low , no i will no sell a 1.00 patch for 7.00 and any bayonet that cost me more than 20 bucks i dont want it as ill never be able to offer it at a reasonable price .
already have a hand full of entrenching tools with cases , canteens with pouches , but the sleeping systems are a bit on the high priced side , if i can find a deal sure , but i cant sell a sleeping bag for 100.00 bucks and walking away feeling like a gave a good deal .
anyone who has delt with me knows i want to make sure bothe parties are getting a fair deal .
after going to gun and military shows and seeing the prices , i think ill do fine as long as i can get stuff cheep so i can pass on the savings
thanks for the input for sure , by the way when you say heating items do you mean mre heaters and that kind of thing or more like hot hands ????

MRE heaters as well as the little pocket stoves that are very portable, simply to use, etc.

Ok
here's the problem
In retail (esp in the wal mart nation we have today)

price is everything. if it's the same stuff that everyone has, then price is the only consideration for people. (easily 90%+ of the population, and gun people are just as guilty or more)

so, you make your profit when you buy, because the price is set by the market.
Unless you are buying in big quantities to get a good discount, your price is going to be too high.

Imagine people coming to your store, whipping out their phone, going online to check the price of whatever you have. (and remember, shipping is always hidden, so nobody takes that into account)

You have to do something different.
Everyone has cheap POS knives from china for $10
One guy has made in america knives for $150

yeah, he probably sells 1 for every 10 the other guy sells, but he makes more money.
You have to make people come to you for specific stuff they can't get anywhere else.

JMHO as a small businessman.

BTW, retail sucks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnTRourke

Ok
here's the problem
In retail (esp in the wal mart nation we have today)

price is everything. if it's the same stuff that everyone has, then price is the only consideration for people. (easily 90%+ of the population, and gun people are just as guilty or more)

so, you make your profit when you buy, because the price is set by the market.
Unless you are buying in big quantities to get a good discount, your price is going to be too high.

Imagine people coming to your store, whipping out their phone, going online to check the price of whatever you have. (and remember, shipping is always hidden, so nobody takes that into account)

You have to do something different.
Everyone has cheap POS knives from china for $10
One guy has made in america knives for $150

yeah, he probably sells 1 for every 10 the other guy sells, but he makes more money.
You have to make people come to you for specific stuff they can't get anywhere else.

JMHO as a small businessman.

BTW, retail sucks.

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ill keep that in mind , the things im really after and have some of all ready you defiantly cant get at walmart , unless they start selling bazookas , howitzer items , powder kegs , grenades , ect , lol , but just the same i do see what you mean .
yes im sure retail sucks , but after 24 years of swinging a hammer and beating the crap out of my body working out side ,my own retail set up sounds just fine to me.[Tooth]

thank you very much for you input , i had totally over looked that whole fancy cell phone thing [Beer]

AT4's?

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Originally Posted by trlcavscout

AT4's?

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funny you should mention that , picking up one today , yet another non walmart item , lol , if you know where to get more let me know !!!!

JohnTRourke makes some very good points.
Who would your target demographic be?
I think you would be wise to carry both low dollar and higher dollar items.
Serious collectors/survivalist types don't mind paying a premium for quality items. The wannabes want the cheap stuff.
Cater to both.
There is always a market for good surplus.
Good luck with it!

This is a good place to buy mil surplus in bulk for cheap so you can resell.

http://www.govliquidation.com/index.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BPTactical

JohnTRourke makes some very good points.
Who would your target demographic be?
I think you would be wise to carry both low dollar and higher dollar items.
Serious collectors/survivalist types don't mind paying a premium for quality items. The wannabes want the cheap stuff.
Cater to both.
There is always a market for good surplus.
Good luck with it!

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im tryin to think of cheep items that are not crap .
so far for low cost items im thinkin are , challenge coins , vintage comics and paper items , war money , a few die-cast toys , shovels , canteens and the like
as far as high end items , ordnance items (inert and or deactivated ) , medals , have a few but rare surplus items that are quite high dollar for true collectors .

i just really want to stay away from knock off stuff and i dont know what my demographic would be . Hoping for a more adult crowd and also hoping to be able to off items that people will be able to find that way cool thing for them selves and at the same time still have stuff suitable for the kiddies.

so what i imagine is some one coming up with there kid and say buying them selves a gold plated coin or something like that and pickin up a steel 1943 penny for the kid .
honestly dont know if im on the right track but im gearing up to start in april just the same.
so far i this thread has got a few wheels turning , thanks fellas [Beer]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bobbyfairbanks

This is a good place to buy mil surplus in bulk for cheap so you can resell.

http://www.govliquidation.com/index.html

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Thanks , bobby !

M1 carbine stuff, I hate the Cheaperthandirt.com Knock off crap, Slings, Mags, ammo, and real butt stock mag carriers. And the German Flecktarn camo too,

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Originally Posted by Daniel_187

M1 carbine stuff, I hate the Cheaperthandirt.com Knock off crap

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yep have a little bit of ww2 carbine stuff , oh damn that reminds me , i need to put up those 30crabins in the trading post today !!!

what's your business plan say?
honestly sounds like you are working it out here on the forum (which is ok too)

what's your target market?
where are you located? Physical or just web?

what's your expected gross margin?

what's your expected salary (BTW, the answer is zero for at least the first year)

what's your expected mix?

who are you buying from?
what terms?

How are you selling?
what terms?

what's your marketing plan?
what's your advertising plan?

what's your expected gross income? and with that margin can you pay the bills? (forget salary)

how long til you mark items down?

how much tied up in inventory?

got your web site done? tested?,

Ok, I don't really expect you to answer these online, but I do think you have to think about them and make sure YOU have answers to these questions. Because it doesn't sound like it (and I could be wrong)

what does your spouse/family think about this?
Do you have at least a year, preferably two years of living money put away to live off of?

running a business is a TOUGH FUCKING THING TO DO. Running retail is worse. think 18 hours a day, 7 days a week and even then you think about stuff.

When do you change? (when the market says idea 1 isn't working, how long do you stick with it to know for sure?), what's the plan for that?

When do you throw in the towel? How much money are you willing to lose? Sucky question, but you need to answer it. Lots of people don't and lose way more than they should have because they follow it down the rathole when they should have said "I will lose X amount of money, then I'm done" and stick to it.

I hope this helps. Lots of questions I wish I had answered for myself 7 years ago, would have been cheaper to answer them on paper.

BTW, no matter how good your "plans" are, real life (and the market) has a way of telling you that you are wrong. (DAMHIK)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnTRourke

what's your business plan say?
honestly sounds like you are working it out here on the forum (which is ok too)

what's your target market?
where are you located? Physical or just web?

what's your expected gross margin?

what's your expected salary (BTW, the answer is zero for at least the first year)

what's your expected mix?

who are you buying from?
what terms?

How are you selling?
what terms?

what's your marketing plan?
what's your advertising plan?

what's your expected gross income? and with that margin can you pay the bills? (forget salary)

how long til you mark items down?

how much tied up in inventory?

got your web site done? tested?,

Ok, I don't really expect you to answer these online, but I do think you have to think about them and make sure YOU have answers to these questions. Because it doesn't sound like it (and I could be wrong)

what does your spouse/family think about this?
Do you have at least a year, preferably two years of living money put away to live off of?

running a business is a TOUGH FUCKING THING TO DO. Running retail is worse. think 18 hours a day, 7 days a week and even then you think about stuff.

When do you change? (when the market says idea 1 isn't working, how long do you stick with it to know for sure?), what's the plan for that?

When do you throw in the towel? How much money are you willing to lose? Sucky question, but you need to answer it. Lots of people don't and lose way more than they should have because they follow it down the rathole when they should have said "I will lose X amount of money, then I'm done" and stick to it.

I hope this helps. Lots of questions I wish I had answered for myself 7 years ago, would have been cheaper to answer them on paper.

BTW, no matter how good your "plans" are, real life (and the market) has a way of telling you that you are wrong. (DAMHIK)

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no i will not answer all that online , but damn man that is a lot to think about .Maybe i should find someone who owns a small business and buy them a coffee and pick there brain a little.
honestly i was just tryin to figure what to carry , i do know that if i only carry things im into this idea will fail .

thanks for the list of things to sort out , it really dose help and i do appreciate it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnTRourke

Ok

Imagine people coming to your store, whipping out their phone, going online to check the price of whatever you have. (and remember, shipping is always hidden or FREE, so nobody takes that into account)

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Fixed it for you
and yes, I am one of those guys that will walk into your shop and whip out my phone and then ask you if you price match.

Best buy manager at 104th hates me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alxone

no i will not answer all that online , but damn man that is a lot to think about .Maybe i should find someone who owns a small business and buy them a coffee and pick there brain a little.
honestly i was just tryin to figure what to carry , i do know that if i only carry things im into this idea will fail .

thanks for the list of things to sort out , it really dose help and i do appreciate it

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Lots of good questions you should figure out before you start. It's easy to find a couple items for $50 and sell for $70 but to translate that into a viable business that will provide income over the years?

I'm all for someone following their dream and best of luck to you. At the same time, check out online resources for starting a business or go to the library and read up on business accounting, marketing, inventory and related topics.

If you're doing the same thing everyone else is doing how do you compete? Price or quality. Low price means you need the best logistics and you're competing against the Wal-Mart's and online retailers who can afford to buy in bulk at $250,000 a pop or something. Quality, not everyone is willing to pay for quality and sometimes can't afford it so you may have slower sales.

If you're doing something different, what's to keep someone else from doing the same thing and taking away your customers?

Like I said, more power to you and don't want to steal your dream but spend sometime figuring out the things JohnTRouke mentions.

[Beer]

Another thing to consider is that about 80% of your sales will come from about 20% of your customer base. So who is that cutomer base? Who you sell to is very important. Check with infousa. They sell lists of customers to meet your criteria. This has been very helpful in my business ( auto repair) in finding clients that meet my criteria.
Good luck.

JohnTRourke knows what he is talking about. Both posts are spot on.

$0.50 is enough to send someone out the door to find it cheaper. Time and gas are seldom figured into the buying motivation. Mil-surp is a "nice to have" item not a "need to have".

I can think of three Army surplus shops along the front range. Two have moved to more current outdoor gear. One is still mil-surp but I don't know how well they are doing.

Is this going to be a B&M store as well as internet sales? Expect people to waste your time trying to get info so they can run to the web and buy it cheaper.

Have you considered overhead? Sales tax. Payroll. Payroll tax. Lease. CAM fees. Insurance. Shelving. Displays. Signage. Advertising. Get the picture?

With the recent ammo shortages, reloading has become popular. Once fired brass might be an option for local sales.

Best of luck. [Viking]