Members,

Just putting this out there for interest and comment.  Sorry to “bombard” you with Shore Catch material lately but I really respect the opinions of knowledgeable Members, and they help me with my business planning – better check with Adam about my allowable commercial posts under the sponsorship arrangement!

As previously indicated, our premises in Wangara has 122 square metres of showroom, plus associated warehouse.  Today, I lodged my application with the WA Police for a licence to deal in second-hand fishing and boating equipment.  There is no doubt that the level of proof via documentation is the most extensive that I have ever had to deal with for any application, and I feel “probed” (plus it took me two trips to get it right).

With the Police licence there is public advertising, Police checks, premises security, business plan examination, the requirement to send inventory records to Police, extensive ID requirements including witnessed photographs, periodic Police inspections and the thousands of dollars in fees.  No wonder there are very few such dealerships specifically for fishing and boating goods.

Then, there are the tax and reporting implications.  There is extensive GST law in relation to trading in second hand goods and it is a fairly complex reporting regime depending on the way in which you buy and sell the goods.  In essence there is a clear distinction between goods you buy outright and those which are taken on consignment, and this is dictated around the legal documentation that is agreed and signed.  Quite a little  “minefield” really.

My interest in this line of business is driven by:

• People like fishing and boating equipment, and there are few outlets that sell second-hand which means you can’t generally buy used gear from a shop at a reasonable price.
• When people buy goods, they like to see and feel the product and if they want it they can purchase it and take it home right away.
• A lot of people couldn’t be bothered with all of the work it takes to advertise and sell goods through Gumtree, EBay, classifieds etc.  There are all the phone calls, “tyre kickers”, inspections by people you don’t know at your home, people that don’t show up as arranged, and the list goes on.

The service that we propose it to take, store, display and advertise your goods for retail sale on a consignment only basis.  We will rarely, if ever, buy direct from the public as this is not the intent.  If we did, the price will be low (half retail at best, plus deductions for age and condition) as we assume all of the risk and holding charges for this type of transaction.  We also cannot buy without all of the seller ID information, which has to be made available to Police.

On consignment, you will set the price.  There will be a commission and this % will depend on the overall value of the goods (stuff that is cheap still takes the same amount of work as stuff that is expensive so the % point will change based on $ value – I would be interested to hear what Members think is a reasonable percentage scale?).  For this, we will do the work, have the premises to securely hold and display the goods, have licences to legally allow the transaction, have relevant insurances, advertise to an agreed platform and do all the paperwork.  We will communicate with you through the process and pay as soon as the funds are received.

You would need to set a reasonable price.  There is no value to us in holding stock that is overpriced and will not sell in a reasonable time.  We will help you with price determination, but will return the goods to you in 12 weeks if they don’t sell given best endeavours.  If there are offers on your goods below the agreed selling price we will communicate this for your approval or otherwise.

You can choose the method of sale.  If you would like to auction the item, we will run an Ebay sale with the minimum price at your “bottom line” plus commission – if you get a better price at auction then that is a bonus but remember 10-15% is added to the transaction cost.  If you want your item sold at a fixed price we will advertise on the Shore Catch web site (newly received goods would be listed each fortnight and advised on FW), have the item for sale in the showroom (on a very busy road with good on-site parking), and put it on Gumtree.  We will deal with all postage and delivery issues if required, and this is at buyer’s expense.

All of the above will be set out in a legal document for execution prior to “handover” of the goods.  We will have an “approved” business premises for this purpose and the processes in place to ensure “legal” transactions.  We will not deal in stolen goods and all “selling” customers will be subject to required identification protocol, and the inventory record has to be provided to WA Police for verification.  The goods have to be held for at least 14 days before sale so if they are stolen, don’t try to sell them through us.  Our processes will detect illegal dealings and information will be passed on, if required.

We will only deal in fishing and boating related items.  We offer a service where you can consign your goods by attending our premises, filling in the required paperwork and receive payment at your nominated price when the goods are sold.  The whole process will be communicated and we are a legitimate business.

Have a look in your shed.  Surely there is gear that you don’t need but someone else would want, and you want a bit of extra cash (to buy some new gear).  The Police licence will issue in 4 weeks and our showroom will open in 6.  We therefore are seeking expressions of interest to assemble the initial inventory so please PM me if you would like to discuss “disposal” of some of your excess gear.  As long as it is fishing and boating related, we will be interested. 

I really appreciate your support, and believe this may be a service that people want?

Mick