Second hand tack business

T

twinmommy

New User
Joined
6 February 2014
Messages
9
Visit site
Ladies and gents

I have posted a couple of times re becoming self employed within the equine industry.

As a recap, I am a new mom to now 13 week old twin boys and I am already becoming increasingly anxious about returning to work and the cost of childcare. At around £90ish a day, I probably looking at a £1300 bill to send my twins to nursery full time...ekkk. Therefore I have been entertaining the idea of becoming self employed and working from home.

As us Brits are becoming more penny conscious, I have considered opening a online/mobile second hand tack business. What are peoples views? I appreciate there are many 'negatives' to consider but I would also like some inspiring advice too :)
 
People travel absolutely miles to go to catlips - their business model obviously works.
Do you have lots of space to store stuff / could be used as a shop - Catlips is different rooms in their house as I recall.
You might need to have a good budget to stock up with stuff first to make people want to come.
Buying rugs in summer when they are cheap and waiting til winter to sell them.
You can also buy up job lots pretty cheaply on ebay and split them to sell on
Not much margin in it - so think carefully about how much money you'd need and how many items a month/ week you'd need to sell if you were making say £1 an item on stuff.
as an option what about an agency type arrangement we have both kids clothes/baby stuff and a ladies dress agency locally - you take your stuff to them and they sell it on your behalf, keeping a %age as their fee. Might be a good way of getting lots of stock without having to shell out loads of cash
 
You will need lots of storage space and it will cost you extra on your insurance to run a business from home (you won't be allowed to do this if you currently rent your property).

But I think its a good idea and one that I have considered before now.
 
In theory its a fab idea !
I would go online & possibly look at thr idea of selling people's things for a percentage of the profit as well as buying 2nd hand & selling on :)
 
I think starting your own business is a fab idea - sorry there is a but! But i know of 2 pre-loved second hand tack horse equip places locally and both have closed in under a year so think very carefully before spending money on stock etc if you can make somethink bespoke to order that might be a good place to start (browbands, saddlecloths, fleece rugs stuff like that ) those business seem to do well.

But good luck what ever you do
 
I have been to catlips and it's like aladins cave in there. I think with doing the mobile option as well is a great idea for people with limited time but you may need to charge a call out. I also think polos mums idea of being an agency would be good, as I always have stuff I don't need but can't be bothered with e-bay, etc.
 
Polos Mum said:
People travel absolutely miles to go to catlips - their business model obviously works.
Do you have lots of space to store stuff / could be used as a shop - Catlips is different rooms in their house as I recall.
You might need to have a good budget to stock up with stuff first to make people want to come.
Buying rugs in summer when they are cheap and waiting til winter to sell them.
You can also buy up job lots pretty cheaply on ebay and split them to sell on
Not much margin in it - so think carefully about how much money you'd need and how many items a month/ week you'd need to sell if you were making say £1 an item on stuff.
as an option what about an agency type arrangement we have both kids clothes/baby stuff and a ladies dress agency locally - you take your stuff to them and they sell it on your behalf, keeping a %age as their fee. Might be a good way of getting lots of stock without having to shell out loads of cash
Click to expand...

Thanks Polos Mum, this is something I have considered before and I know of a couple of saddlers in the county and neighbouring county that do this and charge quite a large % commission but always seem well supplied with second hand tack!
 
applecart14 said:
You will need lots of storage space and it will cost you extra on your insurance to run a business from home (you won't be allowed to do this if you currently rent your property).

But I think its a good idea and one that I have considered before now.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this, it is something that I was not aware of. I am renting, however actively looking to buy as we speak!
 
Another thing to note is you are probably still going to need childcare particularly if doing a mobile tack business. Certainly if I was trying to do business with someone who came to my yard then bringing children along would be a major no no. Similarly if trying to browse at a premises. Second hand/consignment stores are hugely successful in America particularly in the high end show gear market. Web based may be more successful for you...take a look at some of the USA sites such as highendusedsaddle.com. How big a horsy area do you live in is another factor and are there any really good saddleries? If so then you really may struggle...but that being said if there was a saddlery willing to work with you for something like you doing rug cleaning and have the saddlery as a drop off point this could really work.
 
Not sure how useful this is, but from a customer point of view... if there was an actual shop selling second hand tack locally, I would certainly go as its nice to be able to browse physically, but in terms of an online shop I have to say I tend to just use Ebay, as that is like one gigantic second hand tack shop!
 
People are so fussy, I have a lovely racing bridle, would cost a £100 to have made, but no one wants it, they don't know what quality is. Unless you are also able to do running repairs I think it will be a lot of work and effort for nothing.
I you are mobile. are you thinking a van with display which you take round to yards, I don't quite "get it"?
I think if you have children and no free babysitting, then you need a well paid job or something you can do when kids are in bed.
 
I agree that you need to do some sort of value add like restoration and repairs - a weeks course at the Cumbria School of Saddlery will give you the basics of bridle making and costs around £500. I did it last year and now do repairs and make straps and bridle work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top