DealHunter - Sources & Delivers goods in NI to ROI

MonsterMob

Check this crowd out, they source and deliver goods from Northern Ireland and deliver them down south. Saves all the hassle of driving up and finding the best deal for teles, clothes etc...

MM

Basq

Hmmm...

On the flyer alone - no prices mentioned (I assume you get a quote with the product you want - taking into account weight and all. But a sample price would have been nice), an @ireland.com e-mail address and mobile number as primary contact?

3 things I'd be particularly weary about... but welcome to hear different opinions!

banchang

My Sainsburys shopping list ?

brightkane

i think i heard of this on some of the radio stations a while back, think its basically man with van who gos up and buys on your behalf and delivers to u.

banchang

So not a personal shopper who can select a nice pair of Vans for me in the Outlet ?

(I'm on form today)

chillywilly

MonsterMob wrote: »

Check this crowd out, they source and deliver goods from Northern Ireland and deliver them down south. Saves all the hassle of driving up and finding the best deal for teles, clothes etc...

MM

just out of interest, where did you hear about this?

brndonnie

Good post monstermob, thanks. I have just got a Nintendo DS from this guy. Got Brain Training 1 & 2, an essentials pack and the console for €150. Console on its own is 150 in town. He charged me €20 to get it and deliver and gave me all the receipts. Asked him about delivering other stuff and it all depends on size but a big TV would be €40 to Dublin and so would a trolley from IKEA without even going up there.
It is a young fella running it on his own so that explained the mobile and email but he seemed fairly genuine.

sweetie

brndonnie wrote: »

Good post monstermob, thanks. I have just got a Nintendo DS from this guy. Got Brain Training 1 & 2, an essentials pack and the console for €150. Console on its own is 150 in town. He charged me €20 to get it and deliver and gave me all the receipts. Asked him about delivering other stuff and it all depends on size but a big TV would be €40 to Dublin and so would a trolley from IKEA without even going up there.
It is a young fella running it on his own so that explained the mobile and email but he seemed fairly genuine.

cash on delivery I presume?

the groutch

what are the odds that the OP is this guy advertising his own business?

Soarer

the groutch wrote: »

what are the odds that the OP is this guy advertising his own business?

Fair play to him if it is. There's an opening in the market, and he's trying to fill it.

If he's based north of the border, I'd like to suggest another business opportunity to him. He should allow people to get electronics and stuff from the likes of Play delivered to his place of business, and then deliver them on to the customer for a small fee.
I reckon he'd make an absolute killing on that.

MonsterMob

the groutch wrote: »

what are the odds that the OP is this guy advertising his own business?

Sorry I didn't get back sooner. Don't worry it's not my own business but I do know the guy and he's 100% genuine.

Jimbo

MonsterMob wrote: »

Sorry I didn't get back sooner. Don't worry it's not my own business but I do know the guy and he's 100% genuine.

Is it this guy?:) \/

brndonnie wrote: »

Good post monstermob, thanks. I have just got a Nintendo DS from this guy. Got Brain Training 1 & 2, an essentials pack and the console for €150. Console on its own is 150 in town. He charged me €20 to get it and deliver and gave me all the receipts. Asked him about delivering other stuff and it all depends on size but a big TV would be €40 to Dublin and so would a trolley from IKEA without even going up there.
It is a young fella running it on his own so that explained the mobile and email but he seemed fairly genuine.

_Whimsical_

Or possibly this guy from the "Shopping online and can't get delivery to Ireland?" sticky?

dealhunter wrote: »

I know of a service similar to this between the Northern Irl and the Republic. Had a monthly shop from Sainsburys delivered for €20 to Dublin saved a packet. Then used the service to get a TV delivered for €40 and saved €250 on the same TV in power city!!!

He has just 3 posts all on the above subject.He makes no reference to it being his company but offers to PM details of it.Maybe just coincidental choice of nick but I doubt it.

Would be a great idea but sounds a little dodgy.

I'd be happily open to being wrong of course.

witnessmenow

lads if i stuck up a bargain alert saying there is some fella down the docks in galway selling crack for half price, or there is a hooker for half nothing im pretty sure the thread would be locked due to both these things being illegal, some guy importing stuff from the north for you is also illegal, (correct me if im wrong but)there is free movement of goods in EU countries if they are for personal use, but you must pay tax otherwise. Its hard to argue that a fella getting stuff from the north for you is personal use

Fighting Irish

you guys bitch that sh1t is too expensive down here, then when some guy offers you a better price you bitch

Fighting Irish

where can i look up the price of archos mp3 players (archos 605) up the north?

dealhunter

Mystery over. The flyer posted by MonsterMob is actually the service I have been offering now since before Christmas. Next to clear up some other unanswered questions that have been raised by this forum.

Fighting Irish - Thank you. It is amazing how we as a nation bitch and moan about things and don't act. There are so many cycnics that shoot down anything that might actually help them.

witnessmenow - I will correct you but you are partly right. Firstly I "courier" goods from Northern Ireland (part of the EU) to normal retail customers in the south. I do not courier goods that are subject to cutoms and excise duties and restrictions such as Alcohol/Tobacco and motor fuel. As every item I bring down is for personal use and is NOT being resold by me the goods are NOT subject to any taxes. If you need further evidence of the legality I am happy to refer you a customer yesterday who happened to be a Superintendent in Store Street. Otherwise the following link might help http://www.revenue.ie/en/customs/leaflets/pn1878.html

Chilly - You have excellent powers of deduction. Maybe it was the handle "DealHunter" that gave it away...?

Jimbo78 - No, not me, just another satisfied customer.

MonsterMob - Thanks for the vote of confidence and the post.

Soarer - Im based in Dublin at the moment but I am looking at renting space up North to be able to take deliveries from the PLAY's etc of this world. Big opportunity for savings if this is possible. Will keep the forum posted.

the groutch - 0%

sweetie - No not always. We discuss payments terms with each individual customer. In this instance I collected the money at 7am of brndonnie on my way up North and had the DS delivered to him by lunchtime

brndonnie - thankyou for your custom. I hope you are enjoying the DS.

chillywilly - there are a number of places where you might have heard about this. Possibly from radio interviews on Spin 103.8 and LMFM. I also have been handing out flyers at the weekends in IKEA and at the traffic lights coming into Newry. In fact I was there this morning and have possibly picked-up pneumonia in the rain. I have been interviewed by two newspapers about the service. One of these being a tabloid daily the other a Sunday broadsheet about the business. I am hoping that they both will publish a piece but will keep this forum posted on the success of this. Finally the viral qualities of email may have spread the flyer wide and farand it may have reached you that way.

banchang - I sure could pick up those VANS for you but you would need to give me an idea of style, colour, size you are looking for.

brightkane - As I said above I was on Spin 103.8 and LMFM about this.

banchang - Very common request. You give us your shopping list and we go up and do it for you. As easy as that.

basquille - Your assumption is right, delivery fee is based upon weight/volume. I am sorry about the mobile phone number and the email address but as a start-up my focus is keeping the costs low for both me and the customers.
With regards to the sample price I appreciate the constructive feedback. I did not wish to put prices on the flyer because the price is so dependent on the amount of goods being ordered, where in IRL they are being delivered and how quickly you want them. But indicative pricing to deliver to Dublin would be as follows
€20-25 - For grocery shops, electronic items such as MP3's, DVD players, games consoles, etc
€40-50 - For large (42"+) TV's, dishwashers, cookers, other large appliances, furniture, one trolley of flat pack from IKEA

These are just prices to Dublin and we do deliver countrywide so it does depend. In addition all the money we save for you by doing the "shopping around" goes to you. The receipt is yours and we do not sell on the goods to you and we take no commission or surcharges. It is just the delivery fee.

To the Forum generally there is never a good time to start a business and this is especially true in the current environment. I thank the like of MonsterMob (even if he already knows me) for posting my flyer to the forum as no business can survive if it has no customers. Like many of you I have a mortgage to pay and working my ass off with this business is the only income I have. I am not in it to rip anyone off or make a fast buck as I value my reputation more than that. For the cynics all I can say is try my service you may be surprised that someone in Ireland actually offers something called customer service. Thanks.

the groutch

tiem to lock this thread imo, this site isnt for companies to advertise themselves

Iago

the groutch wrote: »

tiem to lock this thread imo, this site isnt for companies to advertise themselves

I disagree. A poster put up a flyer for a service he felt would be useful, other posters replied with questions or experience reports and then the business owner posted some clarifications and responses to questions asked.

Exactly what the site needs.

the groutch

so if I put up a leaflet for one for one of those hotel "auctions", or one of the clothing "charities" it's okay then?

Iago

the groutch wrote: »

so if I put up a leaflet for one for one of those hotel "auctions", or one of the clothing "charities" it's okay then?

if you feel it's a bargain and don't personally benefit from it, then why not?

€40 to save me travelling up north, queing for what I want and coming back down is a bargain to me. It would cost me that much in petrol, never mind my time.

witnessmenow

These goods cannot be for commercial purposes. They must be for your own use. If you intend to sell or accept any kind of payment for the goods you bring in, this is classified as commercial use.

You proved my point with your own link

HonalD

witnessmenow wrote: »

You proved my point with your own link

I'm no legal eagle but there is plenty of wriggle room on this one. The poster said he/she couriers the products so "he/she" does not bring them in (in a personal capacity), however, I'd welcome being corrected!:)

witnessmenow

Ok lets put it this way you ask dealhunter(DH from now on) to get you a PS3 up the north.

DH goes into argos and buys the the PS3 for €X, he now legal owns the PS3.

DH brings it back down to you and says here's the receipt for the PS3 and you pay him €X for it (lets even forget about the courier charge)

DH has now technically sold you the PS3. Which clearly goes against what I quoted from the revenue.ie link

The only way i can see a way around it from a legal standpoint is if you ring argos and pay for the PS3 and all he does is collect it.

@Dealhunter re: Superintendent - Just because he did does not make it legal, believe it or not cops do illegal things too. I knew a girl a few year ago who's father was a Garda, at the age of 17 she had a age card with her name/picture saying she was 18.

byte

He gets paid the money first, so when he's buying it, he's not paying for it with his own money, but the customer's. So he never really owns it.

Bluetonic

the groutch wrote: »

tiem to lock this thread imo, this site isnt for companies to advertise themselves

No different than many other threads which pop up from time to time, Richer Sounds etc..,

dealhunter

The service works on the premise exactly like "byte" says. We have to take payment from the customer at the outset. Otherwise they could pull a fast one and l leave me holding the goods. By taking payment at the outset the ownership of the item is always vested in the customer. At no point in the transaction do I attain legal interest in the goods. My solicitor has assured me that the transaction structured in this way is all above board.

witnessmenow

If your solicitor says its legal then who am i to argue. Good luck with the bussiness.

@Bluetonic: Richer Sounds pay boards money to advertise here and for their commercial intereaction thread, not really the same thing.

Valentia

witnessmenow wrote: »

If your solicitor says its legal then who am i to argue. Good luck with the bussiness.

@Bluetonic: Richer Sounds pay boards money to advertise here and for their commercial intereaction thread, not really the same thing.

Very much the same actually. Richer started here just like this and eventually took an interaction forum. Sounds like a brilliant idea to me and a BARGAIN. Good luck with it!

signman12

sounds like a great idea, good luck to you dealhunter

321654

Excellent idea. I have a few things i want to get but dont have the time to go up. i'll be in touch.

byte

You'll have to get yourself better publicity nationwide (like Donegal ) so the service can be cheaper and more frequent.

Best of luck with your venture, and the NI office is a promising idea.

_Whimsical_

dealhunter wrote: »

Chilly - You have excellent powers of deduction. Maybe it was the handle "DealHunter" that gave it away...?

Yes thank you Dealhunter.It was the nick...as I mentioned in my post.

I think it's a pity you initially chose deceptive means to introduce your service in the "Shopping online but can't get delivery to Ireland?"thread.I'm sure you understand that consumers who hand over money to someone in advance of recieving goods deserve to know who they are dealing with and if favourable reviews of that business are genuine.That was the vein in which I wrote my first post.Not everyone wants to bitch about or twart genuine initiative.

If you are the real deal I wish you the very best of luck in your endeavours.It's a great idea for a service and it's one I'd like to use if I was confident in it.

the groutch

dealhunter wrote: »

The service works on the premise exactly like "byte" says. We have to take payment from the customer at the outset. Otherwise they could pull a fast one and l leave me holding the goods. By taking payment at the outset the ownership of the item is always vested in the customer. At no point in the transaction do I attain legal interest in the goods. My solicitor has assured me that the transaction structured in this way is all above board.

It would also be very easy for the person buying the goods to take payment off several people and then disappear, especially when all they provide is a mobile number and an email address

dealhunter

the groutch - Obviously that could happen but not with me. I am happy to provide references and any other details to comfort the customer. Im not interested in disappearing anywhere I want this to be a sustainable venture but it is just starting up.

chilly - very much the real deal. The post in the other forum was one of my first posts ever on boards so just wished to try and put the idea out. I never intended to deceive as anyone who contacted me I have always been upfront straight away.

byte - I would love to be in a position to advertise nationally but just dont have the cash to do so at the moment.

suppafly

Sounds like a great idea alright. I'll keep my eye out for stuff.

indicative pricing to deliver to Dublin would be as follows
€20-25 - For grocery shops, electronic items such as MP3's, DVD players, games consoles, etc

€40-50 - For large (42"+) TV's, dishwashers, cookers, other large appliances, furniture, one trolley of flat pack from IKEA

Using the same estimate on the above, how much would delivery be to Cork City?

Bluetonic

witnessmenow wrote: »

@Bluetonic: Richer Sounds pay boards money to advertise here and for their commercial intereaction thread, not really the same thing.

How do you think they started their commercial interaction?

Get the bee out of your bonnet.

the groutch

dealhunter, a good idea is to register for vat (even if you're not gonna earn the €32,500 a year that makes it necessary), so that you can put that on your flyer, it makes a huge difference when trying to drum up business

Bluetonic

Buying a domain name for a few quid and getting your email away from @ireland.com can only be a good thing.

AlmightyCushion

Bluetonic wrote: »

Buying a domain name for a few quid and getting your email away from @ireland.com can only be a good thing.

What he said. It will make you look that little bit more reputable.

mirror mirror

well done,good idea hope you do well...........

_Whimsical_

Maybe in the short term ebay could provide you with an online customer interface and a platform to explain and market your service. Lots of good mail forwarding services have started out like this eg globalconnections.An example of one of these services presently on ebay is :http://cgi.ebay.ie/UK-Mail-Package-Parcel-Forwarding-Worldwide-mar-e-sol_W0QQitemZ350153656669QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item350153656669&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
Usually those businesses work by selling a ticket for the services via ebay for a small sum.Then in exchange for their payment you send them your contact details and let them inform you of what they need.You arrange full payment for your service and the item they want at this point.

Working via ebay allows customers to leave you feedback which would probably be valuable for someone such as yourself who will be heavily reliant on reputation to survive.Also alot more people might be more comfortable paying via paypal than providing cash up front.It's also an easier service to publicise online and you could add details of it to your leaflet.

Just a thought!

The VAT number is a good idea. That's something I'd probably look for on a flier such as yours.

butts

The problem with registering for VAT is that it will put his prices up by 21.5% for individuals (as oppose to registered businesses), unless you are expecting him to absorb the extra cost.

the groutch

surely tho there are a whole lot of expenses he could claim vat back on?

butts

Depends on the nature of the business. eg I would imagine a window cleaner grossing less than 32,500 would be better off not registering for VAT. On the other hand, if you are buying in a lot stuff to sell on then registering for VAT would make sense because you will be paying VAT on the stuff you are purchasing for resale anyway.

the groutch

it seems the main cost of running such a service is petrol, so if he can claim vat back on that

butts

True, but there are also the accounting implications to consider. It suits some people much better to be a sole trader and not registered for VAT. In Dealhunter's case, you could only say for certain if you knew all the specifics of the business, but it's certainly something he should think about - in the last couple of posts I was really just saying that it's not necessarily a black & white decision.

the groutch

agree with that, unless you've run your own business, you can never know half of the admin end of it

dealhunter

Thanks for the advice guys. I spent most of today with an accountant on these things. As already has been said there is never a black and white answer around these things. However at the moment and as a soletrader there would be no benefit of registering for V.A.T as firstly I would not meet the threshold and secondly it would then be an extra cost in admin and expense to pass on. As I am not a reseller of goods there is no benefit to register for V.A.T in that regard. However the clear benefit would be the legitimacy this would provide the service. There is no doubt that if the service takes off then it will be benefical to register for V.A.T as there will be the saving in recouping the V.A.T.

molzer

Best of luck with the nes venture dealhunter. As somebody residing in the SouthWest I've been feeling a bit hard done by listening to all of the stories of bargains up North.

I'm interested in buying a camera up North but if I buy online I could be waiting 28 days. I want it in about 10 days. I've a retailer in mind, has a shop in Newry.

Can you get it for me and whats the deal?

dealhunter

We appeared in the paper over the weekend so please have a look.