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Offer Discount Goods For Resale

If you can obtain goods from an especially low-cost source, you can discount them from the normal suggested retail selling price and possibly find a market. Some discount-selling operations are set up to take advantage of a short-term opportunity, (e.g. truckload of freight damaged goods) others may be operated as long-term businesses, when there are ongoing reliable sources of supply.

Some Examples

  1. A retail store buys time-expired, bankruptcy, production over-run and manufacturer's clearance stocks and then resells the items at discount prices to consumers.

  2. An enterprising woman buys Christmas cards that individuals and companies have not used, repackages them and resells them at a discount.

  3. A common practice is to source products manufactured in developing countries where material and labour costs may be lower...

How To Do It

  1. Decide what type of goods or services you want to market at a discount, and determine whether there is a market for them.

  2. Locate sources of supply which will sell to you at an extremely low price. These may include: bankrupt companies; manufacturers with seconds; companies with custom orders that have not been sold; firms with an oversupply of goods they cannot sell; companies with out-of-season leftovers; or companies in need of immediate cash.

  3. To assist you in locating these sources of supply, contact: sales agents; discount operators in other non-competitive markets; bankers and receivers; trade association staff members; accountants; distributors; or marketing consultants.

  4. Join a purchasing group that has been set up to buy goods at a discount.

  5. Make sure you have an adequate source of supply before you start selling.

  6. Talk to potential customers to make sure there is a market for the items you want to sell at a discount.

Key Questions

Where can I find a low-cost source of supplies that I could buy and resell at discount prices?

If I am setting up a long-term operation, is my source of supply reliable and ongoing?

Is there a market for the items I plan to offer at a discount?

Do I have a scheme for making these goods available for sale?


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