Baby equipment/New Secondhand Shop?

larryandy

Hi Guys- I live inTipperary.My wife had a baby boy 6 months ago ( both doing fine TG) We found it frustrating tracking down accessories i.e buggy, seats, walkers without heading into Limerick, Dublin etc and getting fleeced in the process!.The hassle, parking, time and lack of soul in the big stores was a real turn off.
We bought some stuff second hand on the usual websites but of course had to travel to view/purchase and got some bargins. Bought other stuff online that simply not available locally. Found that the smaller stores had a limited stock and forever promised to 'get it in for ye'
The question - is there a demand for a shop stocking leadiing brands at competitive prices with a selection of second hand items for sale also i.e buggies, strollers, cots, high chairs etc in the gereral Tipperary/Limerick/Offaly area?

Would appreciate your thoughts/similar experiences..

J_Wholesale

Brian Moore wrote a novel called The Luck of Ginger Coffey back in the 1960s, about an Irishman in Canada who started just that kind of business.

Of course, it's 2012 now, and Irish people are no longer prone to buying second hand anything, even in the middle of this recession. I occassionally give stuff away for free on Jumbletown, and it is almost always a foreign national who comes to the door, so I'd say there is a market, but it might not be Irish.

This is one thing about Ireland and Irish people in recent years that I've never understood.

Cianos

larryandy wrote: »

Hi Guys- I live inTipperary.My wife had a baby boy 6 months ago ( both doing fine TG) We found it frustrating tracking down accessories i.e buggy, seats, walkers without heading into Limerick, Dublin etc and getting fleeced in the process!.The hassle, parking, time and lack of soul in the big stores was a real turn off.
We bought some stuff second hand on the usual websites but of course had to travel to view/purchase and got some bargins. Bought other stuff online that simply not available locally. Found that the smaller stores had a limited stock and forever promised to 'get it in for ye'
The question - is there a demand for a shop stocking leadiing brands at competitive prices with a selection of second hand items for sale also i.e buggies, strollers, cots, high chairs etc in the gereral Tipperary/Limerick/Offaly area?

Would appreciate your thoughts/similar experiences..

If these are the main reasons as to why you think people would choose you over the big stores, then I don't think it'd be enough. Most people are happy to go to shopping centres and maybe what you think is inconvenient and a turn off, others think is fine. Of course it depends on whether that is actually the case, maybe there is a demand for a local option, but I'd do some research on this (not just family and friends, they'll rarely oppose an idea out of not wanting to hurt your feelings!) if I were you before investing any time/money.

highlandseoghan

I believe there is a market for a store that your describing at the moment. Brand new items are costing so much especially for new babies and people just cant afford them anymore. I reckon if you had a nice shop with good quality items you would do very well. In relation to customer service and how customers are treated, I would avoid shops that have poor customer service or a shop assistant thats behind the counter that just does not care. I would always try and stick to shops that I know they treat customers nicely. A smile costs nothing.

Best of luck would love to know how it goes for you.

kippy

I think there is a market for it alright.
A second hand baby gear shop opened downstairs in the Eyre Square centre in Galway in the past few months. Buggies, car seats, toys, feeding equipment, all the bits and pieces are in there.
Not sure how well it is doing.

billybunty

larryandy wrote: »

Hi Guys- I live inTipperary.My wife had a baby boy 6 months ago ( both doing fine TG) We found it frustrating tracking down accessories i.e buggy, seats, walkers without heading into Limerick, Dublin etc and getting fleeced in the process!.The hassle, parking, time and lack of soul in the big stores was a real turn off.
We bought some stuff second hand on the usual websites but of course had to travel to view/purchase and got some bargins. Bought other stuff online that simply not available locally. Found that the smaller stores had a limited stock and forever promised to 'get it in for ye'
The question - is there a demand for a shop stocking leadiing brands at competitive prices with a selection of second hand items for sale also i.e buggies, strollers, cots, high chairs etc in the gereral Tipperary/Limerick/Offaly area?

Would appreciate your thoughts/similar experiences..

Answer, yes.
Im from waterford county, living in dub & had baby last year. Personally i wanted a new buggy for first baby but got the whole travel system at good price in a small town local shop.
Recently discovered buggy doesnt fold in one piece & basically a pain to get in and ouu of car so bought a new second buggy just today. Tried in vain to get it 2nd hand but couldnt as they are popular, the fold pulling just one thing& can hold in one hand, heaven . We will leave this in the car for outtings
My point to all of this is that i had to drive to 4 shops today around the city & it drove me nuts, traffic. Quite honestly, id have driven to tipp! also, i will intend selling both of them when im done, or might need a double, who knows!
I think you can do this as there is a massiff amount of brands& variations. I think you need an angle, perhaps offer the absolute truth about each item, the positives and negatives, in a jo blogs easy to understand format!
I.e. how they fold, can a new mum carry it with ease, size in the boot, maybe compare it to something people can relate to like a holiday suitcase or something, its as heavy as 5 bags of sugar, im just thinking off the top of my head here!
I think it would take time tobuild your business, facebook & website. It will take a few pounds to do it. Ive just set up my own business in baby/childrens area and costs do build. Advertising, marketing etc, but lits of free areas to advertise etc
If you both have a bit of savvy & motivation you could make it work
Sorry for long winded reply

Genghis

kippy wrote: »

I think there is a market for it alright.
A second hand baby gear shop opened downstairs in the Eyre Square centre in Galway in the past few months. Buggies, car seats, toys, feeding equipment, all the bits and pieces are in there.
Not sure how well it is doing.

Bought an item there about 3 months ago. Very pleased with it. Spoke with the owner, who said it was doing well. I had also visited one of these in France, where they appear to be more common.

The baby sector is quite a good one for the 'second-hand' sales model - baby stuff costs so much and is useful only for a few months, much less than the product lifetime. Because there is ongoing demand too, you could have customers who sell one item and use the money from it to buy another.

From both the French and the Irish store I was in, it seems the way it works is the store owner agrees to take items in from 'sellers' - at an agreed price, and agrees to stock it only for a certain period of time - 3-4 weeks, I think. (all items had swing tags with a retail price, reference number and a sell-by date).

The price agreed with the previous owner is then doubled and that is the retail price. (The actual price paid may be haggled, but the previous owner gets the agreed price if sold).

In order for it all to work the second hand price has to be sufficiently discounted to new price, which in turn has to be sufficient to share 50:50 between the previous owner and the shop. Hence, your sweet spot will be sellers who have items to sell in good nick, and prepared to accept 30% or so of the new retail price.

A big benefit of this sort of operation is you have no up-front stocking costs, and nothing is paid for until it is sold. However, you are depending on a local supply as well as a local market - in that sense location will be key.

Kent Brockman

Babybaymarket.ie yummymummymarket.com theclothesline.ie are 3 online businesses who allow people to buy and sell their 2nd hand wares online and also at markets which take place in hotels around the country.

Would be worth checking these out.

candyflossgirl

billybunty wrote: »

I think you need an angle, perhaps offer the absolute truth about each item, the positives and negatives, in a jo blogs easy to understand format!

I agree with the above point, I bought a second hand pram/buggy and it turned out it was a lot more worn and used than the seller let on to me and it needed some work done to it and money spent on it and it still has never been right but I spent so much (even with the second hand price) I could never afford to replace it and just have had to "make do".

My impression from my own circle of friends and relations is that first time parents prefer to buy new stuff because they know that they can trust it, and that's it's clean and safe and that they can return it to the shop if anything goes wrong. Second time around maybe parents are not so fussy, but they've probably got the stuff from the first baby and aren't buying the expensive things like prams and car seats.

If you had some kind of trustworthy or guaranteed way to test all your items for hygiene and safety features then I would imagine that would put people's mind at rest a bit and I, for one would shop in a place like that rather than a new shop. But I guess that also many people do just want new things for their new babies, and it's a bit like splashing out for a wedding, it's a once in a lifetime thing for many people.

Good luck!

GerardKeating

kippy wrote: »

I think there is a market for it alright.
A second hand baby gear shop opened downstairs in the Eyre Square centre in Galway in the past few months. Buggies, car seats, toys, feeding equipment, all the bits and pieces are in there.
Not sure how well it is doing.

Well, they would/could have done better recently , If I had known of them, just got some stuff recently, but had not heard of this place, so shopped elsewhere

kippy

GerardKeating wrote: »

Well, they would/could have done better recently , If I had known of them, just got some stuff recently, but had not heard of this place, so shopped elsewhere

Yeah, I haven't seen much advertising about it tbh - we heard about it from a family friend.
Something they should look at, even an add in the advertiser.

prospect

My sister, who lives in Australia, had a baby a few weeks ago.
They rented all the baby gear (car seat, fixing bracket, buggy) rather than bought it.

Not sure if it would work here, but there must be business for it down under.

uck51js9zml2yt

there is a second hand shop on celbridge selling second had on behalf of the owners and they take a cut off it.

ted1

Second hand gear would cost the shop the same as new stock. But with added hassle.

Chet Zar

kippy wrote: »

Yeah, I haven't seen much advertising about it tbh - we heard about it from a family friend.
Something they should look at, even an add in the advertiser.

A sure sign the shop is probably doing pretty well!